The Dolphin Swim

So if you read my previous post first, then you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Let me tell you. This past Friday, I had the amazing opportunity to swim with dolphins. It was one of the best experiences I've had in my entire life. So here's the story.

Wednesday I headed from Christchurch towards Kaikoura for the single purpose of doing the dolphin swim. I arrived Wednesday evening and was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. So I hung out for a day, and did all of that good stuff in Kaikoura. The next day I arrived and was told because it was windy, there were some very big swells. But they were still going out, and hoped the conditions would calm down a bit. So I donned my wetsuit, snorkling gear, flippers, all of that good stuff.

We headed out into the Pacific Ocean. After seeing a bunch of Albatross, we started to head over to the area where they had spotted the dolphins earlier that day. You see, these are completely wild dolphins, so they're never sure where they are going to be. It's not even a guarantee that they can always find them. But on our way over to the cove, all of a sudden we saw a flash, and there were about 5 dolphins surfing alongside the boat. They use the boat's slipstream to go faster, which is why dolphins are always alongside boats.

The dolphins swam by our boat for a while, but then it was announced that we couldn't go swimming because the water was far too choppy and dangerous. The skipper turned the boat around and headed back to the marina. Since we hadn't gone out very far, they didn't even charge us an operational cost. When we got back to encounter headquarters, I asked if instead of getting a full refund I could simply book for the next day, since I would still be around. They had one seat left on the 6AM tour. Oof! 6AM was early, but I decided I could do it.

So I was up at 5:30AM the next morning, pumped and ready to go (though a bit cold). I got to the HQ and went through the same process, got to watch the exciting training video again. Then we headed out.


When we got on the water it was absolutely beautiful. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the sky was glowing orange and blue. I obviously grabbed my camera and snapped some off. We headed straight over to the spot where the dolphin sometimes congregate, and all of a sudden we started seeing some fins popping out of the water, just as the sun was rising. What a way to start the day. If you can think of a way you'd rather spend your morning than watching dolphins jumping out of the water in front of a sunrise, I'd love to hear it.



At that point there were probably 10-20 dolphins around us. We kept going a little farther into a bigger group, and the skipper told us to get our gear on. He let us into the water, and instantly the dolphins were flying past and around us. Literally within a foot of my body, just swimming playfully past. And they kept coming. They are incredible animals, so slick in the water, and so curious as well. I was in the water for about 10 minutes that first time. Our skipper sounded the horn and we all got back on board. We went a couple more times, both times being about 5 minutes. Those second and third swims were cool, but nothing like the first one.

But then the fourth swim came. We headed right into the area where a lot of dolphins were playing, jumping, flipping, doing all of the crazy stuff dusky dolphins do. We got in the water amidst HUNDREDS of dolphins. The guide estimated there were about 400-500 dolphins in the small area we were in. I would dive down and they would be surrounding me, just swimming past. Numerous times, if you could catch the attention of the dolphins, they would start swimming circles around you in the water to see if you could keep up with them. I saw some go by that had seaweed hanging from their fins, some playfully fighting a few meters below me, being surrounded by 5+ at the same time, all just swimming about having fun. We were in the water for a good 15 minutes, and even when we were called back to the ship the dolphins were streaking by under us.

We got back in the boat and had some hot chocolate and biscuits (cookies). We then watched the dolphins perform, like they are known for. The Dusky dolphin is one of the most jovial and acrobatic dolphins in the world. They were jumping straight out of the water, swimming by in groups, doing backflips, frontflips, side flops, everything imaginable. There would be specific dolphins that were just going crazy, flip after flip after flip. Within meters of the boat too. I wish I were able to catch some photos, but they were so fast and sporadic, things were happening everywhere around the boat.

By that time, we had been on the water longer than normal, because the conditions had been so perfect, and there had been so many dolphins. So the skipper said it was time to head back and we turned the boat around and headed back, with some dolphins surfing on our current.

The Dolphin Swim was easily one of the best things I have ever done in my life. It was so incredible, and such an amazing opportunity. They are absolutely stunning animals. Hats off to Dolphin Encounter at Kaikoura, I can't say enough positive things about it. Simply Incredible.