A dozen unformed thoughts

A week in NZ now, 4 days on the road in my lurid "campa" van, and I'm still getting to grips with travelling here. Driving hundreds of km a day affords you time to think, but the stunning scenery and vertiginous drops allow your mind to wander only so long, before your vehicle itself begins to wander away from the (not very) straight and (perilously) narrow.

NZ is beautiful, friendly, like Scotland but cleaner and with higher mountains. And terribly dull. At least, so far. Travellers here are young; and singles generally opt for the Kiwi Experience, a hop on / off bus tour with compulsory mirth on the journey and vomiting at the end of each night. (Or so my prejudice has me believe). Perhaps the extreme sports that are the most conspicuous aspect of this country's culture are a response to the genteelness of the people. Whatever the reason, I would say people here are holidaying, not travelling. For me, it's paling in comparison to the vibrancy of Vietnam, or the laughter in Laos.

Notwithstanding this ennui, probably borne of too little human company, I managed to make friends with some Dusky Dolphins this morning. Kaikoura, north of Christchurch on the Pacific coast, has an unsually deep trench just offshore which brings seals, dolphin and whales reliably within day trip distance of the town. Having seen sea lions first hand in the Galapagos (what? hasn't everyone?) and whales in Scotland, I opted for a Dolphin encounter at dawn. My wetsuit was so thick I could hardly lift it, but at least this provided some mental preparation for the minute or so of hyperventilation on entering the chilly waters. True enough, though, the cold was swiftly forgotten as I swam with 250 dolphin who emerged from the gloom heading towards land after a night's feeding. Singing to attract them, diving to see them, and kicking hard to keep up with them (all at the same time) was a challenge, but getting up close to the beautiful animals was fantastic. There wasn't exactly Flipper-like levels of interaction - they were clearly more interested in each other - but they oozed aquine cool as they cut through the waves. I did think about asking my guide what they tasted like, but then I remembered I'd left Vietnam