Swimming With Wild Dolphins

It was 5:30am and despite the darkness, my obvious drowsiness, and the cold, I was excited. Today I was going to swim with wild dolphins in Kaikoura.

I had heard that the earliest trip of the day was the best opportunity for seeing the dolphins so here I was, at 5:45am, hoping this uncomfortably early start would be worth it. It turned out that quite a few people had the same idea, and around 50 of us were sent to various spots in the labyrinth of back rooms to hear the details of the upcoming trip and get our wetsuits, flippers, and snorkel gear. We boarded buses and headed to the dock where we were all split into three different boats. The concept was that the boats spread out from each other and headed parallel to the shore keeping an eye out for the massive pods of dolphins. We learned in our earlier briefing and on the boat why Kaikoura is such a great place to swim with dolphins.

The first reason Kaikoura is the perfect place to swim with wild dolphins is that just off the coast of Kaikoura is the Kaikoura Canyon which runs 60km parallel to the coast and is over 1200 meters deep. This deep canyon hosts large schools of fish and squid that attract a number of different whale and dolphin species with the rich hunting ground. The second reason is that the most abundant dolphin in the area is the dusky dolphin. This is perfect because the dusky dolphin is generally quite inquisitive. It’s renowned for acrobatic/aerial displays, regularly travels in pods of over a thousand and is smaller than the common dolphin (not as intimidating in the water). Lastly, the dusky dolphins spend the whole night deep in the canyon hunting, so their morning back on the surface is dedicated to relaxation and fun. All of these scenarios come together for a perfect encounter opportunity.

For around 30 minutes we roared down the coast with no sign of a pod. Then a report came in that the furthest boat from us had sighted them. The captain turned in their direction away from the coast and gunned the engines. After about 10 minutes, in the distance we started to see some of the flips and huge aerial displays the dusky dolphins are known for. The captain grabbed a few of us that were all geared up and helped us to the back of the boat. We were still chugging along at a decent pace as the captain told us to hold on tight until the engine stopped and then she would blow a whistle and we should hop in. I just happened to be the first swimmer of this group, so I sat on the very edge of the back of the boat while the captain shouted these directions to us over the roar of the engine. I honestly felt like I was in the military and I was about to hop out of a chopper. I tried to control my anxiety by white knuckling a metal bar to keep from flying off the back of the boat and scanning the water for dolphins which I hadn’t seen since I sat down. As I wondered if we were near the dolphin pod yet, a dusky dolphin jumped from the water so close to me that I instinctively raised my arms because I subconsciously thought that he might land on me.

Right at that moment I actually got scared. These are completely wild animals! I’m in the middle of the ocean! I’m straddling this roaring engine with my feet dangling in the water! I had always loved watching dolphins jump from the water next to a moving boat, but until you’re actually at the water’s edge, with your feet dangling in the dark open ocean, while a wild dolphin jumps seemingly right at you, please don’t judge me and my apprehension.

The engine slowed, I heard the whistle, and without letting myself think about what I was doing, I pushed myself off the boat. The first thing I saw in the great blue abyss was a dolphin heading away from me. As I watched that dolphin slowly disappear, another one darted in for a closer look. As the dolphin flew by me, we locked eyes and my anxiety was gone. Completely gone. There was no fight-or-flight response, no concerns, no apprehension, I was completely at ease. There’s something about their eyes when you’re face to face that is incredibly calming.

More and more dolphins circled in for a look at these strange creatures bobbing around the surface of the ocean. We saw around two dozen, but after the dolphins got a good look at us, they got bored, and headed off. We hopped back into the boat and went searching for more. After about 15 minutes, the boat slowed, we heard the whistle and jumped back in. This time we hit the jackpot. The pod was in the hundreds, and since they’d just returned from hunting all night, they were excited to have some entertainment. The dolphins were everywhere. If you dove down, the dolphins would swarm towards you, feeling less threatened approaching you because you’re off the surface. Quite often a dolphin would approach, we’d lock eyes, and the dolphin would slowly circle me as I paddled to keep up with him and stay in eye contact. The dolphin would slowly increase the speed until I couldn’t turn as quickly and he’d win the staring contest. We were told not to touch the dolphins, and I never did, but they were so inquisitive it would have been very easy to flaunt that rule.

Eventually the other swimmers got tired or cold and I found myself with just one other swimmer in the water and about two dozen dolphins to entertain. Naturally I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. The whole experience was better than I could ever have imagined and continues to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I can’t recommend it enough.