Akaroa: Hector’s Dolphins & Historical Excursions
Today was spent in the vicinity of the beautiful little seaside town of Akaroa. The town is set on a harbour created by an ancient volcano, giving the place a dramatic backdrop. Akaroa has the distinction of being New Zealand’s only French colonial settlement. Its harbour has the honour of being home to Hector’s Dolphin. Hector’s are the World’s smallest dolphins and one of the rarest dolphin species. Our day was spent in search of dolphins who might want to swim with us, in addition to which we soaked up the historic sites of picturesque Akaroa, and took in the general ambience of the town’s cafes, bars and shops.
A number of groups set out with the local Black Cat dolphin watching boats. While some of us were content to simply go along as watchers, the more adventurous donned wetsuits to take the plunge and join the little guys in the water. The dolphin watching companies follow strict conservation guidelines; dolphins must come to the boats and indicate a willingness to play. The boats are not permitted to chase after or harass the dolphins. Only when the dolphins clearly seek out interaction with humans are swimmers put in the water with them. Hector’s dolphins are a critically endangered species, with only about 7,000 individuals in the wild. Akaroa harbour is one of the few areas where they can be seen in numbers. In the past they have been killed in set nets, a form of fishing that is now banned in the marine mammal sactuary that encompasses the harbour area. Given the precariousness of their situation, it is crucial that any ‘swimming with dolphins’ activity is kept free of any behaviour that might annoy or harass them.
Setting out across the harbour we encountered little blue penguins, spotted shags and a number of other birds in our search for dolphins. Eventually we detected the unmistakeable ‘Mickey Mouse’s Ear’ dorsal fin of the Hector’s. A number of pods were sighted, but initially all were too wrapped up in feeding and chasing each other about to take any notice of us. After a while a number of dolphin groups spent time bow riding and racing around the boat. Our group of swimmers were placed in the water and before long whoops of excitement were heard as dolphins began to scoot around among the group of people in the water. Watchers were as entertained by the reactions of their friends in the water as they were by the dolphins themselves. An unforgettable day was had by those who got to swim with Hector’s dolphins and by those who watched the underwater antics going on.
Back on shore those with a historical bent were treated to a tour of one of the historical precincts of Akaroa by local guide Suky Thompson. Suky, dressed in period costume, explained the Maori mythology of the creation of the area, the story of Akaroa’s Maori tribes and their conflicts with each other and with the invading Ngati Toa tribes from the North. The gruesome events that occurred over the 1820s and led directly to the purchase of land by French whaler Fracois Langlois. Langlois’ aim was to set up a French settlement in the South Island, that would be the base for French colonisation of New Zealand. Unfortunately for the settlers who came over from France in 1840, they arrived only to find they had been pipped at the post. The British had, just a few months beforehand, established sovereignty over New Zealand through a treaty signed with Maori chiefs at Waitangi. Despite this setback most of the French settlers stayed on establishing the little town that to this day acts as just a touch of France in this corner of the Pacific.
Suky showed us some of Akaroa’s lovely little cottages and fine larger buildings. Tales were told of the past and present from a distinctly local standpoint. In addition to stories of the nineteenth century, Suky spoke of the struggle local people had had to save the town’s historic buildings from the ravages of property developers. Some delightful local gardens were perused and in one case the owners of a nineteenth century cottage invited us inside to look around. Suky gave the history a distinctly huan touch by weaving the tale of one family of French immigrants through the journey we took among Akaroa’s historical treasures.
A day of satisfaction for the nature lover, the historical buff, and all those who enjoy good living in a glorious setting.
