Day 22: Hanging with Hector
Went on a nature cruise in Akoroa Harbour today, pretty impressive boat, yes?
The cruise lasted for 2 hours and it was wonderful just to sit back and watch the landscape go by. The skipper pointed out lots of landmarks and gave us a running commentary on the various bird species flying by.
The goal of the cruise was to encounter the Hector's Dolphin, the world's smallest and rarest of dolphins. It is an endangered species and found only around the south island of New Zealand. The Hector (and it's subspecies Maui) are also the only dolphins with the rounded dorsal fin, which is pretty cool.
We did come pretty close to some dolphins, with them swimming right up and around the boat. We were also treated to a mother and calf who spent quite a bit of time swimming by us. We were told that this is a very rare, as most often the mother will bring the calf up close, show them how to interact with humans and boats, and then whisk them right away. These two stayed with us for a good fifteen minutes or so.
The boat also got a great show of some fur seals, which I am not over yet and am still totally loving. There were a few seal pups skittering around also and they were just so cute. One of the pups climbed over the rocks and stood here with the seal preening in the sun. Maybe it's just me, but I can see the little guy imitating the adult. So cute.
These two guys, however, were having some kind of beef.
The animal that stole the show, however, was Albie, the onboard dog. Padding around in an adorable little life jacket, I thought he was just the skipper's dog. But he also had a job to do. With his keen sense of hearing, he was able to hear the high pitched calling of the dolphins and direct us to them. I thought this was a bit of a stretch, and he was really there just to collect scratches - but then all of a sudden he's up and running and we change directions and hey presto! dolphins. Very impressive.
It was a great way to spend the second last day of the trip. Tomorrow it's off to Christchurch to drop off the van and fly home.
Animal Sightings:
Just kidding, it looked like this. There's no way I was rowing one of those things out into the ocean.
The cruise lasted for 2 hours and it was wonderful just to sit back and watch the landscape go by. The skipper pointed out lots of landmarks and gave us a running commentary on the various bird species flying by.
 |
| The Elephant |
The goal of the cruise was to encounter the Hector's Dolphin, the world's smallest and rarest of dolphins. It is an endangered species and found only around the south island of New Zealand. The Hector (and it's subspecies Maui) are also the only dolphins with the rounded dorsal fin, which is pretty cool.
We did come pretty close to some dolphins, with them swimming right up and around the boat. We were also treated to a mother and calf who spent quite a bit of time swimming by us. We were told that this is a very rare, as most often the mother will bring the calf up close, show them how to interact with humans and boats, and then whisk them right away. These two stayed with us for a good fifteen minutes or so.
The boat also got a great show of some fur seals, which I am not over yet and am still totally loving. There were a few seal pups skittering around also and they were just so cute. One of the pups climbed over the rocks and stood here with the seal preening in the sun. Maybe it's just me, but I can see the little guy imitating the adult. So cute.
These two guys, however, were having some kind of beef.
The animal that stole the show, however, was Albie, the onboard dog. Padding around in an adorable little life jacket, I thought he was just the skipper's dog. But he also had a job to do. With his keen sense of hearing, he was able to hear the high pitched calling of the dolphins and direct us to them. I thought this was a bit of a stretch, and he was really there just to collect scratches - but then all of a sudden he's up and running and we change directions and hey presto! dolphins. Very impressive.
 |
| The three of us were sitting here and Albie just jumped up and slid between us. I was very happy to be one of his scratchers while he snoozed in the sun. What a life! |
It was a great way to spend the second last day of the trip. Tomorrow it's off to Christchurch to drop off the van and fly home.
Animal Sightings:
- Albie the Dolphin Detector
- New Zealand Fur Seals
- Hector's Dolphins
- various birds whose name I can't remember)
Today's Playlist
- Do Go On #36: H.H. Holmes
- Do Go On #37: The Dyatlov Pass Incident
- Do Go On #38: The Video Game Crash of 1983
- Do Go On #39: Sir David Attenborough
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #1: Patterson-Gimlin Footage
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #2: Oak Island Money Pit
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #3: Beast of Bray Road
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #4: Dyatlov Pass Incident
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #5: The Hinterkaifeck Murders
- Jackson Baly Spooks America #6: DB Cooper
- Lost in the Smithsonian: Muhammad Ali's Robes
- Lost in the Smithsonian: Carrie Bradshaw's Laptop
- Lost in the Smithsonian: Archie Bunker's Chair
- Science Rules #24: Underwater Clues About Aliens
- Unprompted and Unwanted #17: How Would You Curse a Small Village
Daily Stats:
Kilometres Travelled: 171km (4567 in total)
I'm a Teacher Librarian in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, just wandering about and taking up more projects than is wise for anyone's mental state. This blog is a digital bag of holding for all my craziness.
That photo of the magnetic sea lion and it’s little imitator is just the cutest thing out!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? So cute.
DeleteStunning photos and Albie is a cutie :)
ReplyDelete