A little different Lyttelton

Pronounced the same as our hometown, the city of Lyttelton 30 minutes outside of Christchurch is just a *little* bit different than home! Lyttelton was formed from a massive volcanic island and is now an inlet of the Banks Peninsula.

We took a day-cruise in search of wildlife departing from the city's harbour. We explored the volcanic outcrops, sheer cliffs, and islands in the sea while spotting a few pods of Hector's dolphins.

The Hector's (or New Zealand) dolphin is the smallest and rarest breed of dolphin. There are only 7,000 of them left which makes them endangered. They almost look like miniature orca whales and generally only grow to 4 feet in length. We got to see them playing, doing husband-wife type things, and swimming in front of the boat.

We also got lucky enough to spot one of the largest flight birds-- the Wandering Albatross. These white-winged Albatross frequent the Kaikoura coast and have wingspans of 10+ feet. Pretty impressive to see!

In between spotting all sorts of birds, we came across the very small and extremely rare, white-flippered blue penguins. They almost looked like little ducks, but these two blue-green penguins with white bellies are unfortunately prey to the ferrets and cats of the area (and becoming extinct as a result), but they were a joy to watch flippering across the water.

After our cruise, we were transported to the nearby Christchurch Gondola for 360 degree views of Christchurch, the southern Alps, and the Lyttelton harbour.