Kaikoura And Its Dusky Dolphins; Or, Don't Call Me Ishmael

Kaikoura is on the Pacific side of the South Island and is best known for its whale-watching cruises, a Maori enterprise. There are also dolphin- and albatross-watching cruises. In 2014, driving just south of Kaikoura, we stopped at a turn-out and watched the dolphins parade by for half an hour or so, just a couple hundred yards off shore. I guess we noticed the accompanying boats, but our main interest was the dolphins--dusky dolphins, a smaller breed--and their unbelievable aerial antics. I did a video of them and posted it to my YouTube channel, "stupid porpoise tricks off Kaikoura." LSS is that Rebecca and family did the dolphin cruise in 2019 and recommended it, and we figured it would be interesting to see it all closer up. Dolphins Encounters takes 2 or 3 boats--20-30 people each--out every day, at 5:30AM, 8:30, and 12:30PM sailings. Most people apparently are in it to swim with the dolphins. Wet-suits and other paraphernalia are provided, and they really do this. With little interest in fraternizing with porpoises, we signed on merely as spectators.

The bay at Kaikoura...atop a vast submarine canyon

Lined with great old Norfolk Island Pines; a New Zealand thing

Kaioura suffered a terrible 7.8 earthquake in 2016--the land around
the bay rose more than 2 meters; when we visited in 2018, it appeared
that the art deco Mayfair theater might be a victim; but it has been strengthened
and reinforced and is back in business

The bay just outside the Dolphin Encounters offices...according to
the staff, that's an Orca nosing around at high tide, looking for rays,
sharks, porpoises, any bite-size morning snacks...

On the boat, me in my captain's hat, of course, saying things like
"avast!" and "abaft the beam" and "steady as you go"; it was a very 
light swell that day, and I did fine

Vicki, looking out

The deal is pretty much like old-time submarine tactics...you spot
your prey, note its bearing and speed, do an end-around to get ahead
of it, dive, or maybe not, then attack

Attacking here means launching your swimmers into the approaching
dolphin convoy; this is repeated two or three times or until everyone
has had enough 

The boat's skipper/cruise director shouts directions to the swimmers;
or maybe to the porpoises?

I suppose swimming with porpoises must have some appeal, to some
people; apparently quite a few people; to us, it's mostly about the
stupid porpoise tricks, the jumps, flips, backward flips, double-flips,
triple lutzes, quadruple axels, etc.

Our wolf pack that day consisted of two boats; there's our companion

Action scene; where, you ask, is the Orca seen earlier in the bay?
Still in the bay, we were assured, could not possibly swim all the
way down here...and what of his pod and the others that inhabit
these waters...we wondered...

Mostly we did videos--stills convey little of what's going on
or what's of interest--but here's a good still of a backward flip;
the videos will be posted on YouTube some day

Much of what you see from the boat; the swimmers that day faced
very murky water from the previous day's rains and complained of
being groped and jostled by unseen and unseeing porpoises

Another good jump; do check out the 2014 video; it's a hoot!

Back at our campsite that evening, after a walk and nice fish 'n chips
dinner...snow in the mountains just west of Kaikoura; winter is coming