After breakfast we trooped down to the beach to build a sandcastle. Down the beach we could see a group of people in the water all together. It was a little odd so we walked down, and there was the dolphin Moko. I went in to get a close look. I eventually made my way to a spot, and Moko swam right by me, close enough to touch (which I did). I later learned that was frowned upon. Oops, sorry Moko. Sox and Sprout took their turn in the water with Moko as well.
Although it was cool to see Moko, I was very disheartened by the other peoples actions. Lots of little kids trying to get close, and when they did started shrieking and thrashing about. People trying to catch a ride and grabbing on to Moko. I actually saw Moko flail with his/her tail at someone to grabbed the dorsal fin. It was very saddening. Something that could be so beautiful and amazing turned ugly by thoughtless people. It didn’t seem like people were respecting the animal.
Still, Mahia Beach was a wonderful, picturesque location, and it would have been great to spend more time there, but we had more sights to see.
One really funny thing about the place we stayed was in the water closet. The toilet paper holder was a combo unit. A toilet paper holder radio. Weird.