Dusky Dolphin Encounter

Dusky Dolphin up close
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As soon as we arrived in Kaikoura, George and Adam left Natalie and me to brave a swim in the somewhat chilly looking South Pacific Ocean with the resident pods of Dusky Dolphins. We checked into the “Dolphin Encounter” centre and were taken to an equipment room to kit up for our adventure. The sea off the east coast of New Zealand is generally very cold so we were given 7mm thick wetsuits, which were dungaree style with a jacket for extra warmth. We also had wet suit booties, gloves and a hood, so there was hardly anything left uncovered! To enable us to make the most of our time we were also equipped with masks, snorkel and fins (flippers) so we could keep up with the dolphins when we saw them.

An Albatross
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After we squeezed in to rather fetching wetsuits we walked (somewhat awkwardly) to a briefing room to find out what the plan for the trip was. The main emphasis of the video was to tell us that the dolphins were very much wild animals, and we were by no means guaranteed to have interaction with them; to increase our chances of getting involved with the dolphins we were instructed to maintain eye contact, make strange noises and try and dive down and swim around with them. The making of strange noises technique not only helps attract the dolphins, but amuses the people watching from the boat, so it was win win.

Posted by Paul

Dusky Dolphin entertaining us
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There was a short coach ride to our boats and the anticipation was beginning to build. Once on board we didn’t have to wait long before the tell tale dorsal fins started to appear and we saw our first dusky dolphins. Putting on the remainder of our gear we shuffled to the back of the boat, where there were at least 30 dolphins following behind. When the captain stopped the boat the horn sounded, and in we went. The initial thought was that it was mighty cold, but that didn’t last long as we sped off to see the dolphins. The experience was unbelievable within seconds there were dozens of them swimming less than a metre away from us, when one came close you could see they wanted to play, and you chased after them, swimming in circles, but it was obviously hard to keep up. When you came up to catch your breath a bit you could look around and see a jumble of snorkels mixed with dorsal fins, and the dolphins often breaking the water. About 20 of us were on the boat, and there were more than enough duskys to go around, they would often be intrigued with you for a minute or so then move on, but very shortly more would appear and the games would begin again. As they began to disperse the horn sounded again and we got back on the boat to find them again. The second swim was equally as rewarding with perhaps even more time chasing the fun loving animals around, they really seemed to be enjoying swimming rings around us!

Back on the boat again and we were greeted by a warm shower (hose down the wet suit) along with hot chocolate and biscuits. The adventure however was not quite over as we headed further out to sea to see more from the dolphins and other wildlife. Whilst sipping on hot chocolate we were treated to an acrobatic display from the dolphins, jumping high out of the water performing back flips and other spectacular moves, our guide informed us there is no real known reason for there acrobatic behaviour, perhaps it was just to put a show on for us; it was spectacular. Our next sighting was of both Royal and Wandering Albatross the latter has the largest wing span of any living bird. In essence they appear to be massive sea gulls, a mighty impressive bird. The ones we saw weren’t as big as they come, but were not far off. There huge size made for an amusing take off, flapping there wings whilst running on the water to get enough momentum. We were lucky enough to meet the resident bird; Snowy who is around 60 years old.

The wildlife spotting continued as a New Zealand fur seal sauntered past, appearing to give a little wave to the boat! Whilst watching the seal, everyone, including the guide, was surprised to see a shark! Rather small in size, only a metre or so in length was a bright blue, unsurprisingly named, Blue Shark. Still with the unique appearance and grace through the water the shark was unmistakable, our guide was impressed with the sighting, as she had only seen four in two years of working out of Kaikoura, and we were privileged. As we were chaperoned back to the jetty by the dolphins our fantastic experience was coming to an end. A truly memorable experience.