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Swimming with Dolphins - October 30th, 2005
There are a few ways you can go and swim with dolpins. One way you can do it is to visit the local water park Sealife Park on Oahu.
You can also join a charter boat. There are quite a few around the islands and info should be in any guidebook you purchase.
These
first two are what I suggest you do if you are just visiting. Reason being that the ocean is a very unpredictable beast, especially in
Hawaii. One day the ocean can be calm while the next day there will be 15 foot surf pounding the shorelines. Currents can also be a
problem a long with winds. Not to mention the ocean life that can be unpredictable as well.
The guides on the charter boats will be very cautious. They don't want a lawsuit as much as you don't want to get hurt. Also, Sealife Park will be very careful to only put Dolphins in the water with you.
If you do live on the islands and are an experience swimmer than you probably have heard about swimming with the dolpins on the west side of the island. Although this can be a more local spot just be kind to the locals and pick up your rubish.
Kimberly and I were lucky enough to venture out with some friends who have already gone many times before. We got up early in the morning,
well early for a Sunday. We grabbed our snorkel gear and head to the West Side of Oahu. Once there we could see boats of people, and swimming
up and down the shore pods of dolphins. In the water we went. Swimming out you see below you that its a sandy bottom and getting fairly deep.
Once out we plopped ourselves in one place keeping a float until we saw the fins of dolphins rise and lower. Once we spotted them we tried to pick a good angle to get in their way, making sure to not disturb them. All of the sudden we were surrounded by Spinner Dolphins. You could hear their squeeking, and see them playing back and forth with each other. Every so often one of them would shoot to the surface and spin, or as was the case with the younger ones, just jump out of the water and flop on the surface.
Back and forth they went, about 2 or 3 pods of 20 to 30 dolphins each. We will definitely be going back.