The Dusky Dolphins

So this morning I was decided to jump in the deep sea and to dance with the dolphins. What I didn’t know is that only 12 swimmers are allowed per tour and those 12 have often booked their tickets months in advance so it was not to be for me .The only thing I was offered was to follow and be an observer ! Disappointing of course but in fact I had a wonderful time . And I also met Louis , 5, a little French boy living presently in Tahiti who because he couls of course for once undertand me , would not let me go and asked me if I could be his May anne for the day ! At first for the 45 first minutes of the search no dolphins nowhere and even if the organiser had said that in case of no dolphin encounter they trip would be refund we were so sad that the boat went towards a fishing boat to allow us to see at least some royal albatross . Only after an other 10minutes did we meet un big group of Dusky , the Lagenorhynchus Obscurus from the Greek words lagenos :bottle or flask , rhyncos: nose or snout and from the latin word meaning dark , indistinct.

They are the smaller dolphins, about 1m60 to 1m80 in length and weighting 70/80 kilograms. They belong did I understand to the toothed variety of cedacean , the Odontocetes, the largest of which is the sperm whale. The toothed whales have 1 blow hole and rows of conical teeth while baleen whales have 2 blowholes and fibrous, comb like , baleen plates hanging from the top jaw and filtering food . This Dusky dolphins ares found on the east coast in New Zealand and inhabit the waters of Kaikoura all year around. They may be in large group from 100 to 1000! During the summer that is now, between November and April they are found closer to the shores because they have and feed their little ones in those shallower waters. Soon the swimmers were among them and it was very moving to see them interact. You have to interest the dolphins before he gets interested to you. To do so, you can emit sounds, swim with your arms along the bodies , dolphin like , have an eye contact and then only if he likes you enough he plays making you following him . Then he is fed up and goes away again! After 3 or 4 plunges that is it we have to go They are not that easy to picture either as they are super quick and usually you are so amazed to see their acrobatic shows and so busy to admire their backslaps and somersaults backward and forwards , their spectaculars jumps and leaps that when you at last take a snap it is all over ! But the memories are there for ever. I t was absolutely magical and the words I did hear the most after “amazing” and” superb” was “stunning” , ”unbelievable, “unforgettable” .