Monkey Mia

We were up early as we had to be on the beach for 7.30am ready for the dolphin’s arrival. The sun was just rising and the sand was so cold on my feet that my toes were starting to turn blue!! We sat on the boardwalk with the rest of the crowd awaiting instructions from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) rangers. We sat for about 30 minutes before the ranger spoke over the tannoy to advise that the dolphins had been spotted and they were on their way. We were invited down to the water and to go in up to knee deep and form a straight line. The ranger was also in the water to keep an eye on the crowd and to provide information about the dolphins.

A few minutes later, two dolphins and their calves arrived. The older dolphins came right up to us but the calves stayed a little further away. The dolphins swam up and down the line so close that you could almost touch them. The rangers reminded everyone that these were wild dolphins though so we were not to touch them. It was an incredible experience and they are amazing creatures – they were so inquisitive and playful. After a short while some more rangers came into the water with a couple of fishes and chose people out of the crowd to feed them. This is very controlled so that the dolphins do not become dependent on humans feeding them. Once all the fishes are gone the rangers wash the buckets our in front of the dolphins to show that feeding is over and then the dolphins eventually swim off as they need to feed their calves.

When they first started feeding the dolphins, years ago, they were providing them with too much fish. Therefore they became dependent on humans for food and a few of the calves died of malnourishment as their mother had not been teaching them how to catch their own food. This meant the DEC had to limit how much each dolphin is fed and to make sure that each dolphin is given the equal amount when they turn up.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach – it was a really warm day (about 30C) so we just relaxed and burnt! Rich tried to go for a swim but the water was incredibly cold so he only made it as far as his waist at first (he went back in later for a very brief swim!). It was so peaceful and relaxing; from time to time you could see the dolphins playing in the distance.

That evening we decided to treat ourselves to a pizza from the bar, sit on the beach, and watch the sun go down over the ocean – a perfect end to a perfect day!