They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning...

Sunday, October 12
Queen Charlotte Sounds

I woke up Sunday with a sore neck, but feeling well-rested. Since I’d come in so late, Jamie and Katie were already asleep, and had claimed the bottom bunks. Meaning it would have been impossible for me to climb into a make up one of the top bunks without making a racket. So I just slept on the couch. It happens.

We were all up and ready to leave by 9, when we were picked up by Dolphin Watch Ecotours. We piled into the dolphin-watching boat, and headed back out into the Sounds. It was another chilly, but sunny morning, and the water was calm. I don’t think we could have had more perfect weather for this trip.

On our way out to Ship Cove, we encountered our first pod of dolphins. They were Dusky Dolphins, the most common breed in NZ waters. They were an active bunch, and hung around with our boat for some time, darting here and there while we all snapped hundreds of photos. Even a lone fur seal joined in the fray at one point. One of our guides said it’s not uncommon for a seal to hang out with the dolphins – it’s easier to get food that way, apparently.

We idled for about 20 minutes, watching the dolphins. It really was amazing to see how gracefully they move through the water – they make it look so effortless! But eventually we had to move on.

Along the way to Ship Cove, our guides pointed out all the sea and bird life they could spot along the way. And, at the front of the boat, one of them was constantly on the lookout for more dolphins with a pair of binoculars. We saw a lot of birds on our trip. Mostly shearwaters, I think, but also a King Shag. Shags (we might know them better as cormorants) live all over, but the King Shag is very rare. So rare, in fact, that it’s only found in the Marlborough Sounds in NZ. Pretty cool!

We stopped at Ship Cove for about half an hour to stretch our legs and learn a little about the area. Captain Cook named it when he landed there in 1770, and visited the site five times throughout his life. There’s a big monument dedicated to him there. Also at Ship Cove I saw my first Weka! Wekas are another breed of native NZ bird. They are flightless, and resemble what I imagine would result if you crossed a kiwi with a chicken. They were apparently in the running with the kiwi as NZ’s national bird, though the kiwi eventually won. I’m not sure which I like better… the wekas are certainly more friendly!

Once we got back onto the boat, we headed back in the direction of Picton. Along the way, we ran into another pod of Dusky Dolphins. This one was a much smaller, relaxed pod, and they drifted lazily around the boat for a bit while we watched. Eventually they lost interest, however, and we had to set off again.

We floated around a salmon farm, complete with fat fur seals sunning themselves and hoping for an easy meal. And, just before we got back to Picton, we saw one more group of dolphins. There were only three in this group: one Dusky, and two Bottlenoses! The bottlenoses were a mother a son, and were so much bigger than the duskies! After seeing the small, sleek duskies all day, it was a bit of a shock when the mother bottlenose drifted out in front of our boat!

Eventually we made it back to Picton, where we immediately boarded the ferry bound for Wellington. I spent this ferry ride indoors, mostly just talking with Katie and Jamie over a late lunch. The ride back was fairly smooth, though the rocking of the large boat coupled with the Dramamine I had taken only served to make me very sleepy. But I’ll take it.