Tag 126 - ecstatic

03.09.19

- Alex

We wake up relatively early again, have breakfast, and get ready to continue our journey. Today, the weather has become a bit worse for the first time in over a week. Before we came to New Zealand, we prepared for exactly this kind of weather: gray, wet, and windy. Now we are even more aware of how lucky we have been in the past few days.

We drive our van through proper "autumn weather" along a winding coastal road - the water a few meters to the left and the cliffs to the right. We pass by huge cormorant colonies, which breed directly in the first row of trees along the coast. With their white bellies and black backs, they remind us a lot of penguins as they simply stand still on the gray rocks. Suddenly, Jonna lets out a sharp scream, "DOLPHINS!!!!". I look out of the passenger window and see a bustling scene in the bay. I brake and stop less than 20 meters later. We jump out of the car, arm ourselves with a camera and rain jacket, and join the few other onlookers standing on the edge of the bay, staring at the lively activity.

For the entire hour that we stood there, we tried to estimate how many individuals were playing in the water in front of our eyes and agreed on about 50 - quite an impressive school. I don't know why playful dolphins put such a silly grin on your face, but these animals simply have something euphoric and radiate incredible joy of life. Over time, more and more cars stop and the coast fills up with 15 to 20 people, including us, watching the animals. The marine mammals jump meters high out of the water, swim sideways, on their backs, twist and turn, and for a moment even pass just a few meters away from us (we have now changed position and are no longer on the elevated cliffs, but directly on the sandy beach).

Besides my "wows" and "wows," Jonna regularly makes squeaking sounds of happiness when a dolphin shoots out of the water again. We enjoy this special moment and, after the animals leave the bay, continue our journey. We push our sluggish camper up a mountain pass and enjoy the last moments of the good view before strong rain finally sets in.

After a drive of about an hour, the rain clouds clear up a bit, and we take advantage of the short dry period to take a short walk on the beach. Perfectly timed, it starts to drizzle again just as we get back in the van. We quickly go shopping and decide to look for the next rest area already because the rain and especially the wind are getting so strong that I am starting to sweat more and more while driving.

And so we spend the rest of the day in the van at 3:00 p.m., make pancakes and coffee, and are happy that we have it warm and dry in here. The storm is already so strong that the van (we cleverly park right on the coast) starts swaying threateningly even when standing still. And although the path to the toilet is only a few meters away, we are so wet after our sprint there and back that you might think we jumped into the sea with our clothes on.

It's getting dark, we have dinner, make ourselves comfortable in bed, and are gently rocked to sleep by the wind.

- Alex