Swimming With Dolphins

I’m still buzzing from the incredible experience of swimming with dolphins at the Dubai Dolphinarium.  The day was set aside since early last month after birthday ‘season’ in our household. Our two boys as well as my birthday, and incidentally father’s day, all fall in the same week!  It’s typically a week of celebrations which inevitably involves lots of gift giving and receiving and way too much cake for such a short period of time.  This year I received a swimming with the dolphins voucher. The boys were gifted tickets to the dolphin & seal show as birthday gifts from some very thoughtful family members. We make a day of it, packing up snacks and drinks and heading off to Dubai Creek Park for the day.

The Dolphin Show

We arrive at the park in time for the 11am morning show, rather than the afternoon show (at 3pm).  We buy our tickets and are seated with great views of the large dolphin pool. The seal comes out first, demonstrating his incredible strength with a flipper stand and speed through through the water.  He also ‘sings’ Twinkle, Twinkle but you really have to use your imagination to here.

Next the dolphins.  There are three in the show – 2 adults and a baby. The adults are truly amazing, illiciting “wow” and huge smiles from my 7 year old as they catch and throw balls, twirl hoops, jump, somersault, flip and frolick about.  The baby is slightly less interested in the frolicking and only takes part in the show when he feels like it. Like some other small children I know. I actually find this encouraging.  But more about this later.

The show is intended to be both educational and entertaining, especially for the children.  It largely achieved this though some crowd participation and music, which was far too loud to hear the majority of the commentary over. Nevertheless it was enjoyable and a nice way to spend the morning.

Lunch

After the show we head to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. The family all orders burgers but I decide on something different and try the black pepper beef with rice.  Pretty happy with my decision as it’s delicious.

After lunch, the boys are drawn in by trampolines and other available activities. We pause only briefly as I’m keen to be on time for my swim with the dolphins. From the reception, we wait only a few minutes before being ushered into the change rooms. I’m issued a wet suit and instructed to shower and change.

The showers are for the dolphins. This is so that perfumes, oils and anything else that may irritate them is washed away. We also remove jewelry as the resident dolphins apparently like “expensive, shiny things”.  I rather suspect that it’s more of a safety thing.  Still, it’s fair enough.  Hand sanitiser is also involved.

Allowed to watch from the side, my family stand with cameras at the ready. Unfortunately ,Mr 4yo decides that it is “totally unfair” that I am allowed to play with the dolphins and he isn’t so tears are present.

Bella

The session started with a meet and greet where we said ‘hello’ and gave Bella a stroke.  She felt exactly the way you would expect a dolphin to feel – firm, slippery and slightly rubbery skin.  Very smooth and almost warm.  I felt her heart beat and she had a bit of a wriggle when I gave her a tickle under the fins! She also stuck out her tongue at us when we were giving her kisses.  I think we have a bit of a cheeky one here.

Dolphins are mammals, not fish, and they give birth to live young who drink milk and stay with their mother for up to 3 years. After that they remain with the pod, generally around 30 dolphins, where they live, hunt and play together, sleeping with one eye open and resting alternate hemispheres of the brain.

Swimming With Dolphins

Having seen dolphins swimming in the wild (North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay) and even fed wild dolphins (Tangalooma), I was somewhat prepared for how powerful they are.  And although I was prepared for the power, I don’t think  anything could have prepared me for the thrill of being taken for a ride through the water with one of these magnificent creatures. They’re basically all muscle and the rush of the water as we’re swimming (slowly!) is only a fraction of the rush that it must be when they’re turning somersaults or jumping through the waves.

Next was a tummy ride, equal measures of fun and awe. This time with Mr Jerry as Bella wasn’t up to this one.  The last ride was a deep dive which, if I hadn’t been holding my breath for the 8 seconds that it took, would have taken my breath away.  Down to the bottom of the pool and then launched through the air, with me landing much less gracefully than Bella managed to as she caught her treat afterwards and was ready to go again.  It took me slightly longer to recover from the rush.

A few photos and then it was time to say goodbye. The trainers were happy to answer our questions and brought Bella over to the side to “say” goodbye to my boys with one final wave.

Ten minutes later I emerged from the change rooms, showered and dressed but still with a big smile. This is certainly an experience I will always remember.

Good To Know

Both the Dubai Dolphinarium and Aquaventure Waterpark offer swimming with dolphin experiences in Dubai. The Dolphinarium is indoors in a (large and deep) pool whereas the Aquaventure dolphins are outdoors at Dolphin Bay a purpose built ‘bay’ where you are able to interact with the dolphins in shallower water. Age restrictions apply to both locations.

A similar experience exists at Tangalooma (Australia) where you can feed wild dolphins as they appear in the evenings.

Would I Return?

It’s a good day out for the family and the opportunity to swim with the dolphins really is an experience of a lifetime.

Having said that I’m still undecided as to the moral and ethical dilemmas.  It is, for all intents and purposes, akin to a zoo.  In this respect, this dolphinarium, as well as Sea World in Australia suggests that the dolphins have been rescued from other facilities and (or) have been bred in captivity and therefore could not survive in the wild.  The dolphins that are held are kept under good conditions with expert medical and behavioral care as well as the best facilities available in the circumstances.  They provide public education and awareness and in the case of Sea World, marine conservation, animal care, research and rescue.  Whether this makes it okay to have them perform and give rides, I don’t know.  In some ways, I’m not sure it’s all that different to training a dog or riding a horse. I have an indoor cat, is that the same thing?

I know many people have strong feeling about this. I’m not one of them.  I can see reasons and arguments for both sides and I don’t feel that I have enough experience or information to throw my support fully behind either set of well articulated reasoning.  Having said that, I still enjoyed the day and my cat remains indoors.