Kaikoura

What an amazing day!  We have been so lucky to have all of the girls recovery so quickly from the stomach bug!  The girls spent the morning doing a service learning project for the Marine Center.  They took an opportunity to rejuvenate a bath house on the coast.  It went from drab to fab- HGTV would be proud! The local paper, Kaikoura Star,  even came out to cover the story.  It should be out next Wednesday.  We'll be sure to post the link!

The girls did an amazing job and Megan from the Aquarium was so impressed.  She’s posted photos on the Kaikoura Marine Centre and Aquarium’s Facebook page.  Harpeth Hall New Zealand Winterim has gone viral….but in a good way this time!!!!  The girls were actually recognized at the Dolphin Encounter as the ones who worked so hard on the bath house! 

The Dolphin Encounter was one of a kind!  I’ve never seen smiles like I did today!  Everyone suited up in a wet suit before we left for the boat.  You're never guaranteed to actually see the dolphins because they're wild, but they were able to do four swims!  Each swim was filled with wild Dusky dolphins- the only species in the Southern Hemisphere known to do air flips untrained.  The dolphins put on quite the show for the girls.  Watching the girls get back onto the boat with the biggest grins was amazing. 

The girls were exhausted after each swim!

A few girls opted for the hiking excursion instead of the swim and did an incredible scenic hike around Kaikoura, and spent some time exploring the city with one of our guides, Marina.

Tomorrow we'll be moving onto the east side of the South Island and spending time in the lush rainforest region of Aeotearoa (that's the Maori word for New Zealand!)