Spinning away

We got up very early, partly because we thought kids were either having a party or were being murdered in the woods (it was only a multitude of wild cockerels sounding the arrival of dawn), and also because we had a boat to catch. We drove down to Port Allen where we met Jason and TJ, the crew of the zodiac. They asked if any of us were sissies. I was tempted to stick my hand up. They asked if we could all swim, and two of us (including me) said we couldn't. They soothed our fears by saying 'yeah, but you float, right?' Hmm. Going down the steps to the boat I couldn't see where to sit - 'on the side' I was told. Now, I don't like boats and I don't like water. Oh yikes! We took off, I clung, we saw a humpback whale and calf rise above the waterline - magical. I relaxed (a little), enough to take out my camera...

After half an hour of zooming west along the south coast we were amongst hundreds of spinner dolphins. They would leap out of the water, spin several times and fall back into the ocean. This is the only one I captured on camera and he almost went out of shot!

We tried to sail to the Na Pali coast, but the waves were just too massive. When the captain starts making 'uh-oh' type noises, then you know the sailing conditions are bad. We headed back for a snorkel in the calmer south coast.

Before heading back to our campsite in the mountains, we had coconut shaved ice at Waimea. Then back for more flavoured shaved ice. Yum.