EXCLUSIVE – Swim with Wild Dolphins
The Retreat Port Stephens has joined forces with Dolphin swim Australia Port Stephens NSW to bring to you the most amazing experience of a lifetime.
Have you ever dreamt of swimming with WILD dolphins – on their terms and in their own environment?? DOLPHIN SWIM AUSTRALIA (DSA) has developed a way to make that dream come true!
DSA’s swims take place in the open ocean outside the spectacular heads of Port Stephens, using the beautiful Imagine Cruises catamaran as the platform. Guests are fitted with wetsuit, mask and snorkel, and attached safely to a rope strung between the bows of the catamaran. They are then immersed in the breathtaking world of bow-surfing dolphins and pulled gently through the water so that they feel like part of the pod!
The curious dolphins swim back and forth between the bows, whistling and clicking, clearly fascinated with watching the humans watching them! Guests may interact with playful and energetic Short-Beaked Common Dolphins and huge, majestic Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphins! We regularly find hundreds of these two species, neither of which is seen by the established ‘dolphin-watch’ tours within the bay.
Expert commentary on our dolphins is provided by DSA’s on-board Marine Mammal Observer, who also explains DSA’s ground-breaking research into their features, abundance and behaviour.
After a thrilling morning swimming with dolphins and sailing the high seas, guests enjoy a delicious breakfast on their way back to d’Albora Marina in Nelson Bay. This exhilarating experience of travelling through the open ocean amid pods of wild, oceanic dolphins is an unforgettable and must-do activity!
Not only is DSA the first company in the world to develop a swim of this kind, but it is the first and only one in NSW to be given a permit to swim with WILD DOLPHINS!!
The Retreat Port Stephens has put together this amazing experience with our fantastic bush setting accommodation to offer guests a complete Nature package which combines the ocean, bush and sand dunes.