To garden or swim with fish

When Norwegian Cille Fabert came to a career crossroads in London in 2002, she was putting her business and marketing degree to good use working in the British television media.

But it was time for a change and Cille says after much deliberation it came down to two things, gardening or swimming with fish.

It took a few more years of travelling the globe however before that dream, the one about swimming with fish was realised here in New Zealand.

A keen scuba diver since the age of 10, she went to Spain to get her scuba diving instructors licence and then spent the next few years travelling the world teaching the skill in exotic places like the Maldives and the Caribbean, before discovering the clear blue waters of the Bay of Plenty.

Here in the Bay of Plenty with its plentiful wild marine life, she finally started swimming with fish.

Living the dream

Today Cilla Fabert’s the owner, skipper, crew, boat fixer and marketer of the Guardian, a 40ft catamaran built as a viewing boat for The Americas Cup in the late 1980's.

Guardian is now a surveyed dolphin boat and has been plying the Bay of Plenty waters for the last 20 years.

Cille started working on the Guardian for Dolphin Seafaris in Tauranga in 2018 and loved it so much she bought the business and the boat a year later.

During lockdown, she got her skipper's licence and started living the dream.

Owner and skipper of the Guardian, Cilla Fabert

Photos: nzdophin.com

Swimming with Dolphins

In the busy summer months, Cille takes Dolphin Seafaris ecotours out daily.

“We go 30 to 40k out towards Mayor Island and into the open sea where there’s an 85 to 95% chance we’ll find dolphins at around 50 metres. The bay is large, and water texture, light and white caps all play a part in finding the dolphins,” she says.

An abundance of marine wildlife means you might also see Blue Penguins around the base of Mauao (the Mount) and New Zealand fur seals.

If you’re really lucky in September through to early December you may be lucky enough to see migrating whales including Orcas, Pilot, Humpback, Minke, Pygmy and Blue whales.

The Dolphins are always in charge

Dolphin Seafaris was the first tourism operator in the North Island to get Department of Conservation SMART accreditation. (Sustainable Marine Mammal Action in Recreation and Tourism.)

Cille says they take sustainability seriously and have great respect for mammals when interacting with them.

“If the dolphins are sleeping we don’t disturb them. If they have babies we don’t put people in the water, and if they’re feeding we stay away.

If they’re travelling we don’t follow. We couldn’t,” she laughs, “they just take off, breaching the water at huge speeds.”

“But when they’re just milling around being playful and socialising, we get close, lower our two swim bars off the back of the boat and allow a maximum of 10 people to get in the water. They hold on to the bars and are dragged along swimming with the dolphins who think it’s a game and love it.”

Restrictions mean an encounter cannot last longer than 90 minutes and only 60 minutes can be spent in the water.

Magic happens out there

“People laugh, cry and are often left speechless when an encounter happens,” Cille says, “And the emotions are often the same for the crew.”

On the question of why these mammals spark such deep emotions, Cille thinks it could be the way they turn

and look directly at you, or maybe because they appear to have a permanent smile on their face.

“Maybe it’s jealousy about the freedom they enjoy. They just hang out, mate and sleep, and they’re so playful and inquisitive. It’s wonderful watching them playing with jellyfish and seaweed.”

Details and prices for the Eco Dolphin Encounters and private charters offered by Dolphin Seafaris can be found on their website www.nzdolphin.com

Photo: nzdophin.com

Photos: nzdophin.com