Tasmania to Tokyo – Adelaide – Day 22 can be found here.
Today’s Chronicles can be found here.
Up at 5:30 am this morning so that we can make our 8 am departure with Temptation Sailing, perchance to swim with dolphins.
We placed our room service order the night before. Rather than selecting the 6 am to 6:30 pm range listed on the card, we circle 6 am – a tip passed on by a fellow expedition cruiser, and one we’ve used to good effect in the past. We also talk to our butler Jordan in advance, and he offers to speak with in-suite dining on our behalf.
Breakfast arrives at 6:05 am, well within acceptable limits.
We also manage to convince the early-morning butler not to unfold the mini table, which also saves time
Even so, we’re running close to the limits by the time we depart – so close that I almost forget to bring our duffle bag with snorkels, masks, and other odds and sundry.
Thankfully we pre-booked an Uber the night before, and it’s already waiting for us as we leave the Adelaide Passenger Terminal. We have a 40 minute drive ahead of us, which costs AUD$60. Not bad, considering they’re picking us up at 6:45 am.
The Uber drops us off at the Pier Hotel, and we walk across the bridge over to the pier itself.
And a lovely pier it is, too
The Temptation catamaran has just pulled up but it will be another 15 minutes before they’ll be ready to register guests. This gives us time to visit the nearby bathrooms and finish applying some heavy-duty reef-safe sunscreen. We are already wearing our dive skins beneath our clothes, so no need to change.
We return roughly 5 minutes before open, and are first in line.
A good thing too, as the line soon stretches down the pier.
The captain explains how everything is going to work. They are going to split us into groups, and then hand out our equipment. We are then to move to the front of the boat where they will deliver a safety briefing.
We are unsurprisingly slotted into the first group. The staff member does an admirable job of choosing our wetsuit sizes just by looking at us. We zip most of the way into our wetsuits – but not all the way, as we don’t want to overheat. The wetsuits are a bit damp, but it’s more refreshing than anything as the temperature is already starting to climb.
We settle ourselves on the front of the boat and unload GoPros and other gear. The boat soon starts to fill up and we move our bags back inside the cabin so there’s room for everyone. In addition to the four groups of swimmers, there are also many ‘watchers’ who will just be hanging out atop the boat. (Swimming is AUD$159 per person, compared to AUD$89 for watching.)
We’re given our safety briefing, which lays out the correct steps to follow in order to either climb down onto the forward net or to hang off the back. Essentially you climb down the net like a ladder – facing the ropes – and then turn around so you’re facing forward. When instructed, you then move forward on your stomach to the edge of the net so that you can see the dolphins.
As for the back ropes – ‘waterskiing on your face’, as the kids like to call it – you sit down on the back extension, grab the rope and then move to the inside edge as soon as possible. If staff check on you, you should be prepared to make an ‘okay’ symbol back as needed.
Also – don’t splash around, and don’t touch the dolphins.
We soon set off, and we luck out – there are some dolphins right there in the marina. As group one, we get the chance to hop into the water with them first. It’s a really remarkable experience – but remarkably quick, too. We get perhaps a minute or so to look at the dolphins before they move to cycle in the next group.
We move to the back, but this proves to be more challenging than expected. There are somewhere around 14 to 16 people hanging off those back ropes, and that makes it very crowded. The boat itself is also moving briskly to try and keep up with the dolphins, and there’s times when the kids are concerned that they’re going to fall off.
However – the staff are clearly watching to ensure everyone is okay. One minor safety issue does arise when a woman is unable to climb out using the front net, and they quickly and seamlessly help her around the back using a life buoy.
Whilst on the back, my wife and son manage to spot some of the dolphins. No luck for my daughter or myself. Ah, well.
But we do get some nice views from aboard the ship – and Temptation Sailing gets some good shots:
Photo Credit: Temptation Sailing from our trip
The first cohort of dolphins soon move into a shipping channel. We stick around just long enough to cycle out all four groups, and then we’re off in search of a fresh pod.
How long is the wait to spot a pod of dolphins? About as long as a piece of string – as long as it needs to be. Could be 10 minutes, or 30, or an hour. Or longer.
We motor for perhaps 30 minutes before we spot two more dolphins, but that’s not really enough to make for a meaningful encounter. So we move on.
Another 30 minutes or so pass by, and we encounter another pod. Back on the front net for another brief-but-memorable encounter. The water here is much clearer, which makes it all the more special.
And Temptation Sailing gets some more solid shots:
Photo Credit: Temptation Sailing from our trip
Then I head back to the rear for a few more moments, where I spot the dolphins once more.
But soon we’re given the order – everyone out of the water.
The pod we’re following now is diving deep every time we approach. We rightly don’t want to force the encounters, and there isn’t enough time to find a new pod. So we’re heading back to the pier.
You can see the full experience – first and second swims – here:
We have mixed emotions about how the day’s gone.
On one hand, we have absolute respect for Temptation Sailing’s approach to wildlife – they are respectful of the dolphins, they don’t force the encounters, and they do not use bait or take any other undue measures to attract the dolphins. These environmentally-friendly measures are going to limit the wildlife encounters that you have, and that’s something that participants need to accept.
On the other hand – they had a lot of people aboard that ship, particularly amongst the swimmers group. I believe there are people – ourselves included – who would have paid quite a bit more money for a tour with fewer people. And while the rear-rope situation never crossed the line into being unsafe, it wasn’t exactly comfortable either.
Having been towed behind boats on previous snorkel trips we were strongly recommend they limit themselves to only 8 swimmers (4 per rope) so that you aren’t constantly being kicked.
Our verdict on Temptation Sailing? 4 / 5 stars. Knowing what we know now, we still would have booked it – but it’s tough to see a tour that is so close to being excellent being brought down by overcrowding.
Anyway – back to Adelaide. On the way, I manage a few snaps with my camera:
And then we’re back ashore.
As we step off, I book another Uber – and this one arrives right on time. It’s another 40 minutes and AUD$60 back to the pier, and we return to the Moon at 1 pm for a late-ish lunch.
Back to Spaccanapoli for lunch. I have the sausage pizza this time:
While my wife has the proscuitto with arugula:
Then back to the rooms for a bit of reading / writing / homework.
We then head to trivia, where we correctly identify the organ that contains the most gold (the liver) and the hottest planet in the solar system (Venus). However, we fail to identify what percentage of the body is water (60%) despite my daughter insisting it’s the correct answer. We should listen to her next time! Our 22/23 score is nevertheless good enough to tie for first.
Off to La Terrazza for dinner tonight. It’s much quieter than it was during sail-away from Melbourne.
My wife has the lasagna:
Perhaps her favourite meal on Silversea
While I have the sliced filet with an addition of cognac shrimp:
Which is now my favourite meal I’ve ever had on Silversea
Our daughter has the coffee panacotta for dessert:
While my son and I have the chocolate lava cake:
Back to the same ‘pyramid’ shape as on the expedition ships – I wonder why it changed earlier?
And my wife has the pistachio cake:
Then back to the room for a glass of champagne on the verandah:
As the Moon steams toward Albany:
We gain an extra half-hour tonight, which means a much-needed sleep-in for all.