As I mentioned in my previous posts, physical gifts were few and far between this Christmas. We have been more drawn to experiences than stuff for the past several years (hence our birthday trip tradition, among other choices) but this year it was imperative. So we organised a few fun activities, including a day at Universal Studios and a day at DisneySea (both in Japan) but there was one more surprise up our sleeves!

When I visited New Zealand a few years ago, one of the absolute highlights was swimming with wild Dusky dolphins with Dolphin Encounter in Kaikoura, and I knew that the rest of the family would love it. I actually found the sheep farm that we stayed at because I wanted to be somewhat close to Kaikoura so we could do this experience. By the time we went to book it (about 4-5 weeks ahead), the only trip for 6 people was on Monday, December 22nd in the morning, so the girls received their Christmas present a bit early, but they didn’t mind!

We got up early, drove the 45 minutes into Kaikoura and got suited up. We wore a full wetsuit, complete with a hat, plus flippers, googles and a snorkel (all provided by the company). After a short instructional video, we hopped in the van and drove to the dock. There were 3 boats with around 25 people each, some planning on swimming and others as spectators. The crew was helpful and knowledgable, and it felt like the animals were well protected. We drove about 30 minutes south and spotted the group of dolphins. We slipped into the water quickly, a bit of a shock as the ice cold water seeped in but that was quickly forgotten as the magic of the moment overtook us. There were hundreds of dolphins swimming in every direction–next to you, under you, sometimes with a baby following. Occasionally, you would see a few jump and flip! It was amazing. We got in the water five different times, each time swimming for around 10-15 minutes before the dolphins moved on to another spot. After the third time, Luisa was tired and the crew was really wonderful about helping her change out of her gear and warm up while the rest of us got to swim the last two times.

After all the swimming was done, we had quite a bit of time on the boat where we could watch the dolphins swim and play and take some photos. We even spotted a few Hector’s dolphins which are only found in New Zealand and rare to spot. (Those are the ones that are almost white with the black, round fin.) Steffen got several incredible shots, and I could not narrow it down. So, enjoy! And add this to your bucket list. 🙂

After some lunch, we drove to the Kaikōura Seal Colony at Point Kean where we saw a bunch of wild fur seals! They lay all over the rocks during the day, and you never know when you will stumble upon one. You have to be very careful, so you don’t get too close.

We had one more gift to enjoy–a gift to all of us from Steffen’s family. A kayaking trip! It was scheduled for December 26th, so we headed into Kaikoura and got all settled in. It was a group of about 25 people in double kayaks with 5-6 guides. The guides did a great job explaining everything, making sure everyone had the right gear on and that we all felt ready. There were a few families, so they had the adult-only boats head out first while the families waited in the shallow bay. As soon as the other kayaks went out, the guides noticed how windy it was and that some of the kayaks with two adults were struggling to get out. The manager arrived and we talked things over, deciding not to go out. Luckily, we were staying another week and were able to reschedule to January 1st. A few photos of our first attempt:

We were back and ready to go on January 1st. The weather was wonderful–not too hot, not too cold, there was a sprinkle of rain but nothing too serious and there was no wind. We got to go with our original guide, Grace, and she was wonderful! We broke off into groups, and it was just the six of us with Grace. We saw some birds and fur seals and enjoyed the calm of being out on the ocean. A really wonderful experience!

Grace suggested we stop by the seal colony again because she told us if we had walked a bit further, we could have seen the pups and moms hanging out. So we ventured back and got the best surprise! A little pup hanging out, coming in and out of its cave, peaking at the bog world. There was an adult fur seal sleeping nearby, so maybe that was its mom, but no adult approached. We also walked to the area Grace had recommended and there were soooo many babies playing and swimming but it was hard to get photos from so far away. What a great end to a fun morning!

We also fell in love with Kaikoura (can you see a trend that we are really loving New Zealand??) and would love to spend some extended time there. So beautiful and so much to see and do!