New Zealand - Day 8

November 10, 2010

Today was another one of our big, planned excursions. We had to be on the road by 5:30 am to get to Kaikoura in time for our seal encounter. This small, coastal town north of Christchurch is a major tourist attraction because the mountains drop down into the ocean here and attract a lot of marine life including seals, dolphins, and whales.

I love the way the mist was hanging around

beneath the mountains when we arrived in

Kaikoura early that morning!

Today all four of us planned to go snorkeling with seals, and then tomorrow Derick and Lisa are getting up early to swim with dolphins. I am definitely more interested in dolphins, but the tour was more expensive, lasted longer which would be a problem with my limited stamina, and I didn't want to get up at 4:30 am two days in a row. So I figured we would compromise with the seals. It's a good thing we didn't sign up and pay for both because my appetite for adventure far exceeded my physical strength today.

We checked in with the tour guides for Seal Swim Kaikoura at 9:15 am and got the low-down on the likelihood of seeing seals today incase we wanted to back out, free of charge. But they've been in business for over 20 years and have a very high success rate so we felt pretty confident about going ahead with the tour. There were four other people going out with us, so after we all assembled they started handing out wet suits, gloves, booties, goggles and flippers. One of our biggest concerns about doing this seal encounter was having to jump into the freezing ocean water. But the gear they gave us was very thick and waterproof. Since I'm so tiny they gave me an extra body suit to wear under my wet suit to serve as an extra layer of insulation. I was very thankful for this because it kept me warm. BUT it also meant that I was wrapped in 2-3 layers of thick rubber which made it extremely difficult for me to bend my body. We also figured out later on that my under-suit was way too tight and was constricting my leg muscles and making it difficult to breathe.

It was at this point that I started having second thoughts about going on this tour. Everyone else seemed to be moving around with ease while I was struggling significantly just to move. But, I felt like I'd already kind of passed the point of no return, and I hate to be left out - especially on things that will provide great photo opportunities. So I kept my mouth shut and push through it.

This boat was about to make a very lasting impression on me.

With a lot of help they got me all suited up and onto the bus. Then we set out for the peninsula where we got on a large yellow motor boat. Then our tour guides steered us out into the Pacific Ocean and around the point to a large outcropping of rocks where the fur seals like to swim and sunbathe. This was an interesting experience in and of itself. I've never been on a boat out on the ocean before so the waves were a bit of a shock. I squeaked every time we crashed into a wave. Thankfully I didn't get motion sick right away, though my abs were already getting tired from the effort of sitting up in my wet suit. James was wonderful and propped me up with his arm.

When we arrived at the swimming site, we defogged our goggles, geared up and slipped into the water. It was a bit of a shock at first because some water got into my suit and it was cold! But that's kind of the idea - your body heats up the water and it insulates you. We also didn't need life jackets because our suits were naturally buoyant, so we sort of looked like seals covered from head to toe in dark grey rubber and long fins. Thankfully, Lisa had a waterproof bag for her small camera so we got some good pictures while I was still able to smile.

I was very awkward in the water at first and struggled to find a comfortable way to get into it. I was a pretty good swimmer back in the day, but my one problem has always been that I hate putting my face in the water without plugging my nose. The scuba masks were designed to prevent any water from getting in there, but I had a hard time trusting them and plunging in. Our guide immediately recognized that I was floundering and took me aside to teach me what to do. This was great because it freed James up to go enjoy himself instead of watching over me. He also took the disposable underwater camera we bought with him to get some pictures since I was having issues.

The others heading out to follow the seals.

The guide got me to flip over onto my front, start looking around under the water with my goggles, and to use my flippers to propel myself through the water. I was amazed by how much I could see. The water was fairly clear so I could see large under water plants right in front of me, plus the rocks in the distance. And with the help of the guide pointing the way, I got to see the seals swimming too! They would be on top of the water, then dive under and swim in circles around us. At one point a seal came up right underneath me and looked up at me with its big eyes. They are both cute and powerful. I knew they were mostly friendly and curious but I was still a little intimidated, especially with my limited swimming ability... so I kept my distance.

They liked to hang out upside down. So funny!

I pretty much clung to the guide the whole time - never straying more than a few feet from his blue floatation device. This was probably annoying for him, but he was very nice about it. I was very sore and tired from kicking my legs and trying to arch my back to see above the water and locate the seals. I pretty much gave up on trying to keep up with my companions. There was no way for me to keep up with them as they paddled all around and swam circles with the seals. So I contented myself with floating and looking at the plants under the water.

But about 30-45 minutes in to our hour and a half long swim, I hit a wall and got really worn out and motion sick. This was right around when the tour guide was trying to shake me off and make me go join the others. But all I could do was keep desperately grabbing his floatie. James came back to check on me and I decided to back float for a little bit in order to rest. However, all that did was make me more motion-sick and fill my snorkel with salt water. So when I tried to flip back over and keep swimming I swallowed some water and got pretty nauseous. At this point I didn't think I could continue so I told them I needed to get back into the boat. The tour guide motioned for James to keep swimming and took me back to the boat. He asked his partner who was watching over the boat to help make sure "this lass" was alright. They took off my fins, mask and hood, and unzipped my outer coat to release some of the pressure and help me breathe. They made sure I took looks of deep breaths so I wouldn't get dizzy and pass out. They took good care of me - asking if there was anything they needed to know about me medically, etc. But I still had to sit there on the rocking boat in the cold wind for another 30 minutes until the others were finished swimming. Needless to say, I was in pretty bad shape. Occasionally the guide would point out a seal close to my side of the boat, but all that did was make me worry that my wildlife encounter would end with me puking on a seal. In some ways I kind of wish I had. At least that would make for a better story... ;^)

Finally, the others returned to the boat. James could see that I wasn't doing well at all and tried to find ways to help. All he could really do was hold onto me and keep me steady as we set out over the waves again. Unfortunately, we didn't head back right away. The guides kept stopping the boat in scenic places so people could get pictures with the seals. I was so angry and wanted to yell at them to make for the shore before I passed out. But I knew others paid a lot of money for this experience and I didn't want to spoil their fun with my pathetic issues.

Thankfully, the Lord answered my repeated, desperate prayers for strength and we made it back vomit-free. As soon as we got off the boat, I started feeling better. Then it was such a relief when Lisa helped me peel off my wet suit. There were deep red grooves running all along my legs and arms so I think that under suit must have been a big part of the problem. But after a hot shower and bundling up in my own clothes I felt much better.

That last hour was pretty horrific but I am grateful for the experience. It was really fun being able to just float there in the middle of the ocean and look down through the water at a seal swimming by. Definitely one for the record books, though I do not plan on doing anything like that again for a very long time. Plus, we got some pictures that proved that I was there and participated, and in my book that's all that matters.

After we were finished, we checked into the Panorama Motel. We had a family unit: 2 bedrooms, one bath with a living room and kitchen. The feel was really cool - almost like a log cabin with a wonderful view of the waterfront and the mountains beyond. Derick and Lisa have been very gracious, often taking the less desirable beds so I can have the support I need for my back. So James and I decided that this time we would take the room with two twin beds so that they could have the master bedroom.

We were all really tired but still kind of keyed up from our adventure, so we made some lunch for ourselves and looked at Lisa's pictures. Then we all took a long nap and showered. It felt so good to be clean! After that we drove out to the peninsula and walked around on the rocks taking pictures. It wasn't that exciting but it did feel good to be out in the warm sunshine after being so cold that morning.

The giant piece of seaweed Lisa found!

Finding a place to eat for dinner that night took a long time because we were all craving something different. Lisa really wanted pasta with cream sauce but none of the restaurants in that tiny town had any so she finally decided to just buy some at a grocery store to make later. The rest of us decided to eat at this interesting looking place on the main road with a partially open-air dining room, tiki torches lighting the way up to the door, and a big silver fish on the roof. It had the standard fare - seafood, steak, salads, etc. I decided to change it up a little bit with a milkshake and pizza, but the milkshake was really more like shaken chocolate milk. I was so disappointed!

After dinner we took a few more photos of the view from the hotel at twilight while Lisa made her pasta. Then we all fell fast asleep after a hard day's play.