DOLPHIN SWIM AUSTRALIA CELEBRATES 100+ TOURS AND A 90% SUCCESS RATE!
Dolphins in the blue. We love it!
What a season!
Our 2025/2026 season has come to an end! We are absolutely stoked to announce that Dolphin Swim Australia ran 107 tours during the 2025/26 season. Our previous record was 80 tours in a season, so this has been, without a doubt, the biggest and most successful season in DSA history.
We were blessed with incredible weather conditions throughout the season, allowing us to get out on the water almost every day. The ocean truly turned it on for us this year.
Crystal Clear Water
One of the standout features of this season was the visibility.
Port Stephens is famous for its beautiful blue water, but like any coastal environment, it can occasionally turn green after strong winds or rain. This year, however, we enjoyed months of stunning conditions, with many tours experiencing visibility of 20 metres or more, and a handful of unforgettable days reaching an incredible 30 metres.
The funny thing is that visibility isn't actually what makes a great dolphin swim.
When the water is murky, the dolphins often come even closer to investigate swimmers. Sometimes they're so close you feel like you could almost reach out and touch them (don't worry—we never do!).
But there is something truly special about seeing a pod of dolphins in crystal-clear water. You can make out every detail—the shape of their eyes, the subtle markings on their skin, and even the scratches and scars they pick up while playing and socialising with each other.
While clear water isn't essential for an amazing encounter, it certainly made this season one to remember.
Dolphins Everywhere
Another reason this season has been our greatest yet is the sheer number of dolphins we encountered.
Common dolphin pods can range anywhere from a handful of animals to hundreds. Once or twice each year we are lucky enough to witness a "superpod"—more than 1,000 dolphins travelling together through the bay. It's one of those sights that simply can't be described until you've seen it with your own eyes.
This season felt like one giant superpod.
Pods of more than 100 dolphins became almost a daily occurrence, and even our experienced crew found themselves constantly amazed by the numbers we were seeing.
A 90% Success Rate
Perhaps most exciting of all was our dolphin swim success rate.
This season we achieved an incredible 90% success rate, meaning nine out of every ten tours successfully entered the water and swam with dolphins.
When you think about it, that's pretty remarkable.
We're not using drones, spotter planes, or high-tech tracking systems. We're heading out into the open ocean with years of local knowledge, a great crew, a sharp pair of eyes, and yes—a very fancy set of binoculars.
To consistently locate wild dolphins and create unforgettable encounters is something we're incredibly proud of.
For the small percentage of guests who don't get a swim opportunity, we offer a complimentary return trip. Many come back the very next day and enjoy an amazing encounter, so if you're planning a visit, it's always worth leaving a spare day in your itinerary just in case.
Interestingly, we were tracking at around 95% success for most of the season before a run of windy conditions right at the end brought us back to 90%.
We'll take that!
Our favourite vision!
Thank You
Dolphin Swim Australia is still a small, family-run business, and we're continually blown away by the support we receive.
To everyone who joined us on a tour this season, shared our content, told a friend about us, left a review, or simply followed along online—thank you.
Your support allows us to do what we love every day, and we never take that for granted.
We're incredibly grateful that we get to share these encounters with people from all over the world, helping create memories that last a lifetime.
We have some seriously exciting stuff coming up over the next few months- we can’t wait to share it with you! Here's to an even bigger 2026/27 season.
See you on the water.
Yours truly,
Adam Wiltshire
Owner / Operator
Dolphin Swim Australia