Day Eighteen January 29, 2008 Tuesday

Today Erin and I woke up at about 7:30 to get ready to go to the Catlins. The boys from our group picked us up at eight after we had some cereal, and Vicki was nice enough to make us our lunches. We piled in the van, picking a few others up on the way, and making it to the school just a tad later than 8:30 when we were supposed to be there. Everyone loaded into vans and we were off. It felt like old times again in the vans, and I have to say that I wasn’t quite ready for those times to start again! I read my book most of the way there. We finally arrived and decided to go to the petrified forest first. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not what I saw! It was a whole beach of big flat rocks that went out right into the ocean. When we got close it was easy to tell that the rocks were once in the shape of wood, but it was really cool. I got some amazing pictures with the ocean spray and the beautiful scenery. After the petrified forest we got back in the vans and drove about 35 seconds to the beach that was the Catlins. Now what I am going to talk about next will be absolutely impossible to believe, but I promise that every word is true, so be warned. I quickly ate a sandwich when we pulled up to the beach and changed my basketball shorts for my swimming shorts. When I got out I ran down to the beach with everyone else and threw my shoes off on the way. The water was absolutely freezing, so I decided that the best method was to run in and dive head first into the first wave that came my way. It was a little breathtaking, but I recovered and acclimated fairly quickly. Once I was in the water I played in the waves a bit, but not too long after we got there someone said the magic word: dolphins. I saw a few of the dolphins a ways out, and knowing that I am a fairly good swimmer I decided to swim out to about where they were (it really wasn’t too far, maybe 50 yards). Anyway, so I get out there pretty far and completely by myself and I think that for some reason the dolphins like me, because they came up next to me pretty immediately. We aren’t allowed to touch the dolphins because they have very delicate skin, but I can tell you this much, one dolphin came so close to me that I was able to look in it’s eyeball! It was about this time that I decided to analyze my situation: 50 yards out, all by myself, 4 to 7 five-foot mammals swimming all around me, yep time to go back! It was really cool, and I didn’t actually get scared, but it was a little unsettling how the dolphins move, its like they are in one place one moment and a completely different place the next! Once I got back in I told everyone what happened and of course they were all jealous, so some of them got a little bolder and started going out farther. In the mean time I grabbed a boogy board and went farther down the beach with about four other people to see if I could see the dolphins surf the waves and jump out the backs of them. On my way out to meet the others the dolphins again decided to come visit me up close and personal! This time there were about four of them and they were right next to me! Finally I got out to the others and watched the dolphins swimming the waves for a few minutes. Eventually we decided to go in because we were getting cold. Most of the others were faster to get into shore than I was because I was dragging the board with me. Apparently there was one point where they all looked back at me when I was on the tip top of a 15 foot wave and there were dolphins on every side of me and even under me! They were so close to me that my friends were worried they were going to hit me! I don’t know what it was, but for some reason the dolphins totally loved me! We finally got into shore and were telling anyone who would listen how majestic the dolphins were when they rode the waves together, like synchronized swimmers! At this point I had been in the water for about an hour and was really starting to feel the chill. I decided to lay out on the beach for a while. After about 40 minutes of laying on the beach we were all ready to go home. I went up to the vans to climb in, but the boys were taking forever, so I started reading some of the signs by the bay entrance. Most of the signs were about the dolphins. The kind of dolphins that visit the bay are called Hector’s dolphins. I guess they are a very endangered species and there are only about 3,000 left in the entire world! They are a very pretty dolphin, they grow only to about five feet, but they have many different shades of grey that make up their body, not just one like most bottle nose dolphins. It was seriously one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my entire life! We finally all climbed back into the vans and went to a cave, but unfortunately we had to pay to get in and we were running short on time, so we decided to skip it. We drove home to Invercargill and went to the bike shop to get our bikes. I have to say, I was expecting some fairly worn second-hand bikes. We were all shocked when we pulled up and saw 40 brand spanking new shiny red mountain bikes waiting for us! We all figured out what sizes we needed and picked out helmets and locks. Finally Erin and I got all checked out and started riding our new bikes home. I’m fairly positive it was the fact that we spent all day at the ocean and I had a million pound pack on my back, but the fact that we live so faraway was painfully clear this afternoon! We finally made it home at about half past six and I immediately went for the shower. When I was done we ate supper, an amazingly delicious Sheppard’s pie, and decided to all watch a movie together. We watched the Holiday because my family had never seen it before. Of course they all loved it. They laughed at the way that I laugh so openly during movies and things when I think they are comical. It has been brought to my attention before, but I figure it is always better to laugh in life than to keep silent! I hope the bike ride tomorrow is easier!