Swimming with Wild Dolphins in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

On Day 4 of our December 2017 honeymoon, we woke up extra early so that we could be at the marina by 8am to meet our ship captain for our next adventure: swimming with wild dolphins. As soon as we located our captain, Paul, he informed us that no one else had booked the tour that day, so we would have the boat to ourselves!

The boat itself was lovely—a large catamaran with a cabin area inside and a large bow in the front for us to sit and enjoy the views. We pulled out of the harbor around 8:30am and headed straight towards the open ocean. Matt and I sat at the front of the ship, and I quickly had to don a sweatshirt because the wind off the waters was so chilly. Paul and his skipper spent about an hour getting us from the harbor to the open ocean, and while it was a calm day in the Bay of Plenty, the waves were huge enough to make my stomach drop a few times. As we sailed, Paul pointed out something we had notbeen expecting in the middle of the Pacific—penguins! He told us that these penguins often look like birds in the water because they lie flat on the surface and float, scooting around from island to island on their stomachs. We probably spotted about fifty tiny black penguins darting around our boat.

This was probably the most peaceful morning of our trip so far: we kicked back against the bow and enjoyed the wind in our hair and the sharp salt smell of the ocean. We knew we were looking for pods of dolphins, but in my book, just being on the sea was fulfilling.

About two hours into our voyage, Paul’s skipper joined us at the front of the boat and informed us that a fishing boat had spotted a large pod of dolphins, so we all agreed that we should head that direction. In less than half an hour, we came across the fishing boat, which was surrounded by a pod of about sixty dolphins, jumping and splashing and zooming across the water. These dolphins were on the hunt, looking for food and scraps from the fishing boat. Paul turned our boat around a few times to churn up some wake, which attracted several members of the pod who were less interested in eating and more interested in us.

To our delight, this included a few baby dolphins. Paul explained that the babies had to be less than two weeks old due to the patterns on their skin—deep rivulets on their backs that were signs of where the dolphins had been folded into their mothers’ wombs.

I can’t even tell you how long we watched these dolphins play and swim and jump around our boat—it had to be at least a full hour. Matt and I were in complete awe of how close they were. They swam right below our boat, and even from there we could hear them communicating with echolocation.

As they swam around us, Paul invited us to the cabin for a cup of tea and muffins, and as we ate, he wanted to know a lot about American politics. As a New Zealander, Paul was extra curious about the 2016 election, the demographics of the voters, and the sexual assault accusations plaguing the country. He also wanted to know where we worked, and we discovered that even though we all speak English, a language barrier still existed. When I told him that I’m a lawyer, he shook his head like he didn’t understand. I clarified, “I’m an attorney,” but that still didn’t do the trick. Finally, I said, “I’m a solicitor!” and voila—he was with me. My profession seemed to fascinate him, as he wanted to know how often people get sued in America. My response: a ton. We’re a very litigious country.

After we’d learned a lot about each other, Paul and his skipper helped us don our wetsuits, snorkels, and goggles. It was time to swim. Matt and I then jumped down into the ocean off the back and grabbed a rope hanging from the boat. Paul revved the engine, we held on, and he dragged us through the water, stirring up wake to entice the dolphins.

As he pulled us along, I looked down into the ocean. [This is where I should tell everyone that my biggest fear in the entire world is sharks. I have shark nightmares all the time. I cannot watch Shark Week. I do not go past my knees in the ocean. Getting into the open ocean to swim with wild animals was very brave, if I say so myself.]

The sea beneath me was the bluest blue I’ve ever seen—a deep dark hue on the edges of my vision, with the lightest, purest azure flowing down the middle. I later learned that this light blue was part of a tropical stream that passes through this part of the Pacific, which explained why the water was warmer and colder in some parts. The deep coloring made it impossible to see anything except blue. And then a dolphin darted underneath me, and it filled me with terror and awe. He was HUGE, easily twice my size, even though he didn’t look it from the boat. When that dolphin exited, terror sank in again, as I realized it was impossible to see what was coming at me: what if there was a shark???

But then a pod of dolphins swam beneath me, and I was so taken by them, I stopped thinking about sharks. They seemed to float effortlessly beside me, and they were easily within reach. I glanced from side to side and saw even more jumping in and out of the surf.

Matt and I had to take a few breathers—getting pulled by a boat using only a snorkel to breathe is actually pretty hard—and I did a final run by myself. This was a transcendent experience: I looked down, and saw almost twenty dolphins right under me. I could feel their power, their huge bodies rotating water against me. I could hear them singing to each other and clicking, likely trying to size me up. Because the boat was pulling me so fast, they swam along with me, close enough to touch.

I heard Paul shout, and I looked up at him and he pointed—dolphin behind you! When I looked, there was a pod of dolphins jumping in and out of the wake right at my feet. I looked down again, and a massive dolphin swam directly up to me, and I swear he met my eyes. Nothing could compare to that moment.

When I got out, I was breathless, heart racing, and incandescently happy. The ride back into Tauranga harbor took about another hour, during which I kept turning to Matt and saying, “I can’t stop smiling.” It was a day of bravery, beauty, joy, and respect.

Exhausted, Matt and I grabbed a quick falafel lunch on the beach at Papamoa and later did a quick but beautiful walk around the base of Mount Maunganui. After a filling dinner of Indian food and some shopping for souvenirs on the strip, we headed to bed.

Tomorrow we head inland to Rotorua to see geysers, a Maori village, and geothermal pools!