Day 5 - 2nd April 2014....... Jodie's 15th birthday

An early start and a very exciting day for 2 reasons, the first is that it is Jodie's 15th birthday, the other is that we were booked in to swim with the dolphins at Rockingham!

When we arrived we had time to grab a quick coffee, we took this opportunity to sing happy birthday to a very embarrassed birthday girl!

We made our way to the vessel, were fitted with wet suits, snorkel & goggles, signed a form stating that if sharks killed us they wouldn't get sued and then we were on our way! They explained that as these were wild dolphins they couldn't guarantee that we would see any, or if we did what mood they would be in. They told us it was dangerous (for the dolphins, not us) to touch them, however tempting it may be, as their skin has a special slimy layer designed to keep out ulcers and infections. So with the hope of seeing them we set off.

It wasn't too long at all before we caught sight of a pod, the guides said they were a female nursery group, so we were quickly escorted into the sea, holding onto the person in front with the left hand and looking right. This ensured we could get in and out quickly and quietly so we didn't scare the dolphins off. It was truly amazing, they swam in-between us, below, next to us, twisted and turned and we could hear the noises they were making too. At some points they came so close we could have literally touched them. We were in and out like yo-yo's and had at least 5 experiences like above. Even the crew were excited that the dolphins had been so sociable and put it down to the fact that they were females!

Once the dolphins began to lose interest in playing with us, the boat went faster and created waves so they could have a bit more fun in. This was spectacular and resulted in seeing them jumping out of the water........it was fabulous!

There are some extra photos taken by the boat company via this link Rockingham Wild Encounters images.

We then followed that by a hop over on the ferry to penguin island to see the 'little penguins'. These were really cute and the island is inhabited by them. The ones we saw had been rescued and because of that would never be able to fend for themselves in the wild. The oldest was 21 years old!

A swim in the pool at Hotel Anscombe (well Jodie, Jenny, Simon & Paul!), followed by a Skype to Mum & Dad, yet another round of 'happy birthday' and no less than 2 cakes, one in Oz and one in the UK saw us through until Dominos arrived! The day was concluded with a game of 'cheat' and 'monopoly' although I'm sure certain people were getting these games a little confused ;) 

Click here for more images of the day