Flipper

Today was a good day. This morning, I signed up for a "Swim with the Dolphins" excursion off the east coast of New Zealand. The good news was that I saw dolphins, lots of dolphins. The other piece of good news is that I didn't swim with the dolphins. That may seem counter-intuitive...until I tell you that we were given TWO wetsuits (plus hood, booties, and gloves) to wear because the water was so cold. Remember that it is the dead of winter here. We couldn't get the dolphins to circle behind the boat, which is needed in order to swim with them. Instead, a pod of about 60 dusky dolphins sped alongside our boat for a few hours, jumping and playing, and I avoided frostbite. For a few more pictures of the dolphins, click on the album below (as usual, the pictures are best viewed as a slideshow):

Dolphins