Swimming with wild dolphins; it sounds like a dream… But Rockingham Wild Encounters makes it possible for everyone. They have more than 20 year experience with the wild dolphins, so they know exactly how to make it happen. And the whole day really was one amazing dream!
At 7.00 in the morning we drove with the bus from Perth to Rockingham, which is about a one hour drive. Arriving in Rockingham, the lovely boat already awaited us. A couple more people joined us and the staff welcomed us with coffee and tea and a short introduction. We were given 6mm wetsuits because the water is really cold during this time of the year (and believe me, we needed them!).
Then it was time to look for the dolphins. Because the dolphins are wild, we had no idea when we were gonna find them, so it all depends on the dolphins how long your day lasts. Fortunately today we found them quite fast! We rushed down to the end of the boat to be with the dolphins as quick as possible. The last person that enters the water has to wear a shark shield (a cord that sends out electric shocks to keep the sharks away) and after setting those up, we could jump in with the dolphins! They are quite curious so you can have a close look at them. A few crewmembers swim around with an underwater scooter to look for the dolphins, an amazing view to see them swimming next to these beautiful animals! The dolphins swim under you and sometimes pop up above the water, truly incredible!
As soon as the dolphins take off we go out of the water, because it is pretty freezing. The boat then looks for more dolphins. In total we swam about 6 times with them. In the meantime you can watch the dolphins surfing the waves caused by the boat or just playing on the water surface. The whole day there is coffee and tea available and fruit and lunch is served at certain times. The crew is very friendly and helpful and tells you a lot about the behaviour of dolphins.
At the end of the day there are opportunities to snorkel and to swim around with one of the waterscooters, very nice to try one of those!
It was an amazing feeling to be so close to wild dolphins and even more special because you can watch them in their natural environment. I think it is so much better to see dolphins this way than to swim with them in a pool where they are very unhappy and only live half of their normal lifespan. Wild Encounters makes dreams come true, without harming any animals!
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