Dolphin Swim, Kaikoura

Easter. Celebrated with 300 dusky dolphins cavorting around me. 

The day I had anticipated for so long began with a brilliant red sunrise followed by a warm, sunny day.  Caleb and I boarded a large motorboat, the Dolphinae, with 12 other swimmers.  Within 10 minutes from shore, we were surrounded by dolphins.  Albatross glided inches above the water, while groups of four to five fins would emerge above the water.   Off in the distance, a single dolphin did a series of back flips.

The guide urged us to get on our gear and slip into the water behind the boat.  The water was a cool 14 degree celcius;  I was glad I had the 10mm of wetsuit on my core.  We had been outfitted with sleeveless wetsuits, a jacket, hoods that tucked inside the neckline of the jacket, booties, fins, snorkel and masks.  I had further outfitted myself with a hybrid camera that could take pictures underwater.

Heaps of dolphin all around

Dolphin swimming is regulated by the Department of Conservation.  There can be a maximum of 15 swimmers, no one is to touch or feed the dolphins.  In one outing, the maximum number of swims  is 5.    There can be no swimmers during feeding times, and there must be an hour and a half time without human contact between swims.  The dolphin activity with any particular person depends on the individual’s ability to entertain the dolphins.  What do dolphins find entertaining? Music, undulating swimmers, spinning, and eye contact.

No zoom.  She is just inches from me! Actually there are two of them...

Scar face...

 The dance of the sugar plum fairies was the theme of my first swim. I sang this repeatedly into my snorkel. I tried different tunes, but with seemingly less success.  Dolphins would appear under me and circle around.  By spinning around, and keeping eye contact, I found the dolphin would turn toward me.  I would try to follow by diving down, but I could not keep up.  Taking pictures meant I was less entertaining, and they tended not to stay as long.  If I stopped singing, they also would vanish.   My snorkel leaked slightly from the intake valve and I found singing, breathing combined with spinning a challenge.  I inhaled/swallowed my share of the Pacific at first.  Dolphins would occasionally come and swim beside me momentarily.

They are too fast for my camera! *and too close

On our first swim, I came up  to adjust my snorkel and felt a nibble on my wrist.  A brown, immature gull had attacked my wrist!  I tried to swim away, but it put its head down and came after me like a torpedo!  It tried to nibble on my fins several times.  I would escape, but the gull returned to my area repeatedly nibbling, interrupting my dolphin swim.   When the guide motioned that we were to board the boat as the dolphins were moving on, I was relieved to leave  the stalking gull…

  By the second drop, I had abandoned the snorkel as it limited my ability to spin, and reverted to singing, swimming in an undulating fashion,  and surfacing to breathe. What a joy. I dolphin kicked, undulating in the waves, and the dolphin seemed to stay with me longer. As I broke into butterfly, the dolphin responded and arched gracefully next to me.  I found if I swam more energetically, they would match my speed and effort.  If I dove, they too would dive, but inevitably swim beyond my vision.  If I turned belly up underwater, they would often mimic me.  I once saw a dolphin swim over me as I tried swimming below the surface.  All the while, I sang.  I wish I could say I heard or felt their reply, but I did not.  One dolphin with several hash marks behind her right eye returned several times.  How did they perceive me?  What kind of thought process is occurring in the dolphin as they swim with me?  I am aware of their intelligence.  I would like to understand the communication better.  For now, it is the experience, the dance that we share, a non-verbal communication.  I recognize that sometimes non-verbal communication is the most powerful form.  I wish I had more time to explore this with the dolphin.  I must have been with this one dolphin for 15 minutes.  Despite my activities, my hands were getting cold.  I looked up to see most of the swimmers already aboard the boat and the guide motioning folks back in.

Water is blue, but healthy with lots of plankton. I even saw phosphorescent sea slugs, but they did not come out on film...

After surfacing, we had the opportunity to observe all 300 of them, some mating, some back flipping, some spinning, others racing the boat. I was humbled to think I had been amongst them.  I learned plenty about the dusky dolphin that day.  Over 2000 resident dusky dolphin reside in the waters off Kaikoura.  They feed at night and rest the remaining time.  Because they must be conscious to breathe, they sleep one hemisphere of their brain at a time.  These dolphin also are one of the few other mammals that mate outside of the reproductive season.  A dolphin may mate as many as 5 times in a couple of minutes!  They have many types of dolphin in the waters around NZ.  The dusky dolphin are smaller than “Flipper” (bottlenosed dolphin), but larger than the Hector dolphin.  There are Orca (the largest dolphin) near Kaikoura, but only transients.  (While on Whidbey, I learned about the resident and transient Orcas. They differ significantly in terms of behavior and diet).

As we left, I was saddened to think of all the dangers man has brought to these lovely, intelligent mammals: pollution, radiation, loss of habitat, and indiscriminate fishing of sea mammals.  I recalled a visit to Florida where I was appalled at the degradation in health and diversity of the reefs in my life time.  As global warming continues, more will be lost…

What a privilege to have communicated in this way with the dolphin.  What a treat to have eye contact and dance this aquatic samba today.  This Easter, I celebrate the rich marine life that graces the earth.  Instead of chicks and bunnies, this Easter has been one of seals, dolphin, and the rhythm of the waves.   May I remember to support those who work to protect the oceans, marine life and conservation.