Swimming without dolphins

The autumn weather remains lovely, with temperatures around 21 degrees and clear blue skies. Perfect weather for a trip to see dolphins and hopefully to swim with them. As we boarded the sailing boat this morning, the captain agreed that the conditions were perfect and off we sailed. Out on the Pacific Ocean the view of the Mount and Tauranga, with the backdrop of the Kaimai Hills, was stunning. The sea was calm, visibility excellent and we were able to see the smoke from White Island Volcano.
Excitement mounted as we approached hundreds of sea birds on the water- a sure sign of fish and therefore dolphins. Guess what? Not a dolphin in sight!! The day continued in the same way and the elusive dolphins were nowhere to be seen despite covering miles of ocean in the Bay of Plenty (or not so plenty where dolphins are concerned!) One theory is that when Orca whales are around the dolphins hide but sadly we didn't spot an Orca either. Oh well. We had a lovely day and despite the absent dolphins we can go on another trip whenever we like to make up for it and we won't have to pay.
As we sailed back into Tauranga Harbour, 3 paragliders were flying around the peak of the Mount. We saw a couple of them when we were at the top of the Mount recently and were very impressed by their skill as they swooped around finding the thermals. They are quite daring too as they often come very close to the rocks during their turns.

Our belongings arrived last week and Tom's car is ready for collection tomorrow. The evenings are dark at about 19.00 as our clocks went back last week- the sunrises are as beautiful and colourful as ever. We are hoping to meet our architect in the next week or so to see his initial design plans for our house. Tom's business plans are developing well and his hard work is coming to fruition.

More to follow soon.................................................