Just a short drive from Kerikeri, New Zealand is the little bayside village of Paihia. It's a bit busier than Kerikeri - no doubt the water attracts a lot of summer visitors - but is by no means crowded. The Bay of Islands is a maritime park covered with 144 islands and miles of beaches. Its sheltered waters are said to offer some of the finest boating and fishing to be found anywhere and the temperature is always mild. Paihia has a number of charming shops and it is where you will find Fullers. 

Fullers, in business since 1886,  offers a variety of cruises around The Bay of Islands including site-seeing Hole in the Rock, a day aboard a tall ship, and dolphin Adventures. And adventure with dolphins we did. We arrived just in time for our 8 am departure. I was a little dismayed to see how large the boat was - so many people! The boats are water-jet powered catamarans. No propellers - safer for swimmers and dolphins. As we headed out in search of dolphins, our crew told us about what to expect on the four hour trip and about the dolphins. We would be looking for Bottlenose dolphins, but we could also see the common or dusky dolphin. They have also seen orca and other types of whales. If no dolphins were found, Fullers would give us a free ticket to go again until we saw some. (Ticket to go again free or $20 refund if no whales or dolphins are seen, applies on Dolphin Adventures cruise, is non transferable/refundable. ) The boats in the area cooperate with each other. If one sights a pod of dolphins, they tell the others. 

We hadn't been gone very long before dolphins had been spotted by another boat. We headed straight for them and, before long, we saw dolphins, too. The crew checked the pod to ensure there were no young. If there were, we would not be able to get in the water with them. However, none were seen, so we put on the flippers, face masks and goggles supplied by Fullers and slipped into the bay. The large crowd quickly thinned out once in the water. We had been told to make noise, dive down, and look like we were having fun to encourage the dolphins to investigate us. I felt a little silly making weird noises through the snorkel, but almost immediately after I did, I heard the high pitched noise of dolphins pinging me with their sonar. Shortly thereafter, two dolphins passed me on the left - just out of arms reach - followed by two beneath me and, finally, two on my right side. Ever cool! They only came when I made those silly noises, so I made a lot of them. When we were finished - that is when the dolphins became bored with us, we all got back on the boat and headed to Otehei Bay at Urupukapuka Island (where Zane Gray once stayed) to enjoy a cool drink and the lovely beach. Showers were also available.

Fullers' Dolphin Adventures is licensed by the Department of Conservation and a percentage of each fare goes to dolphin research.

Kia Ora!
(Maori greeting meaning Be Well, Be Healthy)

Photos copyright 2001, Julie Register
Licensed to About.com  
unless marked* which are courtesy of Fullers' Dolphin Adventures
Flag and Map courtesy of CIA World FactBook

Dolphin Adventures*

View from Fullers Dolphin Adventure

Swimming with Dolphins

Wild Pod of Bottlenose Dolphins

Dolphin Swimming Alongside Catamaran

Maori Waka (canoe) in Otehei Bay

Rainbow Over Paihia