We are very lucky to have bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, New Zealand fur seals, little blue penguins, orca, and lots of different types of whales that visit our waters.
Dolphins are the stars of the show. We pretty much always have dolphins in the Bay of Islands, so much so that the dolphin watching trips guarantee you will see them. If you don't see them you get a voucher for another trip until you do! Through the later part of summer the pods in the Bay of Islands area are often found inside the islands and across the middle ground area to Moturoa Island. They tend to hangout in this area because of an abundance of bait fish.
Some dolphin pods have become resident in our area while others come and go. The Bay of Islands seems to be used as a nursery area with a lot of young and baby dolphins seen in the summer and autumn months so great care is needed when approaching pods of dolphins at this time. Young dolphins have not yet learned how to cope with our boats, so it's up to us to make sure we don't run them over.
The best way is to approach a dolphin parallel and slightly from the rear. The boat speed needs to be slow and steady, with no sudden direction changes. Make sure there are no more than three boats within 300m of a pod at any one time - and you cannot swim with calves or juvenile dolphins.
New Zealand fur seals start arriving in the winter months and tend to hang around until November. If you're keen to see them head out to Cape Brett and Light House Bay. Fur seal numbers have slowly been increasing over the years and you can now also see them out at Bird Rock, The Sisters and around the corner at Waiwiri Bay. They love to sun themselves on the rock ledges in the bay.
