We arrived at Daly´s Wharf today, another day of clear blue skies and calm seas, to take our trip out into the Pacific Ocean in search of the local Hector´s dolphin. We were going in search of these rare, small and endangered dolphins which are only found around the south island of New Zealand.

The vessel of choice was the sailboat, Fox II which is the oldest gaff-rigged Ketch in New Zealand. The boat was built in Auckland in 1922 and was originally used as a sailing cargo carrier. She was later sold to the Fox Fishing Company and became the second boat in their fleet. On becoming the second boat in their fleet, a steam engine was installed and in 1936 a diesel engine was fitted. She was then used as a fishing boat catching and steaming crayfish as she sailed around the Pacific waters. In 1995 she was purchased by Coastline Adventure Ltd, who overhauled her, whereby she was certified to carry 30 passengers carrying thousands of people around the Banks Peninsula. Today, she is owned by Fox II Sailing Adventures Ltd and it was now our turn to watch as they hoised the sails as we headed out to sea.

The start of the trip is through the sheltered waters of Akaroa Harbour with local points of interest pointed out to you by the skipper, and well informed, Roy. You can see the local sea birds, Shag, nesting in their cliff top roosts as well as flying and diving for their food. On the way out we also managed to see a couple of Blue Penguin, as said before, the smallest, and rarest penguins in the world. We also managed to see a small gathering of Fur seals dozing on the sheltered rock faces. The sheltered mountainside of the long harbor soon gave way to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, where the red sails flapped in the wind as we made our way out to sea. It wasn´t long before we had our first encounter with the Hector´s dolphin. Small, agile and inquisitive. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, as the waves increased slightly in height, you could see their streamlined, shadow like silhouettes approaching from both sides of the boat. They were soon along side us, swimming alongside and ahead of our boat. Roy then cut the engine and let the sails do the work as we headed out into the Pacific. At this time he also decided to turn on some music for them (and us?) so as Rod Stewart crooned ´I Am Sailing´even more dolphins appeared from the depths on both sides.

It was an amazing experience. A mother approached with her small calf, both completely content with swimming alongside our wooden sailboat. As we headed outwards, Giant Albatross appeared in numbers, swooping towards the ocean surface and then gently gliding out to sea, also content with following our boat. Melanie, our crew member said that they probably thought that we were a fishing boat and were hoping for some fish. These birds are huge being one of the largest with their wingspan reaching an impressive three and a half metres (11 feet). The adult can fly 800km a day (500 miles) reaching speeds of 80km an hour (50mph) with some known to dive 4 – 7 metros deep to get a bite to eat (15 – 25 feet). An amazing thing to see, so graceful and majestic.

After cruising around with both the Albatross and small Hector´s dolphin, it was time to turn and head back to the slightly sheltered seclusion of the harbour area. It was at this point becoming quite cold in the sea breeze! Hitting the engine, the dolphins became more excited with the sudden increased speed of our vessel and so began swimming even faster at the bow of the boat, bobbing under, ahead and along side us. On reaching the sheltered waters, they soon moved back out to the open ocean, leaving all of us glowing and smiling with the experience that we had just been privileged to encounter. Hot drinks all round as we slowly cruised back along the cliff sides, seeing along the route back, the largest cliff cave in the area, formed by a volcanic air bubble during the volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.

What a day……brisk sea air, Blue Penguins, Fur Seals, Hector´s dolphins and Giant Albatross, aboard a historic, wooden Ketch in the South Pacific.!!! What more should you be doing on a Sunday afternoon?? New Zealand is far by living up to any expectations that we previously had.!!