Swimming with the Dolphins

This was the most amazing experience. I am still trying to come up with words that adequately describe the sensations of touching and stroking a dolphins back and tummy, holding a dolphin's chin and watching their eyes as I talked to it and got the incredible sensation that it was actually listening.






The Sea World at Surfers Paradise, Australia is somewhat different than the US versions of Sea World. There are more interactive activities and less of the choreographed performances with dolphins and whales and seals that you see in the US. There are three shows, only one of which involves aquatic animals/mammals. The three are a show with sea lions who stay mostly on dry land, a water skiing stunt show and the Sesame Street show, where a life size Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster and a couple of others put on a 15 minute show every hour with songs and dancing to entertain the children. After every second show children line up to have photographs taken with one or more of the characters.

After the show, there is a Sesame Street play area with a carousel, a helicopter roundabout and a wet play area with fountains squirting from the ground.






The interactive parts of the park include the Dolphins shown above and a similar experience with sea lions, a tidal pool where children (and adults) can touch starfish, sea cucumbers and shellfish, tanks where one can scuba with manta rays and small sharks, other tanks for snorkeling on a barrier reef. It is also possible to become a dolphin or sea lion trainer for a couple of hours.