Diving with Dolphins

After leaving Fakarava, we had an easy overnight sail to Rangiroa. Rangiroa is one of the atolls in the Tuamotus which we weren’t able to visit last year. So, we were excited to explore a new place. Our friends Diana and Marcus on Allora came along with us, and we were very excited to run into our French friends Caroline and Philippe on Ivadel when we arrived in the anchorage. We first met Caroline and Philippe in Mexico and reconnected with them last year in the Marquesas. Upon arrival, they told us that they were in Rangiroa so that Philippe could complete his dive master certification at one of the local dive shops.

One of the reasons we really wanted to visit Rangiroa was for the diving. As many dives as we have done in French Polynesia, we have never seen dolphins in the water. We see dolphins from the boat, but it seems to be really rare to see them snorkeling or diving. However, Rangiroa is known for some local dolphins that either tolerate or actually like playing with the divers. We’ve had friends tell stories of dolphins coming right up to them like dogs wanting to be petted. We had no intention of actually touching a dolphin, but I really wanted to see them while diving.

There had been a rather large south swell for a few days filling the lagoon which meant that the current in the pass into the lagoon was always going out. With wind opposing the current, this also meant that there were some rather large waves in the pass. Due to the conditions, and our desire to get the best shot at finding the dolphins, we decided to go with some local dive shops rather than attempt the dives on our own.

We didn’t waste anytime getting to the diving and scheduled a sunset dive for the same day that we arrived. On the first dive, there were no dolphins, but lots of great barracuda, a school of twenty spotted eagle rays and a fantastic end to the dive where we ended up in a huge school of thousands of small jacks of some sort.

The next day we were back at it with even more determination to see dolphins. We had a different dive guide this time, a young French woman who was the most at ease in the water I had ever seen. She just kind of floated with an occasional frog kick to propel her forward, unlike my clumsy diving where I’m always trying to dial in my buoyancy and not look like a flailing fish when trying to deal with current. I aspire to look so calm in the water!

Anyway, our guide suggested that our best shot at seeing the dolphins might be to go out a little bit further from the reef “into the blue.” After a “one, two, three, everybody into the water,” we descended into the blue. I had never had a dive like this where all around was blue. You couldn’t see the bottom or the reef off to our right. As we descended, I had to carefully watch my depth gage, because I had absolutely no sense of how deep we were with no reference points around us. Even looking up at the surface didn’t give you any clue as to where you were. It really did feel like floating in outer space. I thought it was awesome.

We swam for a while with some fish drifting by and eventually over toward the reef. All the while, we were constantly looking for the dolphins. As my air showed less than half a tank left, I was beginning to think that dive number two was also going to be a bust for dolphins. But, just as I was beginning to lose hope that we would see them, they appeared. The dolphins were above us toward the surface, but we could see a small pod of four or five. And, the most amazing part was a baby dolphin who we were told by the dive guide had just been born about 10 days prior. If it is possible to smile with a regulator in your mouth, I did it.

After three dives, the weather forecast was not looking too good to stay anchored up by the pass. We looked at sailing down to the southeast part of the lagoon where we would have some protection from the wind and fetch. That part of the lagoon also has large sand flats where Mike and Marcus were very excited to do some fly fishing for bonefish.

The boys had a fun time that week out every morning stalking the fish on the flats. Diana, who is an artist did an awesome mosaic on one of the sand spits which a bunch of shells she collected. And, one day Diana and I went out to do some fun photo shoots. Diana caught this cool photo of me and an a sting ray. (I now want a dome lens for my camera!)

She also got some awesome drone photos of our boats, that I’m thankful she shared with me.

The wind subsided and we headed back to the anchorage by the pass to do some more diving. We got in a couple more dives and even got to have Philippe act as our dive guide as part of his training with one of the dive shops. We saw the dolphins (and the baby) a few more times, but they never got too close to us. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get my close encounter, but we gave it our best shot.

We loved Rangiroa, and I could have stayed there a lot longer, but the time was coming for us to head back to Tahiti and to start to head west. Leaving the Tuamotus with no idea if or when we will every be able to return gave me a sad pang. I know that there is more to see out there, but it is hard to wrap your head around leaving a place that it truly a paradise.

~katie