Calypso Star Charters Swim with sealions

Arrive at the start point in good time - they like people to arrive well before the 8am start. There are other participants arriving as well. We get to start chatting with others doing this tour - we're all looking forward to this tour, just wondering how the cooler weather and winds will affect our outing.
We all get aboard the boat just before 8am. The skipper, Andrew introduces himself and his crew, Bree, Bron and Chloe and explains how the tour will run. It is obviously a well organised set up. It will take us about an hour and half of boating to get us to our 1st option for the swim - in this time we'll be served (help ourselves to smorgasbord food) breakfast and we'll be kitted up in our wetsuits. The breakfast is great, ham and cheese toasted muffins and a platter of cut up fresh fruit. Getting into the provided wetsuits was accomplished with quite a few laughs - not the easiest things to get into for some of us! We arrive at the 1st option Grindor Island - decision is made that it's too shallow (tide) and choppy waters, so we go another 10 minutes to the 2nd option Hopkins Island - where we do our swim. We have 1 hour allowance to be in the water with the sealions - welcome to come back on board before that, or ride about in the tender boat with crew. I manage to stay out for around 45 minutes before returning to the boat, Roger isn't far behind me. Fantastic experience - those sealions are amazing and certainly happy to hang around and put on a good show (not trained, just inquisitive). We get out of the wetsuits and dry off - offer of hot showers but we're happy to just get dressed into our clothes again - we'll shower when we get back. Now we enjoy the hour and a half trip back, chatting happily and enjoying a couple of drinks. I'm chatting with a lady who turns out to be Andrea as well - she has kindly taken photos of Rog and I - and will forward them to us along with some photos and videos she has taken on today's tour. Had a great time with this tour.Read more