Dolphin Encounters

Dolphin Encounters

Near the inner entrance to Tory Channel, Dan, the boatman, skillfully brought the boat around as six of us slid into the water right beside a pod of playful Dusky dolphins. The 15-minute boat ride from Torea Bay had given us time to change, have a quick biology lesson, and learn a bit more about the dolphins. Although not as big as the common bottlenose dolphins, these beautiful silvery creatures were still at least 6 feet long and very strongly built. As we lay face down in the water, buoyant in our thick wetsuits, the dolphins came blasting up from the depths to swim right past us, time and again. Fins, masks and snorkels made it easier for us to follow them as they swirled and twirled around us. They never touched us, but were definitely interacting with us as they wheeled and turned just inches away. As they swam by, they turned on their sides and looked at us with their dark little eyes, their strong tails pushing them through the water. At other times they leaped from the water and came back down with a resounding splash. This was better than any wildlife documentary.