Rogers Big Adventure

The landscape at Kaikoura is quite impressive and mountain range runs right down to the coast with some snow at the peaks and then the rugged coast line full of wildlife.

The small town of Kaikoura is known by all travelers to New Zealand for the Dusky dolphin pods, seals and whales. I drove down from Picton when I arrived in the south Island, but the weather was pretty foul and the swells were huge, no thanks you, no puking on board ship for me. My new mountain bike was waiting for me in Christchurch, care of Cody at Addictive Cycling in Braselton GA, who had built it for me and sent it over. Plus Joana had text'd me that she was in Christchurch for her last few days before heading off to Australia, so I spent a freezing night in Kaikoura, listening to the racer boys and their big exhausts gunning it around town, ( a common past time in all small towns, actually even more so in the big ones, in NZ) took a few pictures of cute seals on the beach, although they didnt appreciate me wanting to be one with nature and climbing down the steep rocks to be close to them, and hissed and cackled at me.


then drove on down to Christchurch for a few days. After getting the bike put together by the guys at Scotty Browns I took her out for a spin.

Got lost as usual, but also met up with some cool mountain bikers on the single track, all English that had moved out here. Seems like everyone out here is British! the views are awesome around here, but Im kind of glad it wasnt any hotter the Limeys where saying it was pretty damn hot in the summer.



So a bit of biking out the way and Joana off on her way and the weather making good, so I headed north again to give Kaikoura and other try.

I signed up for a swim with the dolphins experience where they take you out on a boat to swim with large pods of Dusky dolphin the pods here can be from 300 to 600 in number, dusky's are smaller dolphin, but are the most playful, or as the guides called them "big show offs". They love to jump, and when you splash around in the water they swim round and round you trying to figure out what the stupid human is trying do. Actually they get quite excited and playful. when they come at you and you are down under the water you can seem them flying along straight at you. they purposely head right at you and then at the very last moment they dive down and miss you by inches.

On the drive up all I could think about was how cold it was and how freezing it would be in the water, Joana had swam with a smaller pod of only 12 south of Christchurch and had said it was worth it and you didnt really feel the cold. humm, right even with all the gear they provided I knew I was going to be freezing and when I stepped in the office to sign up and they said Orca had been spotted chasing the dolphin and they couldn't guarantee we would see any, I really felt like giving it a miss. Im soooo glad I didnt. this was probably one of the most amazing experiences Ive had. I've swam with a bottle nose dolphin before in Florida, but this was totally different.

They were a little more freaked out with the orca that had been around and we would get in the water with them, they would shoot around us then we would have to get in the boat and chase after them again. It wasnt until the last time we got in with them that they had settled down more and played around with us. It was fantastic to see them rushing at you and then dive down. Then when you looked straight down into the haze of water under you, you would suddenly see them coming up from the depths straight up at you, then swerve just as they looked like they were about to punch you in the stomach!