Leave Your Inhibitions Behind

“Hector’s dolphins may be the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world, but they will seem larger than life when you are swimming nose-to-nose with them in the Pacific Ocean,” Boston Globe correspondent Kari Bodnarchuk writes. “In this seaside village no more than a few blocks long on Banks Peninsula, you can hop in the ocean and splash around with these playful and curious creatures. Black Cat Group, an Akaroa-based outfitter, runs daily tours year-round to see the dolphins. Leave your inhibitions behind: The dolphins are attracted to you if you sing, hoot, yelp, or make any kind of playful noise underwater. Only 12 people can swim with the dolphins on any one trip, and with no other boats in sight, it did not feel like a touristy experience.”