Swimming with dolphins Kaikoura

Swimming with dolphins Kaikoura

Due to the nutrients rich waters off the coast, Kaikoura is home to a huge diversity of marine life. It is one of the best places in the world to view whales, dolphins, seals and blue penguins. Swimming with dolphins is the closest you can get to interact with the lovely dolphins. I highly recommend this, its totally unforgettable, despite the cold weather. We went on November when it was spring transitioning to summer.

In Kaikoura, you can meet these very adorable Dusky Dolphins. These blueish grey dolphins with white bellies only reside in the southern hemisphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived very early at the meeting point for the dolphin tour. We had some drinks from its cafe. The drinks were fine, at average price.

It was drizzling. We were told by the tour operator that the waters were very choppy, and it was not advisable to proceed except for strong swimmers. We went ahead with it.

For non- swimmer, please take note that they do not provide life jacket. They only supply wet suit that are float able. Hence, if you can’t swim well, like me,  you may want to make sure you learn how to swim first before you come.  I was a little disappointed with that as I was not aware that they dont supply life jacket.

Within 5 minutes of driving out to the open sea, we were greeted by pods of dusky dolphins already! They were as excited as us, jumping with joys!

I can say there were hundreds of wild dolphins surrounding us! Their fins resemble sharks’ fins. We were elated but worried that one of the fins might belong to a shark’s fins.  Fortunately, that was not the case.

Down we went into the cold cold sea….

with the dolphins welcoming us…

Dancing with dolphins in the waters….

The secrets of attracting these beautiful wild dolphins near to you is by making yourself interesting and entertaining to them. You can make funny noises, do funny actions etc to draw them to you…they are very playful…

Enjoy our video! We used Olympus tough tg-4-16 MP Waterproof Digital Cameral with 3-Inch LCD (red), to film this video and took the photos of the dolphins. (Do read about my reviews on other underwater cameras to have a comparison on the best of the market models available)

The Dolphin Encounter Tour  includes the rental of snorkel gear, wetsuits and “noodle sticks” to assist you in swimming. If yo don’t wish to get wet and would like to relax on the boat to view the dolphins, you can opt for the stay on boat option, the price is lower. Below shows the price list.

Adult Swimming	NZ$170.00
Child Swimming (8-14 yrs)	NZ$155.00
Adult Watching	NZ$90.00
Child Watching (3-14 yrs)	NZ$45.00

After the swim with dolphins, they provide you with biscuit, warm hot chocolate. On board, there is also a hot shower.

We opted for a combo package instead for a better deal at $396 per adult.

The package consists of :

• A 1/2 hr flight with Wings Over Whales

• A 3 ½ hr whale watching experience by boat with Whale Watch Kaikoura

• A 3 ½ hr encounter with dusky dolphins with Dolphin Encounter

It was a freezing experience, but these memories will never melt…..