Wednesday, June 18, 2008

June 18th - Catamaran Tour in Akaroa

Today, our boss decided to give us a day off so that he could take us out on a catamaran tour in Akaroa. Since Akaroa is only 1.30 hours away, it was perfect for a day trip.

Akaroa is a small French settlement where only 500 people live during the winter. In the summer however, the number goes up to about 5000. A lot of the street names were in French and the architecture well illustrated the origin of the first colonists.

Driving towards Akaroa offered us awesome scenery. In New Zealand, it seems like no matter when you are going, you will always have something great to look at on the way. I love it! We got in Akaroa, got lunch, and then hopped on the catamaran named "Black Cat". The tour lasted about 2:30 hours. Our guide was entertaining, informing us about the different caves, volcanic rocks, and local animals. During our tour, we saw a few dolphins, fur seals, cormorants, and 1 little blue penguin!!! The penguins here are the smallest on earth and are pretty hard to get an eye on. That's why we got all excited when one of them showed up next to our boat. As to the dolphins, they are among the rarest and smallest in the world (4 feet). This kind of dolphin can only be seen in New Zeland.
As we were heading back to the pier, the captain announced that we would be facing some strong winds for a few minutes and that we should hold on to our bags if we did not want them to fly away. 3 of us stayed on the front deck of the catamaran, thinking that it could not be THAT bad. hahahhahaha! Mistake! I have never experienced such strong winds before!!! I mean, Amber's cheeks were shaking as if she was skydiving! (see last picture) hahha It was insanely strong....I had to hold on tight to my backpack because it would have flown away lol. It was soooo funny that I couldnt stop laughing histerically. I had a blast even though it was quite freezing.

What a great day of hard work in the office! :P

Photos
#1 Scenery on our way to Akaroa
#2 French architecture in the village
#3 The catamaran, the "Black Cat"
#4 Me standing in front of the Cathedral Cave
#5 "Entry" to the Pacific Ocean. Beyond those rocks, the largest Ocean in the world awaits you! haha
#6 Dolphin!
#7 Dan Rogers Cliff, which is as high as the Eiffel Tower
#8 Amber in the wind! haha







1 comment:

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