Latest News at Dolphin Encounter
Dolphin Encounter Update April 2013
Posted by Dennis Buurman (6 Comments)
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 in Default
Welcome to the Dolphin Encounter® update for April 2013.
We’ve had a sensational month, a great way to finish our summer season with a huge diversity of marine life and plentiful dusky dolphins to enjoy. The dolphins have continued to remain inshore and close to South Bay harbour enabling us to spend much longer with them.
The dolphins have been located in areas such as the Punchbowl, Barney’s Rock and Kowhai River mouth (5 minutes from Spouth Bay) all areas that only have a short travel time. Pod numbers have been high, ranging from 200-500 dolphins. The visibility has been amazing and we’ve experienced some of the calmest and clearest waters we’ve seen in a long time.
We’ve continued to offer our early morning 5.30am tours and they have been highly successful with passengers enjoying the sunrise and early morning light. The dolphins have also been particularly acrobatic, not just for the photo session, but also to give swimmers a great view whilst in the water.
Dennis Buurman, one of the owners of the company, has been frequently seen out on the water on what we call the “rubber ducky”. He’s been busy filming new footage for marketing and social media use and no doubt increasing his huge range of stock photos. Check out our new footage on our Facebook page of Jenny’s Swim with the duskies if you’re after an insight of what a dolphin swim entails.
Our tours appeal to a wide variety of passengers, but one New Zealander struck a chord with us one day. After a phenomenal swim he disembarked stating that he must have been the oldest swimmer we’ve ever had. He told us that he was a grand 81 years old and his wife calls him “Peter Pan” because he simply never wants to grow up!!! Age is certainly no barrier and the duskies certainly enjoyed his company.
Other marine life has been varied with New Zealand fur seals basking on the rocks at Barney’s as well as being seen feasting out at sea; a few common dolphins have also been seen in with the pod of duskies. They can be hard to keep track of as they race around the duskies and our only hope of comparing them is when they choose to enjoy bow-riding at the front of the boat. The excitement for everyone though was the incidental sighting of an enormous blue whale. These are the largest mammals in the world and although this whale was a small one, it was still an estimated 20m long.
Finally, towards the end of the month, a visit by the orca or killer whales. The orcas here are transient and frequent this area usually during the summer months. Most of that travelled through is well known to us with individuals such as Nicky, Koru and Corkscrew. All these individuals have distinctive dorsal fins and it was a nice surprise to see Corkscrew as he hasn’t been seen in Kaikoura since back in February 2011.
As well as encountering a range of marine mammals, we regularly sight a wide variety of seabirds including the magnificent albatross. On occasion, these birds see a commotion on the ocean with our swimmers in the water and come on in to investigate. The beautiful Buller’s albatross is a regular visitor here during winter months and is a stunning bird, certainly a swim with a difference.
We have also been involved in the release of several Hutton’s shearwaters. This endangered seabird breeds high up in the Seaward Kaikoura mountain range and when the young birds fledge, they can misjudge the lights of the township and land on the road as opposed to the ocean. Once these birds are banded by a local ornithologist, they are ready to be released out to sea heading off to Australia before returning to Kaikoura in 3-4 years time.
Sadly we said a fond farewell to our hard working seasonal crew as they departed throughout the month to experience new adventures around New Zealand and the rest of the world. We look forward to welcoming another new seasonal crew next season.
That’s all our news for now.
So, till next time..........
Your Comments
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