Our very long day started with a lovely breakfast with
Rosemary at ‘A room with a view’. Rosemary is everyone’s grandma, so positive
and happy. I think the most random conversation is when we were discussing marijuana
is wasted on the young, their have their whole lives and it might mess up their
brains, best save it for the older people. She could be on her rocking chair on
the verrandah looking out to the bay. I cracked up when she mentioned she
wouldn’t know where to get her supply from.
Off to our first excursion, swimming with Hectors dolphins,
the smallest dolphin in the world. Wet suits on with boots which shows just how
cold the water was as after a short boat journey, we were instructed to get in
the water and gosh did it take your breath away. So much so that the hosts
threw Ali a noodle, it really took her breath away. But after a couple of
minutes, Ali and I had 3 dolphins swimming straight towards us and then dodging
to the side. It really made me jump!
We spent 30 minutes in the water, I couldn’t believe how
many dolphins we had with us. We had to sing down our snorkels to attract them,
so Ali and I sang a mixture of Christmas carols
to them. It seemed to work. They are so graceful, but so small! They
kept poking their heads out of the water to have a look, and you knew where
they were by their blow hold sound. It really was an immense trip, to swim with
dolphins on our honeymoon. Something we will never forget.
Back at the car, next we had a 5 hour drive to Lake Tekapo,
en route we stopped for breakfast at the side of a lake. It was a long drive,
mainly because the roads are so straight, so the ‘my fair lady’ track kept me
occupied. We arrived at Lake Tekapo and you can’t miss it, because of the
glacial water, it’s turquoise! We checked into ‘Tailor made backpackers’ and
then ate in a Thai restaurant before going to the Alpine Springs hot pools
bought for us by Fran and Kat. There are 3 pools of different temperatures,
then a sauna that we paid extra for. However, the Blue Lagoon has spoiled us.
Next trip was to Earth and Sky stargazing. We boarded the
bus to go to the top of Mount John, without head lights because it interferes
with the telescope. Driving without headlights is odd. At the observatory, we
were shown around the library, the 1m telescope, then the clouds cleared and we
were able to use the outside telescopes to view Jupiter, the moon so clearly
that you could see the craters, the Southern Cross, the tarantula nebula…so so
many. Orion was really clear. I absolutely loved it, I like stargazing, it’s
just so much for your head to comprehend how far away they are. Bed at 1am, but
the most amazing day of all.
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