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Swim with the Dolphins in Tauranga, New Zealand

Tauranga Dolphin Company Introduction

The Tauranga Dolphin Company offers a unique and totally natural experience with wild dolphins, where you get to swim with the dolphins in Tauranga.

Gemini Galaxsea is sixty feet long and very comfortable. She is a sailing boat, a very dolphin friendly vessel, and this voyage to our dolphin encounter in the Bay of Plenty is eco-tourism at its very best.

The skipper has been sailing these waters on Gemini Galaxsea for more than ten years—finding dolphins in order that people can experience these intelligent creatures on their own terms.

We make one voyage daily, departing 9:00 am from Tauranga, 9:30 am from Mt Maunganui and returning sometime after 3.30 pm. Our return time is not fixed, our mission is to get you in the water with the dolphins, not to adhere to a “human” schedule.

Swim with the Dolphins in Tauranga

If you want to see dolphins underwater, we have a specially-designed swim bar so that even if the dolphins are moving faster than you can swim, you will be able to see them close alongside.

Common dolphins will typically swim underneath or alongside, sometimes one or many dolphins come closer than a metre and they stay there long enough to thoroughly check out swimmers. Close enough that underwater pictures taken by a cheaper waterproof camera can be successful.

Free swimming is another exciting experience. If the dolphins are in a playful mood, they will gather around swimmers in the open ocean. When swimmers duck dive and play in the water while humming or talking, dolphins are often intrigued and will come in for a close look. Common dolphins are often quite wary of free swimmers, but bottlenose dolphins have little fear at all.

Anywhere from 10 to 200 or more common dolphins often gather about Gemini Galaxsea as she slowly moves with the pod. Of these, from 10 to 30 Bottlenose dolphins are attracted to Gemini Galaxsea as well. Big adults, juveniles, even tiny new-born babies will accompany their mothers in for a close look, while the main body of the pod simply goes about whatever business it has.

A typical encounter with common dolphins will last more than an hour. Bottlenose dolphins will stay with the boat for the same period of time, while pod members will break off their activity and come to play with passengers. Often we will have more than one pod during any day.

Other Ocean Encounters in Tauranga

Because the Tauranga Dolphin Company give the time to enjoy the ocean, visitors will often see orca, pilot whales, baleen whales such as blue, fin, sei, brydes, minke, humpback and southern right whales. There are many different species of rare beaked whales.

There can be huge schools of surface fish, birds feeding in a great work up, big tuna free jumping, and an extraordinary amount of bird life. We have had marlin feeding on small fish clearly visible alongside. We often have small numbers of seals on various rocky outcrops to visit in season.

The Tauranga Dolphin Company is never in a hurry to end the day. Our one trip per day formula has proven to be very successful in terms of sightings and the length of time we spend with dolphins.

For further information about our dolphin encounter in the Bay of Plenty, please contact us or visit our swim with the dolphins in Tauranga Web site.

The Bay of Plenty Region

This region seems to have it all—a mild, sunny climate, some of the country's most popular beaches and an abundance of orchards, especially citrus and kiwifruit. The main centre, Tauranga, has all the amenities of a major city.

The beach resort of Mount Maunganui, with its prominent volcanic cone that gives it its name, is popular with surfers. It's also a very popular family holiday spot having a choice of both ocean and gentle harbour beaches.

Out on the horizon is White Island, an active volcano usually identified by its trailing plume of steam. Helicopter trips land on the island from Rotorua and Whakatane, along with boat trips also from Whakatane.

There are a number of challenging activities in the area, including tandem parachute jumping, skydiving, a hair-raising ride in a bungee rocket and rafting down the Wairoa River, one of the most spectacular stretches of white water in the country.

For further information about our dolphin encounter in the Bay of Plenty, please contact us or visit our swim with the dolphins in Tauranga Web site.

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