Polperro dolphins

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Jason Dundas boarded a jaunty old blue and white wooden lugger at Sorrento Pier on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula for the treat of his life. The family-owned Polperro Dolphin Swims takes the 20-year-old boat into Port Phillip Bay for face-to-face swims with wild bottlenose dolphins and seals.

Passengers invariably experience excitement mixed with trepidation, but all agree that once you are sharing the water with a colony of up to 30 fur seals, pleasure takes over — and their unusual smell isn't a worry.

Jason reckons they behave a little like dogs except they weigh a lot more than the average family pet. Up to 100kg in fact. They react if you are aggressive or loud, so if you relax and just let them swim around, they offer no danger at all. It's recommended that you slip quietly into the water and let the dolphins and seals follow their inquisitive natures.

Polperro's crew has grown close to the wild dolphins over the last 20 years and while it might take a bit of searching, they find dolphins 99 percent of the time.

Passenger safety and the dolphins' protection are of paramount importance, so the size of trips is limited to guarantee a high standard of customer and environmental care.

Location

Sorrento on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

Cost

Polperro Dolphin Swims cost $115 for swimmers and $55 for observers. Children's observer prices are $30. They depart Sorrento Pier every day at 8.30am and 1.30pm, weather permitting, between October and the end of April. Other times are possible by arrangement. Trips are three to four hours long. Bookings are essential. Wetsuits, masks and snorkels are supplied and on-board facilities include change areas, toilet, hot shower and galley.

For further information

Polperro Dolphin Swims
PO Box 11
Blairgowrie 3942
Ph: (03) 5988 8437
Fax: (03) 5988 8734
www.polperro.com.au
crew@polperro.com.au

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User comments

Hi, My family and I have been eagerly awaiting the video for many months as we were those interviewed. The day was the highlight of our trip to Australia and lived up to all our expectations, the crew made the trip both full of fun and educational and I would strongly recommend anyone to take to the opportunity to awim with Judy and the team. It was a surprise to be joined by the Getaway team but they were a great team making us very welcome, I only hope I can get a copy of the video for a keepsake with the outtakes if this could be made available. I read with concern the comment regarding the breach of regulations and feel I must make it clear that the instructions given to us by the crew regarding the regulations and the consequences if we ignored them were clear and at no time did we leave the rope while the dolphins swam around us. It is an excellent day out for all the family and provided we listen to the direction given can be enjoyed by others on many future occasions.

Hi, I've just watched this segment on-line and was somewhat concerned to see a swimmer off the lines repeatedly approaching the dolphins. This is not permitted under the Victorian Wildlife Regulations, swimmers must hold onto the lines at all times. This is therefore misleading for viewers, as if they decide to swim with the dolphins they will be expecting to be able to do the same thing.