Mike: Swimming with Dolphins

Well, it was a nice nature cruise.

One thing I didn’t do during our last trip to New Zealand was swimming with wild dolphins in Kaikoura. We were woken up by seals outside our tent, but that’s as close as I got to marine life. Instead of returning to a place we have already been so that I could swim with dolphins, we decided to make the trek out to Akaroa, a harbour town near Christchurch that was settled by the French.

We can see how this town is charming during warm summers, but we arrived off the winding roads to gray skies and rain:

See? Gloomy.

See? French.

See? French Pier.

Hanna was worried about getting seasick and thus had no desire to meet new dolphin friends, so I headed to the wharf the next morning and wetsuited up. One of our guides (who looked exactly like Ben Affleck) said that although the weather had been rainy for the past few days, they still have seen loads of dolphins. Often times dolphins will swim right between people as they like to play.

While most of the group stayed inside the boat, I took my place at the bow (just like Leo and Kate). Luckily skies were blue as we headed out of the harbor:

Boat Captain.

Danish Child, Danish Dad, and Ben Affleck.

I’m glad I stayed outside because I got to see little blue penguins and albatrosses. In your face, inside people. Once we got out to open water, we had our first glimpse at Hector’s dolphins, one of the smallest and rarest species of dolphin:

Endangered Species. These Guys Are Only About Four Feet Long.

The excitement was palpable, so the captain stopped the boat as more dolphins came to investigate. A pod of about seven dolphins surrounded the boat and seemed eager to play. We all went to the back of the boat and jumped into the chilly water. (Weirdly enough this water was actually warmer than the canyoning water.) The thick wetsuit definitely was a welcome relief, but the dolphins quickly disappeared. The captain and guide told us to use our snorkels to blow bubbles or sing songs since dolphins can feel vibrations. After about ten minutes of treading water, we still had no luck: the dolphins didn’t return.

We headed back onto the boat and zoomed off to another location. Same situation. Dolphins zoomed up near the boat:

Hector and His Friend Hector.

After we prepared to jump in the water, the dolphins disappeared. We waited a few minutes on the back deck of the boat for them to return. Nope, they were gone like the wind. The same thing happened again and again. The guides were extremely apologetic and explained that because these are wild dolphins, they couldn’t guarantee swimming with them. One guide (who didn’t look like Ben Affleck) went on a long rant against Sea World and how much he hates their form of “entertainment.” Made me chuckle after working there for years in high school and college.

About two hours had passed, and unfortunately it was time to head back in. We did stop near the rocky shoreline to see baby fur seals, but I left my camera inside the boat. Whoops. Sorry.

Moral of the story: I saw the world’s rarest dolphins but didn’t get to actually swim with them. (The surprising news: we all got a partial refund since no real swimming occurred.) Penguins, dolphins, albatrosses, and fur seals…not a bad day though, right?