blurpenguin

The must thing to see in Akaroa, New Zealand is the Hector Dolphins... the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world... easily discernable by their small size and rounded dorsal fins, and black highlights...

We had some trouble choosing a date, cuz the weather wasn't too good... but eventually settled for a slightly overcast day... cuz we were getting bored :p... Akaroa whilst idyllic, proved to be too laid back... & we were shortening our stay...

So the whole family went on the Harbour Cruise, to catch a glimpse of the dolphins! U could opt for a "swim with the dolphins" package too, but err... with icy cold waters & an expensive price tag... no no... We opted for the Black Cat operator due to it having the larger boat... to lessen the motion sickness

The captain of the boat was also our guide... and woo, what a far cry from our local guides... very informative and down to earth explanations... plus totally comprehensible!

Since Akaroa was formed from a volcanic explosion - the harbour is its crater, u can see weird rock formations and unusual cliffs filled with birds and local wildlife all around the banks.



By Gods grace we saw about 3 groups of Hector Dolphins during our cruise! Even the captain of the ship said we were a lucky group, and we couldn't get any better then that. the Dolphins just swam around and playfully followed the boat for a time... sometimes in 3-4 formations...


We went out to open sea to move to a different bay where there were a few seals in their natural habitat... the rocks all had an unusual color and compositions...


The entire cruise was almost 2 hours long... and certainly a worth while trip!