Alyse Horn, Lions Abroad marketing intern, writes:

Every day since I have returned from New Zealand, I find myself telling others of my adventures or day dreaming in class and longing to return to the country. I made so many new friends and memories, but one memory that particularly stands out was my swim with the elusive dusky dolphin.

Kaikoura was one of the last stops on our 24-day excursion of the South Island. During the entire program everyone kept saying how excited he or she was to swim with the dusky dolphins, but it’s something that almost didn’t happen.

When we arrived at Dolphin Encounter in Kaikoura, we had to wait because a worker told us they were unable to find the wild dusky dolphins. Trying to stay optimistic, we were soon told to suit up into wetsuits and were taken out into the open ocean to search for the dolphins.

Once out in the ocean, we spotted a humpback, sperm and orca whales. What made the experience even more special was when we spotted the dusky dolphins. They were swimming with the orca whales, which are the dolphin’s known predators. We were not able to swim with the dolphins we had found because legally a person is not allowed to swim within 10 miles of an orca whale. Luckily, some 12 miles away another boat had found a group of dolphins, orca free.

Once reaching the dolphins, everything moved so fast. We were told by Dolphin Encounter staff to get to the back of the boat and be ready to jump in at the sound of the horn. Once the horn was heard, everyone began slipping into the freezing June water. For me, my breath was taken away. It was cold and chaotic with everyone trying to interact with the dolphins, but once I dove under the water everything went silent. The dolphins were everywhere, swirling around me. It was a magical experience that I will never forget, because instead of the dolphins entertaining us, we were entertaining them.