Dolphin Ballet in South Bay, Kaikoura

Today, we start earlier than usual. Today, we want to visit the dolphins that make Kaikoura so famous.

We arrive punctually at 8:30 AM at the meeting point. We have booked "spectator tickets" for the ballet; many others have chosen tickets for the performance "Swimming with the Dolphins." We spectators are indeed in the minority. The swimmers are provided with equipment, such as wetsuits, flippers, and snorkels.

Then we head to the bus, which will take us to South Bay to board the boat.

The weather is perfect. Compared to yesterday, the sea is quite calm, the sun is shining, and the wind is moderate. So, the best conditions for a lovely excursion.

We travel about half an hour out to sea. The waves are slightly higher, but everything is in good shape. We are feeling great.

The first stop of the boat brings us to a dolphin haven. It is teeming with Dusky Dolphins. This species of dolphin lives here, among other places. They can grow up to 2 meters long and live up to 30 years. Their upper side is bluish-gray, while the underside is almost white.

We, or rather the boat, are truly in their midst. They come from all sides, swimming beside and underneath the boat, surfacing and diving again...

They love it when the boat quickly plows through the water. It encourages them to play, and they see the current created by the boat as a surfing wave.

The swimmers among us learned during the safety briefing that dolphins really enjoy music. And if you try to sing or hum underwater, which becomes difficult with the snorkel on, they seem to enjoy that even more...

The first stop arrives, and the swimmers leave the boat and enter the dolphin pool. They have been asked not to touch the animals but just to watch... You know the saying: just watch, don't touch... ;-)

But for us in the spectator seats, the spectacle is grand and wonderful. You can see these beautiful creatures up close as they play, chase each other, and dive.

It is the time when female dolphins have given birth to their young. We see many little dolphins swimming with their mothers. Just fantastic.

The wave action has increased somewhat out here. We are being moved up and down quite a bit. It feels like on a wild mouse ride... up and down...

We are not at a disadvantage for being "only" spectators. We believe we have a better overview of the whole group of dolphins. We are watching from above and also have the proximity when dolphins zip by the side of the boat... The swimmers only have a horizontal view and do not see the many dolphins as we do.

The animals seem to be enjoying themselves. They do flips for us, jumping and looping in the air. A special treat for us.

We find out that the dolphin group consists of 400 to 500 individuals.

My travel blog may not be able to provide many pictures today. I have been filming and haven’t taken any photographs. Filming with one hand is easier than handling my digital camera. Given the strong movement of the boat, no decent picture would emerge. Filming is different.

I will borrow some photos from Thorsten, who filmed and took pictures with his phone.

So you'll just have to live with that today... :-)