Swimming With Dolphins!!

From Queenstown I hitch hiked up Akaroa (because I left the car with my friend who I own it with so she could sell it) to see my friend Timmy that I did my yoga teacher training with.


Akaroa on a peninsula which an hour and 30 minutes east of Christchurch. Driving from Queenstown to Akaroa should take 6 hours and 30 minutes. It took my about 8 hours to hitch all the up there which I think is pretty good considering. Dan, who I did the Abel Tasman and the Heaphy with, gave me a ride to Twizel and from there I got a ride to Tekapo with a 50 something year old farmer. From Tekapo I got a ride to Christchurch with a 30 something tradie. From Christchurch I got a ride with three guys in there 20s that were going near Akaroa just for an afternoon swim. For the last 20 minute leg I got a ride with father and his 10 year old son. I was pretty amazed I made it all that way in 8 hours but it was an pretty exhausting day.

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The last time I saw Timmy was pretty much exactly a year ago in India when we finished our yoga teacher training. He has been living in Perth (Western Australia) but he just moved to Akaroa about a month ago because he got a kick ass job taking people swimming with dolphins.

 View from Timmy's house

Akaroa is my favorite place in New Zealand so far and wouldn't have traveled there if Timmy wasn't living there. It so nice, and has a bit of everything. 

View of Akaroa

It used to an volcano (like I think everything in New Zealand use to be). It has rocky cliffs and green rolling hills surrounded by beautiful bays and coves. It is small town of around 500-1000 permanent residents. It was colonized by the French so it has cute cottages with French names. I would honestly move there in a heart beat. It just seems to have it all; the ocean, amazing hikes right from town, beautiful scenery and amazing wild life (like DOLPHINS!). 

The first day I was there Timmy had to work so I just chilled out did some yoga, explored town and prepared a yummy dinner. The next day Timmy off and his boss said that we could be stand bys on the tour and if there was space we could go swimming with dolphins for free! We were able to get on the 11 o'clock tour and it was amazing!! First they dressed us up as dolphins in 5 mil wet suits because the Pacific Ocean is a chilly 10 degrees C (50 F).
On the boat ride out we saw a raft of penguins (that's what a group of penguins is called) and even a seal!  Once we got out to the ocean it didn't take long till we saw dolphins! The dolphins that live around there are hector dolphins, the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world (how cool is that!). We saw a couple groups of dolphins swimming around and underneath the boat. Once the guide and skipper were confident that the dolphins were going to to stick around for a bit we were able to get into the water. We water was cold but it amazing! We just bobbed around the dolphins would just swim really close up to us then drive under and swim underneath. It was amazing and I am pretty sure my face says it all here....

All natural beauty right there!

This one might be even better....

We were in the water for 45 minutes but I was having such a good time I had no idea so much time went by so fast. 

Look how close it is to Timmy!

The Black Cat Dolpin Cruise is normally $150 so it was pretty amazing that Timmy's boss just let me go for free. Honestly though it is worth $150. Just the views and the wildlife from the boat on the way to swim the dolphins was amazing then actually being in the water with them was even more amazing. Afterward they had a hose with warm water to put down our wet suits to heat us up and hot chocolate and cookies! 

On the way to Christchurch

The next day I hung out and went for a hike while Timmy went to work. I definitely didn't feel sorry for him after seeing what he does for a job though. Its really is a dream job. Timmy had the next day off and he was driving into Christchurch because he bought a kayak online and was going to pick it up. It was prefect because it was able to give me a ride.
I spent the night in Christchurch and then flew to Wellington the next day. 

All in all Akaroa was amazing. It was so great to see Timmy. Swimming with dolphins might be the best thing in world! Akaroa is beautiful. Hopefully I'll be back soon....

:)