Freediving with Dusky dolphins

Dusky dolphins Kaikoura, New Zealand

Dusky dolphins

Kaikoura, New Zealand


One of the great things to do in Kaikōura is to swim with the Dusky dolphins! If you have encountered dolphins beforehand, these might be quite different from other dolphins! They are one of the most acrobatic dolphins in the world and they are extremely playful and curious. Not only do they play and socialize with each other but they get extremely inquisitive with other animals in the water. In summer they often travel with the Common dolphins who visit Kaikōura in the warmer months of the year. Dusky dolphins are also known to socialize with Humpback whales in New Zealand and they can often be seen travelling alongside these whales when they migrate past the coastline in winter.

Dusky dolphins can be found off the coastline all year around where they feed on squid in the underwater Kaikōura canyon. They feed mainly at night time which makes day time the best time for them to play, interact and raise their young. As they spend a great amount of time socializing it makes Kaikōura an amazing place to interact with them. When I am not working and guiding on a whale watching boat I often venture out into the canyon to spend some time with the Dusky dolphins.

With a colder nutrient rich current flowing in from the south, it makes the canyon extremely productive. It is full of krill and plankton which makes visibility limited, but the days where the visibility clears up it makes it even more special. As it is situated quite far south on the planet though, it also makes it fairly cold. With a thick and warm wetsuit you are set to plunge in!

During their breeding season in the summer, they pod up and can be found in the hundreds! Now that we are getting closer to the winter season the dolphins tend to spread out in scattered pods throughout the bay and might be a little bit trickier to find.

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Incoming!

When approaching animals there should always be the consideration of putting the animals welfare first. Many times when I head out to see dolphins there are none to be found. At times the dolphins are not very sociable, they might be resting, mating or simply busy doing other dolphin things. If this happens it is just not the best time to swim with them or even interact with them in any way. There are also strict guidelines of how to approach a pod of dolphins and at what speed. Different countries and areas have different regulations. The organization in charge of putting these regulations into place in New Zealand is DOC - Department of Conservation, Te Papa Atawhai.

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Pod of Dusky dolphins

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