Dolphins In The Bay Of Islands

Today I’m heading out to the Bay of Islands. I’ve booked a tour where you can swim with dolphins. Seven o’clock is not a good time after the last short night. But the morning over the bay makes up for everything. The captain of the speed catamaran is a copy of Sandra Bullock. I wonder which film made her decide to take this job?

After just an hour at sea, we spot the first group of dolphins. They are on the hunt, swim fast and are difficult to track even with the speed cat. Again and again they jump out of the water in the morning sun. At some point, the dolphins seem to have had enough. They slow down and approach the boat.

After a short briefing, everyone receives their wetsuit, mask and fins. I have my own longsleeve with me, and I’m very happy about that. There are only shorties on the boat and the water is just 14 degrees. Even with the longsleeve it’s still very cold. We swim after the dolphins. Sometimes they come back and surface in the middle of us.

We are supposed to attract them by singing underwater. I seem to have chosen the wrong song, the dolphins swim to other singers. Once one comes within two metres. On the second swim, some of them swim around me, but none of them feel like jumping today. It was still very impressive.

On the way back there’s a short stop on a deserted island. I meet more Swabians, Swiss and Allgäu people. New Zealand doesn’t just look like Germany, it is Germany. The second stop opposite Pahia is in Russell. I jump off the Cat and drive through a small Victorian town. Fantastic location in the bay, with houses for sale everywhere starting at $200,000.

I have to do some work for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, Cédric decides to go on tour with me for a few days. Two women from the Allgäu with their own car also join us. In a flash, I’m travelling with others again. Everything is going well. We celebrate the last night with good wine, and I get far too little sleep for the second day in a row.