Fri 29th Nov 2024 Safari (2)
What's better than one orca video? Two! π π
Fri 29th Nov 2024 Safari
What a 'whaley' good way to start the weekend π³
Safari 25th Sept 2024
Now this is what we call a multi-species feeding aggregation! π½οΈ Not one, not two, but SEVEN different species feeding together here in this video from a safari last week π€© This aggregation includes tohorΔ (Bryde's whale), aihe (common dolphin), mohi (pilchard), tΔkapu (Australasian gannet), pakahΔ (fluttering shearwater), rako (Buller's shearwater), and tara (white-fronted tern). If you look closely, you can see pilchards flopping around on the back of the whale! ππ
Over 22 species of whales and dolphins and at least 70 species of seabirds can be seen in TΔ«kapa Moana/the Hauraki Gulf - weβd love to see you onboard soon to show you what the Gulf has got π
Our much loved vessel Dolphin Explorer is having some scheduled maintenance for the next few weeks. We'll all miss being on the water daily for Safari's, but look forward to springing back into it with a new lease of life.
@izabella_sk
We're always in our golden hour while out on TΔ«kapa Moana β¨π
π₯ IG: izabella_sk
26th March 2024 Afternoon Safari
One of these things is not like the other ... π Tuesday's afternoon safari featuring a psudeo orca π¬
We thought we'd share a video of Friday's Orca encounter. This really shows how tranquil the conditions and the pod were. We were all very happy and grateful to be drifting alongside them. Wait untill the end for the large Male's fin to surface. Male Orca fins are considerably larger than females, being up to 1.8m tall! πΌπ¬
AWADS Safari 080324
Here's a sight we don't see too often - thousands of common dolphins surrounding the Dolphin Explorer π¬On Friday we had calves and juveniles swimming amongst all the adults, breaching and chin slapping in the choppy waves π
Safari 22nd Feb 2024
The Hauraki Gulf is buzzing with life! π In Feb we came across a pod of false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins together. It is rare for us to see these animals in the Hauraki Gulf, with only a few sightings a year. The pod were hunting, breaching, and swimming around the boat as they fed.
The False killer whale is scientifically known as Pseudorca crassidens. Pseudorca relates to its common name, meaning "false orca/killer whale" and crassidens means "thick toothed" π¦·
Monday 22nd Jan Safari
Monday last week, passengers on both safaris were lucky enough to encounter oceanic Manta Rays feeding alongside Bryde's whales π Following @mantawatchnewzealand best practice guide to ensure we didn't disrupt the feeding activity, we were delighted to see the manta somersault feeding around the vessel π and the best part about the manta trusting us was that we managed to collect some epic data to contribute to oceanic manta ray conservation in Aotearoa. Shout out to the awesome passengers who submitted their footage for the database too π
Oceanic manta rays are currently classed as data deficient in Aotearoa so any data collected is critical! If you see a manta ray while you're out on the water, remember to take down the date/time, GPS coordinates and photos/videos if you can.
Here's to more manta-tastic safaris π€©
Safari 8th Jan 2024
At the beginning of this week we captured a short video of the gannets and dolphins feeding, and our crew member Ben giving the passengers a bit of info on Gannet diving! ππ
4.5-hour marine mammal eco-safari in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, departing from Downtown Auckland. Come and explore Auckland's Hauraki Gulf Marine Park!
