Tin Can Bay Dolphines Part Two

So my last attempt to see dolphins in the wild didn't go so well but I was determined to have my dolphin dreams come true! When my alarm went off at 5am and I had a one and a half hour drive ahead of me I got to say there were a few doubts in my minds :P

I got to Tin Can Bay at around 7am I walked over and there are heaps of people...GAH what are you people doing on a weekday at 7am in Tincan bay? As Ben always says, nothing wrong with humanity it's only an issue when they appear in excess :P I walked closer and people are already standing in the water and there is a...DOLPHIN

WHAT THE! I know he's the reason I was there but unlike last time there was no build up or anticipation, the critter was just in the water waiting for it's food. They really make him wait too right until 8am when the ferry load of people have been dropped off from surrounding areas. I was a little upset it was only mystique (the alpha male of the pod) in the water, the brochure promised two dolphins at least :P By the way, do you think they knew it was a boy dolphin when they named him mystique :P

So peeps are just standing in the water, the dolphin is just sitting there/leisurely swimming. I hear kids inquisitively inquire as to why the dolphin is cover in scratches, the volunteers in the water brush it off as being nothing serious, just other dolphins teeth marks... SAY WHAT?

This guy ain't not SeaWorld dolphin! To be honest I understood why the kids were a little apprehensive about going anywhere near him, especially with his half eaten tale, a mishap from several shark attacks.

7.45am goes by and the ferry rocks up and also...Patch (Mystique's gf)..yay! Patch is a bit more prettier than Mystique, still has teeth marks over her body, hey you don't get to be the alpha female without a few cat fights right? I also think Patch is a little smarter than Mystique knowing to rock up just on time and not having to wait an hour for their 3kg of fish. I like that they only feed them a small amount of their daily intake, I however was confused when there was fish swimming all around in the shallow water and they didn't go for them!

At this point I also discovered that I probably wasn't going to get my leaping through the air, Seaworld shot I had mislead myself to believe in. What was I thinking, dolphins live in the water not the air :P

Luckily the water was clear and I snapped some shots whilst watching the peeps feed the dolphins. There were quite a few touch attempts made (a cardinal sin) with the culprits pulling out the "I don't understand English" card and the volunteers threatening the $500 on the spot fine.

These head out of water shots were rare, they volunteers discourage the dolphins from lifting their heads due to their limited neck vertebrae and subsequent harm. They ask everyone to feed them below the water, which I 100% approve of despite my longing for some out of water action!

So once the volunteers have fed the dolphins the dolphins know that's it and they swim away...

all wrapped up by 8.30

It's just the cormorants who stick around for left overs

P.S When they gave their talk they said the dolphins had only not shown up three times this year!
Totally jibbed on our first visit!