First, watch this!
If you drive up the highway near Kaikoura (here, regularly) you’ll frequently see a large pod of Dusky Dolphins playing not far off shore. If you’re willing to pay Dolphin Encounter $170 NZD you can take the most amazing trip and go swim with them. It was absolutely worth the money. Check out the photos we took. (Above water is further down.)
The whole shebang lasts about three hours, of which about two hours are out on the water. We swam for about 30 or 40 minutes, and the dolphins were swimming with us the entire time! There were more than 150 dolphins, so the fact that there were 50+ people in our group didn’t really matter. You’ll notice in the photos and videos that no one else shows up.
The dolphins view people as entertainment, apparently. They never get close enough to touch, but they think we’re pretty fun. Singing makes them stick around – in most of my underwater videos you can hear me singing random tones. Also, they seem to think that diving down below the surface is super impressive. Whenever Katy did it, they would whoosh around her in circles. My wetsuit was so buoyant that I couldn’t get down far with such poor technique.
After the swim, the boats motor back to port, slowly, and the dolphins swim along near the hull. All in all, one of the best experiences either of us has ever had. I’d probably do it again tomorrow if I could.
We are two people wandering around the world just to see what's out there. Our hometown is Seattle, Washington and we love it. To find out more see our 
