In the Bay of Islands there are two tours you can take – one is to the Hole in the Rock to see the dolphins on the way, and the other is to actually swim with the dolphins. Since neither of us has ever earned a swim badge, and on any given day there could be several reasons the operators won’t let you swim with them anyway, we chose the first option. The tour lasted four hours and included one hour hiking on one of the islands. The weather was gorgeous and the colour of the water insanely azure.
On the way we did indeed see the dolphins. They frolicked all around our vessel after the captain obliged us by slowing up for the photo opportunity. Dolphins are maddeningly difficult, to photograph as they pop up to breathe then, just as you line up the shot, they dive again! They seem to enjoy the wake created by the boat. As soon as we took off, they literally leapt into action, racing and leaping as if trying to race the boat. It was quite thrilling, actually.
Claudia took refuge from the sun by diving into the only bar on the island, while I held up my side by launching off to learn as much as I could about the original inhabitants of New Zealand e.g. Maori 101. The one hour hike was accompanied by a Maori guide who explained the flora and fauna and provided an explanation of Maori beliefs. He began by explaining that Maoris greet one another by touching noses and chose Duncan to demonstrate. Sorry, I don’t have a photo, you’ll just have to imagine it! He led the walk to the summit of the island, where the view of the surrounding islands and waters was amazing.(I do have a photo of that!) He explained that the Maoris see themselves as guardians not owners of the land. He also explained that because we not acting as guardians of the land and showing the land respect, the Gods are getting angry and the result is global warming. It is interesting that the beliefs among aboriginal peoples are so similar even though they are on completely different sides of the planet.
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