Time seems to be going by quickly for us here in Auckland as it is already Tuesday and we’ll leave for Christchurch Thursday. Today we are doing our last scheduled activity which is a Whale and Dolphin Watching Half Day Eco-Cruise. It’s supposed to (and did) rain today and the activity provider gave everyone that purchased tickets an option to reschedule if they wanted (due to weather) even though the activity is still going along as scheduled.

My mom and I had no issues with the rain seeing as though we’d be on a boat and could sit on the inside. Also thankfully it wasn’t scheduled to start raining until the tour would be ending so we informed them we still planned to attend. Because this is the only activity for today with it being nearly 5 hours we packed our own drinks and snacks to go (even though the boat has an onboard cafe).

As usual we caught the bus(es) into the city and spotted a breakfast place down ny the harbor. I must say Best Ugly Bagels had a very tasty bacon, egg and cheese bagel. Walking, on our way to the meeting point near the Maritime Museum I saw a souvenir shop and had to pop in. I’m so glad I did and ended up getting more souvenirs that for the most part will be gifted at Christmas.

We found our area and a group of people waiting to be checked in. The weather was gorgeous now even with mostly cloudy skies and wind. There were a total of 53 people who chose to also do the cruise today and once the time came we all boarded. We situated ourselves at the top and the layout of the boat was different than what I was expecting (I thought it’d be similar to the one we went on in Norway). The inside was more open and together versus tables and seating on opposite sides.

Heading out of the harbor restriction zones today we’d be cruising on the Hauraki Gulf and would pass a few other islamds in hopes of seeing some dolphins and whales. Once my mom and I got settled we ate our breakfast sandwich. We passed by Rangitoto and Waiheke Islands and Gannet Rock amongst others. Here are some intetesting facts:
•Ships sound off a horn when leaving the harbor to let other vessels know that it’s coming (the horn is also used in an emergency situation)
•Rangitoto Island has the youngest land mass in the country which is 600 yrs old
•Rangitoto has the largest Christmas tree population
•Rangitoto island is pest free
•New Zealand only has 2 species of native bats (a long tailed bat (small, dark brown with a long tail) and a short tailed bat (pale grey-brown with long pointy ears and a small tail))
•The world’s smallest species of penguins which are blue are called Kororā and they are located in the Hauraki Gulf
•The water in the area of the Hauraki Gulf in which we traveled averages about 40 meters deep and gets no deeper than 60 meters
•Gannet sea birds can catch up to 5 fish in a single dive
•The Kaupapa or Mission statement is for the Auckland Whale and Dolphin Safari is “The preservation of species and environment through the education, research and awareness
•Some of the data that they collect are species, behaviours, composition, environmental factors, GPS position and amount of time spent with the animals
•Megafauna are dolphins, whales, seals and etc
•There were 161 Bryde whales that were accounted for in 2024 in the Hauraki gulf
•Bryde whales spend 90% of their time at the top of the water

During our time out on the gulf we spotted some plankton in the water which at a close view you can see the distinction between some of them. The crew onboard also measured how clean/clear the water is and it seems to be doing well. As we kept going we were looking to spot gannet birds 1st as a group of them congregated together means they’ve found food and that signals dolphins to come by.

We got a chance to see a lot of dolphins today and a lot of them look younger. They swam so close and most of them were swinning near us and fast by us. (I didn’t get the best photos of them due to several reasons so I’ll share the crews’ photos). Gannet birds were diving in grabbing food near the dolphins. It was a great experience and towards the end of that sighting was when it began to rain.

The crew were very much into the fact that we needed to get going to try to see some whales and they didn’t want us to disturb the dolphins natural habitat by staying too long. Soon after that we pased Gannet rock and there were a lot of gannets occupying it. With the rain picking up, I could definitely see more people falling asleep as they sat cosly inside (myself included).

All in all we saw some organisms, birds and dolphins but no whales. My mom and I agreed though, that we both still enjoyed it. Eventually we made ourselves back around and into the harbor and thankfully now the rain was nothing but a lite shower. We made our way back to the previous souvenir store (I needed to get more) and then we ended up across the street at what looked to be a mall.

In this mall was a food court with a variety of options so we ended up getting lunch from vendors within that space. The last stop we wanted to make before heading back to the hotel was a convenience store to stock up on more drinks and maybe snacks. Luckily right across the street of where we currently were was a market (we bought a couple of things at the market including a meat pie). After the market we made our way back to tge hotel via bus.

It was good to get in the earliest we have yet (5pm) since being here in Auckland. We settled in and ate some lunch and took a short nap. In for the day, well clean up a bit and just rest. We have no activities planned for tomorrow as it’s our free day. If we happen to get into anything tomorrow there will be a post but if not there won’t be for that day. Continue to follow along wirh us.