Luckily the rain had stopped this morning and the sun was trying to shine as we boarded the Carino catamaran all set for our day out on the water. It's a lovely boat and can take up to 40 people but, luckily for us, there were only 14 people today, even after we had picked up a few more people from the small town of Russell so plenty of room to spread out.

The aim of the day was to look for dolphins, and maybe even swim with them if it was safe (for them and us) and if the dolphins were willing. We weren't too sure about the swimming part as the water looked pretty chilly, or refreshing as Vanessa 'our captain' called it. No doubt we would have gone in if the dolphins had wanted to play, but luckily we weren't called upon to do so.

We headed out to sea past some beautiful islands and saw the place where captain Cook landed, also some excusive and luxurious looking villas in secluded inlets. The sun came out and we were really enjoying being out in the boat and looking forward to a relaxing day. Suddenly Vanessa came to tell us some exciting news, there was a pod of killer whales, or Orcas as they are known, in the bay!

All at once everyone was scrambling to the front of the boat, cameras at the ready, anxious for a glimpse. Ahead we could see a small boat in which there was a lady called Ingrid Visser who spends her life researching Orcas. Almost immediately we could see fins in the water and there followed the most amazing hour or more in which there were Orcas all around us. Near, far, behind, in front, wherever we looked we could see these magnificent creatures. Everyone was dashing from side to side trying to see as much as possible and, of course, get those precious photos. There was a group of three orcas which came closest to us, two parents and a baby, and still others in the distance. It was such an amazing and unforgettable experience! Ok, so they are not 'real' whales as such and in fact are a type of dolphin but they were enough like whales for us and certainly made up for not seeing whales in Kaikoura!

The Orcas continued to play, and we we learned how lucky we were to see them. Apparently they only come into the bay once every couple of months and last time they didn't come nearly so close so really our lucky day!! The only down side was that this means we wouldn't see dolphins as Orcas feed on dolphins so they would be making themselves scarce. In fact we did see a pod of dolphins in the distance moving at great speed in the opposite direction.

Regretfully it was time to move on and we had to leave the Orcas behind but we will never forget that wonderful sight. We continued on to the beach at Motorua island and were taken onto the shore in a small dinghy. We took a walk up to a view point on the top of the hill and then relaxed on the beach until it was time to go back to the boat for lunch. Within minutes of being back on board the heavens opened! How lucky we were not to be out in that!! We had a lovely barbecue lunch and a couple of glasses of wine before setting off to sail back to Paihia. On the way back we saw the same pod of orcas still playing in the bay and so were able to get a final glimpse before we were out of sight.

We had planned to stop off at Russell on the way back but the wind was getting stronger and the captain decided that it was unsafe to dock there and went straight back to Paihia. We went into our favourite watering hole, 35 degrees south, for a post boat glass of wine and then stayed for dinner. Amanda finally got to taste green lipped mussels. They were delicious, and they really are very, very green!

What a wonderful day, and though the rain eventually came down again it couldn't spoil it. In fact we saw a rainbow so that was a perfect end to a perfect day!