It was raining when we woke up so we got worried that the tour might be cancelled. We booked our tour for the dolphins with Dolphin Encounter (Swimming NZ$150, Watching NZ$80) and were glad to learn when we arrived at their office that the tour was not cancelled. All the group watched a very good video giving all the information about the tour. Afterwards we got on a bus that took us to the boat and soon started our journey towards the Dusky dolphins. It took us a good hour to spot a group of dolphins, but this was worth it as there was hundreds of them. Laurence went for a swim being surrounded by all those dolphins while Gosia from the boat could observe the dolphins and take a lot of pictures. We had a great time and will recommend Dolphin Encounter as they offer a great service. For lunch we had a picnic at Point Kean (5min drive from the centre of Kaikoura) where there is a seals colony. We had a great view on the sea and could get very close to some seals which were having a nap on the rocks. The weather was very weird as fog kept coming and going and we got worried that our flight to see the whales in the afternoon will be cancelled but we were glad to find out when arriving at the small airport of Kaikoura that we will get a chance to try to spot some whales. The pilot told us that a group of whales was staying all the year next to Kaikoura as there was a lot of food available for them. He also added that we were very lucky as since a few days, and not for much longer, a group of more than 12 whales was temporarily around Kaikoura coast and this will dramatically increase our chances to see whales during our 30 min flight. We took off and went straight to the place where this group of travelling whales were last seen by other tours and soon ......they were there, below us, more than 13 of them, swimming on the surface. It was amazing to see those huge animals. The pilot circled for a good 15 min around them, so we had plenty of time to look at them and take a lot of pictures. On our way back to the airport we enjoyed great views on Kaikoura and the mountains around. This tour was expensive but definitely worth it (Wings Over Whales, NZ$145). After those great experiences and the feeling of having been very lucky that the weather allowed us to do those tours...a lot of tours get cancelled due to poor weather conditions, we drove up to Christchurch where we stayed in a nice hostel, Frauenreisehaus....only for girls! (sorry guys!)
