![[:fr]Nager avec les dauphins sauvages, Kangaroo Island[:en]Swim with wild dolphins, Kangaroo Island[:]](https://lebigtriptravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_6835.jpg)
Swimming with wild dolphins on Kangaroo Island
We’re always very sceptical when it comes to booking a tour, especially when wildlife watching is involved. We had some bad experiences in Bali and in Bolivia.
– In Bali, we were in the middle of tens of other boats carrying people shouting each time they spotted a dolphin. The engines were racing to be as close as possible to the animals. We were literally chasing them… It was horrible to see and to be associated with this.
– In Bolivia, we swam with pink dolphins, in murky water infested with piranha and caimans (but that’s an other story). A few tourists from an other group were grabbing the dolphins by the tail and lifting them up… everyone was laughing… including their guide. What a sad moment.
After these upsetting experiences, we decided to stop going on “dolphin tours”.
While preparing our trip, we heard that we could swim with dolphins on Kangaroo Island, but decided straight away that it wasn’t for us. We didn’t want to bother those poor things.
But luckily, for us, some of our friends went to Kangaroo Island a week before we did and loved swimming with those cute marine animals. They only had nice things to say about the tour and how respectful they were with dolphins. They convinced us to go. And… we loved it. Never say never haha.
Before hopping on the boat we said hi to a few pelicans. Their size is actually pretty impressive.
We hopped on the boat and started the tour with some information about the area around Emu Bay. We went past a group of Cormorant and a sunbathing New Zealand fur sea lion.
I wouldn’t mind going kayaking next time we visit Kangaroo Island
We said hi to this white-bellied sea eagle spent some time admiring the island from the boat.
We saw a pod of over 40 wild bottle-nose dolphins and went into the water multiple times to swim with them.
It’s hard to explain how it felt. It felt unreal. Karim and I always snorkel together and show each other the nice things we discover underwater (and because you never know what you can encounter in Australia haha). This time it was every man for himself! We just spoke to each other once back on the boat and barely searched for each other once in the water. We were like kids: looking all around, admiring our little friends.
Dolphins are very welcoming and curious. We were advised to make noise underwater to get them to notice us. And that works!
Can you hear them say hi?
Andrew, our tour guide, made sure we all had a great time.
… warm clothes! We wore wetsuits provided by KI marine adventure. The water wasn’t too cold but as it was windy outside, we were all shaking so much that we couldn’t talk to each other or be steady enough to record anything. Thanks to Andrew for helping us warm up with some tea and coffee after the swim.
Take something warm and a wind coat with you in case you’re cold after the swim. I assure you, you’ll be happy to have that on the way back.
The cold didn’t stop us from jumping (quietly) in the water several times to meet those amazing creatures.
It was one of the best experiences we ever had. If you’re in the area, go say hi to the wild dolphins!
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Heather
Do you think it’s possible to find the dolphins without a tour? I’ve seen a few videos where it seemed like they just hang out at a certain beach.
karim
Hi Heather. It is possible, but unfortunately very unlikely :/ They sometimes hang around the beaches in Kangaroo Island and in WA. If you’re really keen to see some without a tour, there is a beach in Western Australia called Monkey Mia where you can feed them by hand.
Laetitia
Une expérience qui donne envie ! J’ai eu la chance de vivre en Australie il y a plusieurs années et je réfléchis à y retourner prochainement en vacances, même si les tarifs ne sont plus les mêmes qu’à l’époque… Kangaroo Island est une destination que j’avais justement gardée sur ma bucket list.. Pour loger sur l’île, vous avez choisi quelle option ?
rafika
Salut Laetitia!
Merci pour ton commentaire.
Nous avons logé au Kangaroo Island Central backpackers à Kingscote. Puis, au Postmans Cottage dans le Flinders Chase National Park. Peu de gens connaissent cet endroit. C’était génial! On te conseille vivement. J’espère que tu auras l’occasion d’y aller 🙂
Loren
How cute are those dolphins! Awesome adventure!! xo Loren
rafika
Thanks Lauren. They were adorable. We were so happy to have the chance to swim with those beautiful creatures
Melissa
ah j’oubliais, je vois que votre blog est bilingue. Vous faites les traductions vous-même ou vous utilisez un plugins? J’aimerai aussi proposer mon blog en Français mais j’avoue que traduire prend beaucoup de temps… Merci pour vos conseils
rafika
On fait les traductions nous même. C’est vrai que cela prend beaucoup de temps, mais c’est le seul moyen de faire passer les informations sans compromis. On a essayé des plugins de traduction automatique il y a quelques années mais on n’était pas satisfaits du résultat.
Melissa
Je découvre aujourd’hui votre blog depuis instagram et j’adore, vous faites rêver! Les photos sont incroyables! Profitez bien 😉
rafika
Merci Melissa.
Le but de notre blog est d’inspirer les amoureux du voyage. Rien ne me fait plus plaisir que de recevoir des messages comme le tien. N’hésites pas à nous dire si tu recherches des informations en particulier sur le blog ❤️
Si tu aimes utiliser instagram : on a encore plein de photos à partager sur instagram.com/lebigtrip
Tu peux aussi découvrir des panoramiques de nos voyages sur instagram.com/lebigtrip_travel
teddy
superbe expérience et de très belles photos…cela devait être magique !!!!
merci pour ce partage…prenez soin de vous !!!!
rafika
Merci Teddy. C’était incroyable!!
Merci pour le gentil message