




The Hector's Dolphin - Tutumairekurau in Maori - is native to New Zealand and is one of the smallest and rarest dolphin species in the world. They grow to about 1.2m (4ft), which is significantly smaller than the Bottlenose Dolphin, which grows up to 3m in length, or roughly the length of a small family car. They were named in honour of Sir James Hector (1834-1907), who examined the first specimen. Born in Scotland, he was the first director of what is now the Museum of New Zealand and was New Zealand's most influential scientist of the time.
It's estimated that there are just 6,000-7,000 Hector's dolphins and around 1,000 of those live around the Banks Peninsula coastline. Our captain on the day suggested we "look out dorsal fins - small, dark and rounded like Mickey Mouse's ear," which, it has to be said, is easier said than done when you're trying to programme your camera while clinging to the boat's rails as it surges through the rolling ocean. But, as promised, right out by Beacon Rock, we spotted a trio of the little beauties, frolicking in the waves. There's something universally pleasing about dolphins. I've never quite worked out why we humans all go slightly potty over the sight of them, but I can certainly see why it happens. You just can't help smiling when they rise out of the water and swoop under the boat.



They're usually found in groups of 2-8 individuals and occasionally, several groups come together to form a large, temporary pod of about 50 dolphins. Black Cat's Lyttelton Cruise is limited to dolphin spotting but over in Akaroa they run Swimming with Dolphins cruise that puts you right in the water with them - the only place on the planet where you can swim with Hector's Dolphins. Only ten swimmers are allowed in the water at any one time and for every customer who views, or swims with dolphins, Black Cat sets aside a portion of the ticket price for research and the study of the dolphins. The also provide the Department of Conservation with daily data on the dolphins' movements and behaviour. You can find out more about that at www.adopt-a-dolphin.com

I always think it's a real shame that locals overlook great activities like this, thinking them the preserve of tourists. Unless you're a boatie, you're unlikely to ever get the chance to to experience the diversity that Lyttelton Harbour offers. Lyttelton Harbour is just one of 37 bays or inlets around Banks Peninsula and it has a rich birdlife - you get up close to spotted shag rookeries and their fascinating guano deposits (image above) - and a wealth of fascinating historical and geological points of interest from World War II gun emplacements to old quarantine stations (on Ripapa Island and at Camp Bay), historic whaling settlements - even an old prisoner of war camp on Ripapa Island, when it 1918, our most famous prisoner of war, Count Von Luckner was in residence. All up, it's two hours very well spent and there's nothing like that freeing feeling of being out on the water with the sun beating down and the wind in your hair.



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