Rollercoaster Ride

Woke up to another tragically overcast day but as it was our last day in the Bay of Islands it only made sense to jump on another

Hole in the Rock from a distance

 boat to check things out.  We settled on a tour that took us through the hole in the rock while searching for dolphins.  What we didn’t factor into our decision was the weather and water conditions.

One of the dolphins

To make a long story short – the sea was very choppy with swells which would make for a really rough ride.  The best way to describe the ride was that it was like being on a rollercoaster on the water and it was best to hang on while getting soaked by the ocean (okay that was only for the handful of us that decided to sit outside but I happened to be one of them so…).  The most surprising part of the day was that despite the 3 meter swells in very choppy waters, a boat that wouldn’t stop rocking, and maybe being surrounded by tourists who couldn’t keep their breakfast down – we found dolphins flocking in the water all around our boat.  Since the seas were too rough to get out to the hole in the rock, I’m extremely glad this wasn’t a “where’s the dolphins?” moment (sorry, inside joke where the accent just can’t be translated into written word).  By the end of the trip – the rains had come and it clear that it was time to go home.