Big towns ar not really a nice thing: They are load, busy, nature is contained in some parks. I was quit happy that today I had the opportunity to leave Auckland again. Not with the plane (this is still leaving tomorrow) but with a nice catamaran. The Dolphin Explorers are offering Swimming With Dolphin tours but it is really more like this. It is a real whale and dolphin watching which includes the possibility to swim with the mammals. I was really suprised when I boarded the ship. There was a real scientific attempt. We guests ar more or less financing a mission to examine the marine sealife around Auckland. For 95NZD the Dolphin Explorers are offering a 5 hour trip Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. A nice offer was the ticket for the seaworld little bit outside of Auckland for 50 Cents (it looked like a special offer with a time limit). The crew around the experienced skipper looked a little bit like Eco Baywatch. Fur sure this kind of job is the dream for every marine biologist student. So I think ... I think You know that I think ;-) Anyway, when the reached the marine park I was immediately remembered to the famous BBC documentation Blue Planet: Dolphins, whales and seabirds in abundance. I was stunned. Even in Kaikoura (the whale watching capital of NZ) You see not this. Where was so mauch to see and to enjoy that I took not much photographs. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. The tours are not only for watching. The participients should learn as well. Like everywhere in NZ you are immediately part of a family if you join something like this. The crew tried to get us into the stuff with a small quiz and the skipper was starting to talk after the left the harbour and was stopping when the reached the quay again (nearly 5 hours!). I learnt again that dolphins (here we encountered common ones) are not stupid. The only reason why they are hopping in front of a boat is because they use the water stream around the hull to surf (it looks like that they ar really like surfing). As soon the boat stops and you want to swim with them they loose their interest and it takes no long time until the guys are away. Some of us are trying to swim with them. But ... hehehe ... it was not really a Flipper thing. But there was a good thing about it for which I'm thankful to the dary guys jumping into the really cold water: The deck was not crowded anymore and I was able to take a 360° view around the boat. The time rushed. To early we had to cruise back to the harbour. But I must say: Cool! If You ever come to Auckland then fuck the Sky Jump, skip the Sky Tower, don't look for the Seaworld. Go directly to pier 3 and get a ticket for the Dolphin Explorers. It is cheap and you see much. If you compare it later to the tour in Kaikoura you know what I meant.
But ... okay, okay ... I was afterwards on the Skytower. My knees are still weak. I hate towers. But this NZ bastards are jumping of it only secured by one cable and guided by two others. This is ... crazy. Others are climbing up to the highest platform far over the public decks. On this tower you can see why NZ people are unique in some way. I think they need always the feeling to life. Only this can explain for example the Sky Jump. But back again to the Dolphin Explorer tour which was for sure the highlight of the day. If you are back in the harbour it could be that you need to sign up with the Sea Shepherds. These guys are the special friends of the Japanese whaler fleet. The crews call them for sure pirates. And it looks like that they are some sort of. A sympathetical one. And another whaler fleet is as well going to war with the Sea Shepherds: Iceland, this small, unimportant, mostly volcanic (sad that not all of it is one volcano ;-) ) was asking to get the permit for hunting whales. Again, some self-studied professors want to do some research on them. Where is Moby Dick when you need him ;-)