flygirl

Hi all,

I have done a little reading on thorntree about folks who will swim with dolphins. not sure how cold the water will be, but even seeing them (and whales) is intriguing. any stories, or tips? where to go, etc.

thank you!

ElendilPickle

The best-known places for dolphin swimming in NZ are the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland; the Bay of Plenty, on the east coast of the North Island; and Kaikoura on the South Island.

We went on a dolphin swim in April with Whales and Dolphin Watch out of Whakatane. The company supplied us with wetsuits, snacks, and hot drinks, so we were comfortable. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn't show up that day, but the owners offered us a free trip the next day or a partial refund of our money. We took the refund, since we were leaving for Rotorua that afternoon.

We enjoyed getting out on the water; even though we didn't see dolphins, we saw a lot of birds, and the boat driver took us over to Whale Island to see more birds and baby seals.

Lee Ann

Melnq8

You can also swim with dolphins from Banks Peninsula, which is about 90 minutes from Christchurch. Here's some info that might help:

http://www.designzontravel.co.nz/act...lphin/swim.htm

flygirl

plans are now to go in August with the 99s, so I don't think I will be swimming but I'd still like to see them. will report back with any findings...

and thank you for the help, Lee Ann and Mel!

repete

flygirl,
Even if you can't do the swim, Bay of Islands is a wonderful, beautiful area with plenty to do. Take a quick trip to Russell and perhaps a trip over to the Ninety Mile Beach.

lilyelizabeth

I would highly recommend Kaikoura on the South Island for swimming with dolphins. I just returned from NZ and did both: the one in the north island at Bay of Islands and the Kaikoura Dolphin Encounters. In Kaikoura I found the staff very friendly, knowledgeable and the assumption was that you would swim with the dolphins as we were suited up before we ever went out on the boat. The experience in Bay of Islands was quite the opposite. The staff was not very friendly, we did not even suit up to go out with dolphins, and we certainly did not swim with any.

Some tips for Kaikoura: The water is very cold but they give you a full wet suit with flippers, snorkling gear, and even a wet suit hat if you are really cold. I had about 5-6 swims with the dolphins spanning over about 30-40 minutes. When you get out they give you a hot hose to put in your wet suit to warm you up as well as hot chocolate. The experience was quite magical and one I will never forget. Another plus for Kaikoura is that the weather tends to be better so the air is warmer.......

Good luck!

Tim_and_Liz

In Kaikoura, are there many operators? Which do you recommend? Also, what is the general cost and how far should we book in advance?
Thanks!

lilyelizabeth

There are a few companies but we went with the Dolphin Encounters (the largest one in Kaikoura.) I would definitely book in advance especially for the summer months. While we were there folks were on stand by lists for each trip trying to get in to see the dolphins. You can go as a specatator or a dolphin swimmer. The prices differ...we swam at it was around 115 NZ dollars. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

MietteMeg

lilyelizabeth
Which company did you use in the bay of islands? We were thinking of going swimming with dolphins there but we don't really want to use that company as you weren't very happy with them!
Thanks.

wlzmatilida

Hi,

Highly second Lilyelizabeth's recommendation of Dolphin Encounters, and also, if you have limited time, you know exactly the day or days, you're going to be there - MAKE RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE.

I was just in NZ in November, and I had clients going in December (high season) who didn't want to "make the commitment" in advance; the wife emailed me from NZ last month to tell me that they were just lucky to get on as a small tour bus had cancelled that morning.

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist

Pamo

ANother wildlife idea is the Penguins...there are wild blue penguins in Oomaru (spelling?)and also Yellow Eyed penguins on the South Island. I went to both and enjoyed it.

flygirl

Thank you, this is fabulous information! I may brave the waters in late August - or would I be nuts? at minimum we will go whale watching.

MietteMeg

We really enjoyed whale watching (in December) and we are planning to do it again when we go back (hopefully this year).
We went swimming with the dolphins with the tauranga company, the first day it rained , our son (aged 8) was sea-sick but he loved it and we went back the next day for free (as we hadn't seen a single dolphin!). The next day we were lucky to see 3 killer whales. When you leave in the morning you are told that you will be back at 3.30 but we didn't get back until 6.30! We had a brilliant time.
Yellow-eyed penguins were great in Oamaru - we did a guided tour, let me know if you need more info.

Chenoa

hey guys,
between whalewatching and swimming with dolphins (both at Kaikoura), which is a more enriching activity and more recommended if I only have time (and $) for one of them?

Is the swimming trip less prone to cancellation due to bad weather as compared to whale-watch? Also, I believe both adventures sail on the same waters. Does that mean I have equal opportunities to see dolphins and whales regardless of the tour I choose?

Chenoa

funny...the smiley up there was supposed to be $.

flygirl

Hi all!

putting my itinerary together now... piece by piece. We will be on the south island for 5 days, but mostly doing the day trips they put together as options (which are very cool - Hanmer Springs, Tranzalpine train, hot air ballooning over Canterbury Plains, Akaroa, etc etc)

and the rest of it will be on the North Island.

The tour operator put together a day trip to the Bay of Islands with Dolphin Adventures "Swim with the Dolphins" cruise for 120 bucks.

I am considering doing this, it's a matter of timing b/c I would have to do it after the week long tour is done, but then we run into "going home". wah!!

flygirl

just re-read the whole post and clicked the link from Mel (thanks!)

one day trip during the conference is to Akaroa Harbor. They do have dolphin/penguin/seal cruises - not swimming though. They do many other things that day, not just the cruise, too.

Smalley

I'll put in a word for the Gannet Colony at Cape Kidnappers, south of Napier. Take a look at www.gannets.com for the easy option, we walked the 9 km along the beach, and then back. There's a bit more in our trip report on http://marksmalley.blogspot.com/, look at March 15th for the Gannets. Also saw Dolphins in the Bay of Islands on March 21st.

flygirl

The 99s conference organizer sent me a link, these guys look good:

http://www.blackcat.co.nz/