Hector's Dolphins are one of the rarest dolphins in the world and are only found in the waters around New Zealand. They are the smallest dolphin (female slightly bigger than the male - 1.4m Vs. 1.2m) and are a kind of mixture of white and grey in colour. Our trip headed out in pretty calm conditions considering the winds lashing the harbour, and within about 20 minutes we had spotted the fist pod, and the 6 swimmers duly slipped into the freezing cold (well, 10 degrees but it felt MUCH colder) water. It was so cold that when you put your head under you got one of theose headaches you get when you eat ice-cream too quickly. Our suits kept us afloat with the minimum of ease and we all spread out and waited for the dolphins to approach, which they did pretty much straight away. Now it must be said that the dolphin magnets of the day were Jen and another girl, whilst myself and the others were not as attractive, probably because my wild trashing in the water (not used to not having fins whilst in the sea) scared them they might get a kick in the head. Having said that they moved so quickly you couldn't touch them if you tried. Eventually there were around 20 of them, and they took it in turns to pass, obviously laughing at the human's utter inability to swim. Needless to say we got some great vidi clips and a couple of piccies which will eventually find their way onto here. It was a wonderful hour or so and much better than the Kaikoura experience we nearly took as there were much fewer people, more dolphins and we only had to travel 20 mins each way (as opposed to 90!) We were a bit sad to leave Akaroa - it has a lovely harbour, and old french-themed shops and arcades - we could have spent another day or two...BUT we heard that Saturday heralds the start of the school holidays so we have rushed down to Queenstown in a vain attempt to get some 'boarding in before the brats arrive. So that's where we are now, although it's very different to how it was the last time we were here - it's pissing it down for starters. Also the winds are so high that some of the ski fields are closed so our sprog-avoidence plan may be thwarted. We came here via Lake Tekapo, a church on it's banks, and a statue to the ordinary working collie. We'd have stayed longer at the lake but the weather was shocking.

So the plan is to spend some time on the slopes, but not sure how (very badly), when (soon) or where (or for how much!!!) yet.

One interesting anecdote is that the guy who performed the maori welcoming ritual on me up in the Bay of Islands a few weeks back when I was the chief for the day accidentally hit a British backpacker with his stick a few days ago and has broken his jaw in a number of places, he's currently having it re-set - seems like I got off lightly!!!