We started the day early, heading to Dolphin Encounter to gear up in wet suits, snorkels and flippers for our swim with the dolphins. After a video and a short bus ride out to the bay, we boarded our boat the Delphinidae and headed out on the ocean to find dolphins!
The ocean was quite rough - with large swells and a "sea sickness warning" - and the ride out seemed quite long. Unfortunately Jackie got a bit seasick on our way out to the dolphins, but she's a trooper and didn't let it spoil her swim.
There are a few different types of dolphins at Kaikoura, but the main species in the area is Dusky dolphins. There are several pods of Dusky dolphins that stay around Kaikoura year round to take advantage of the canyon and fish population. Dusky dolphins are black and white, range from 165-195 cm in length and can from 60 - 90 kilograms.They are very impressive creatures, as they are very acrobatic and like to show off.
Our skipper finally spotted the dolphins, we got our snorkels and flippers on, sat on the back of the boat and when he turned off the propellers, we jumped into the water. We were surrounded by over 300 Dusky dolphins!
We swam out to be amongst the dolphins and as we were told, made high pitched noises and tried to swim like the dolphins to get their attention. And it worked! Each one of us had a unique experience because the dolphins are wild, and each one reacts differently with each person. It was amazing!
The dolphins swam alongside and underneath us, sometimes less than a foot away. Occasionally a dolphin would circle you, which happened to me a couple times. I made eye contact with the dolphin and tried to swim along side it, and it would circle again. It was pretty cool that a wild animal would swim with you in this was.
After hopping off the boat 3 times to swim with the dolphins while the pod moved around, we finally finished and started heading back to shore. Lucky for Jackie and I, we were both sea sick the entire way back to shore. You could definitely tell that these Saskatchewan girls don't have sea legs! Haha. It was well worth it though, as the dolphin swim was one of my favorite things I've done in NZ. I'm not gonna lie, I was almost questioning my career path.
Later that day, Brandon and I did a hike out to the Peninsula Seal Colony to see some New Zealand fur seals. This seal colony is non-breeding seals, so they are less aggressive than other seals on the coast, and we were abel to get up a little closer to them than usual. It was pretty neat, and definitely a good end to the day. Not only did I swim with dolphins today, but I also found out that I was the album cover picture for Chive Everywhere on theChive! Such a great day!
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