Country: New Zealand
Location: Kaikoura
Outdoor activity: Snorkeling
Duration: 2:30 hours
Sustainable tourism rating: 
If you’ve ever dreamed of being at one with marine life swimming with seals will give you an experience that you will never forget. Seal Swim Kaikoura will give you an opportunity to make an exceptional connection with these majestic creatures in their natural environment, the blue ocean.
This tour is very rare in the world and only a few companies can offer this amazing experience!
This tour is very rare in the world and only a few companies can offer this amazing experience!
If you travel to Kaikoura be sure to visit Seal Swim Kaikoura shop and they will take care of everything! They will provide you with quality equipment which is essential as the water is cold even in Summer,the average temperature is 16 °C in January. You will get dressed up in a thick wetsuit with a hood and a pair of booties, then once you’ve put on your snorkel and fins you are ready to go.
After a few minutes ride in a funny yellow bus when they give you the safety instructions you’ll arrive at the boat.
Once the boat leaves the harbour you will see the seals peacefuly swiming in the water for the first time.
At long last the moment that you’ve waited so long for is here! The seals are right there in front of you, quietly enjoying the sun and the waves. As everyone jumps in the water they join us and perform a real underwater ballet. Some even seem to want to play with us, muck around and dive to the dephts. Others just seem happy to be peacefully lulled by the waves.
If the water is clear, you can also see many beautiful fish and interesting features on the seabed such as different species of seaweed.
After some time spent in the water having a wonderfull experience, the instructor tells us it’s time to get back on the boat. We were pretty cold but Seal Swim Kaikoura had this brilliant idea to warm us up with hot water!
And that’s not all! If you are lucky, you will also encounter dolphins that will put a spectacular show on your way back to the harbour!
You must experience the seal swim if you go to Kaikoura!
The pros:
– You can swim just a few meters from seals and they might even bump into you
– The Seal Swim team are great as they will teach you about these amazing animals and tell you about their conservation efforts
-The views along the Kaikoura coast are tremendous and you can see lots of seals sunbathing all around
The cons:
– Seals are wild animals and it is unfortunately impossible to guarantee 100% that you will be able to swim with them but Seal Swim will offer you another chance if you were unlucky on your first trip.
