The Solo Scale:

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Before we begin, we have to address the name. While the company is Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually see marine life. During my April visit, we only saw a dolphin pod in the hours we were out there. That said, the trip on the ocean was incredible and was worth the journey. Plus, the company offered vouchers because the experience wasn’t up to their standard. We did have a glitch in the audio on the boat, so it was fantastic to get something for that. Not to mention, it was only a single pod of dolphins. In general, it’s a great bounceback offer to get people back with bigger parties.

There are a few departures of the cruise. I opted for the afternoon. This was to give myself the full morning to explore Auckland on a hop-on, hop-off, have time to visit the Maritime Museum and have a quick lunch at Burger Boy before departing. Keep in mind that once you’re on the boat, you’re on it for a long time.

At departure time, I checked in at the office and lingered near the boat with the other passengers who would be with me. It wasn’t too large a group, which was good because the boat wasn’t expansive, so we weren’t overly crowded.

For the first forty-five minutes to hour of the cruise, there’s still plenty of sights to see around the city. As you leave the harbour, you’ll get a good view of the Auckland skyline as you depart. This is followed by passage by Rangitoto and the yachts cruising around.

Once you slip past the island and get to more open waters, it can admittedly become a little same-same of what you see. That’s when the crew do a great job of educating on marine facts. Plus, there’s always a few birds hanging around along the side of the boat, cruising along and keeping things interesting.

Soon, though, you might be lucky enough to find a dolphin pod that’s eager to play with the boat. They swam along the boat while we did our best to interact with them and played nearby to really give us a show.

We stayed with the pod for about fifteen minutes before we had to begin the journey back to Auckland. This is where you might find yourself needing some entertainment. I was lucky enough to have the sunset begin while on the water, so I was able to simply enjoy where I was — and it being my first day in New Zealand, I was overwhelmed with the beauty and the reality of being in such an incredible place.

One note of warning – bring a light jacket as the breeze on the outside of the boat can get slightly brisk as the sun goes down! The company that runs the cruise was amazing and the voucher that they gave for a subpar experience was totally unnecessary, but an incredible act of customer service.

To book your Auckland Whale & Dolphin Watch, click here for more details!

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