It’s Moko Time Again

I thought after my last encounter that it would be enough to satisfy my desire to meet and swim with Moko but I was wrong, I’m definitely hooked on Moko, he’s got under my skin and I'm a Moko groupie! I’ve continued to check his blog, watch the YouTube clips that regularly appear, scan the many photos and read as people post about their varied experiences of meeting and swimming with Moko.

When I indicated to a girlfriend that I was thinking of heading over to Whakatane again she was quick to say she’d love to come and meet Moko too so we arranged to travel across there last Friday, March 19th. I had still been receiving tweets as to where Moko was each day and after checking the weather forecast we left Tauranga at 8am confident that it was going to be a good day. There was quite a bit of cloud cover and a slight autumnal chill in the air, the sea temperature had also taken a dive over the last few days dropping 2-3 degrees as a southerly rushed up the country. No problems though, we were secure in the knowledge that we had our wetsuits with us. As we headed down the coast we could see a definite band where the dark cloud gave way to brilliant blue sky, we were in luck.

We stopped for coffee and a muffin at the Whitehouse Café and Gallery just outside Whakatane right beside the SH2 intersection with Thorndon Road. Great service, very friendly staff and tasty muffins straight out of the oven, this was a good start to the day.

I had been expecting to have a tweet on my mobile by now letting me know where Moko was but so far not a word. Of all the days this was the one that I needed some info, and fast! As back up to the tweet I had access to some local “inside knowledge”, a mobile phone number I could text, I sent one off and we headed into Whakatane.

Moko had been at Otarawairere Bay the previous two days but I thought we’d head down to the river first before committing ourselves to the steep walk into the bay. Still no texts had arrived so we popped into the iSite (information centre) which is very strategically placed high up on the river bank with glorious views up and down the river. A very helpful guy told us that Moko was at The Heads about ½ an hour ago. Back in the car I received a text from my inside source to say that Moko had moved on and at this stage no one knew where he’d gone. Drat. Oh well. Let the waiting game begin.

Have you seen Moko?

How about you?

I don't suppose you've seen Moko?

We parked up further down towards The Heads and watched the world go by for another half hour or so, we saw Kirsty and the Moko Mobile (small inflatable) heading down the river and then back up again, obviously checking on his whereabouts too.

Whakatane River

We then moved right to the end of the road and watched a few fishermen on the breakwater and a couple of boats come in across the notorious Whakatane River bar.

The tide had just turned and there was quite a swell running and some large breakers, perhaps Moko wasn’t keen to ride them into the river again. It’s thought that the river bar is one of the reasons Moko is still calling Whakatane home, there are no large fishing trawlers located here, it’s too difficult for them to cross the bar. Most of the boats are local and if Moko follows them out to sea for the day he also follows them home again. Unlike the trawlers that move from port to port in their quest for fish.

Looking towards the Heads and the Whakatane River bar

“Whakatane (to act as a man) - This story springs from the 12th Century Great Migration. The women of the Mataaua Canoe, left to themselves when the men went ashore for the first time, found a waka(canoe) drifting out to sea again.

The paddles were tapu(forbidden) to women, but a high spirited teenager, Wairaka, who was the daughter of Chief Toroa, boldly seized one of the paddles and paddled the waka back to shore. As she did this, she shouted, Ka Whakatane au i ahau:, and her actions saved the women but also coined the name of the town.

A bronze statue of Wairaka stands on a rock at the Whakatane Heads to commemorate this act.” 

 

After an hour or so I was starting to wonder if maybe we had picked the wrong day after all. I spoke to Kirsty and she had located Moko out at sea, he’d started to follow her back to the river but as she’d crossed the bar he headed back out again. She collected a fellow Moko friend from the boat ramp and was heading around to Otarawairere. We made the decision to head over there too. He was either going to be there or perhaps at West End Beach in Ohope.

We parked in the tiny Otarawairere village at the top of the walk, I was pleased to see a new DOC sign that hadn’t been there the last time I came indicating all the dos and don’ts of swimming with Moko. This is good as there are so many more people seeking Moko out, some have never swum in the sea let alone with a wild animal. Once again I wonder whether Moko’s fame will eventually be his downfall. I sincerely hope not.

We make our way down the track and my girlfriend notes “that it is rather steep isn’t it?” Of course she is imagining what it will be like on the long haul back up afterwards! I tell her at least with this track it’s only one down and one up, unlike the track that comes over from Ohope where first you have to go up, then down and the reverse on the way home. We do think those DOC(Department of Conservation) workers have long legs though (or perhaps it’s the PD workers getting their own back) you need climbing axes on some of the steps, they’re three times the height of regular steps!

 

Is this up or down................it's actually looking down.

There's is some beautiful native bush down this track and today the tui are calling all over the place, a few fantails are flitting along beside us as we make our way down and silvereyes and other tiny birds are twittering away close at hand.

 

Down on the beach we search out Moko’s buoy over the far side of the bay and sure enough we can make out half a dozen heads and just as many noodles and boogie boards. Moko must be in residence!

The tide is on the way out leaving just enough clearance across the rocks that protect his little beach. We pass two or three groups of people picking their way around the rocks, a couple with bare feet are having a slow and difficult time. It pays to come prepared, footwear is a no brainer.

We locate a dry spot up behind the tide line and settle our gear onto a large piece of driftwood. I dab my feet in the water and find that it’s still surprisingly warm, this I was not expecting. I decide I won’t need to fight my way into my wetsuit after all. 

While we were changing and getting things organized a lady came up to us and asked if we knew “so and so”. It turned out that “so and so” was the girlfriend right there beside me. My girlfriend had known this lady from Switzerland was visiting NZ and in fact the lady was going to be staying with her for a couple of nights.

My friend had sent my first blog post to the lady and she’d made the decision to add Whakatane to her itinerary hoping she’d have the chance of meeting Moko. It was pure coincidence that she was there on the same day as us! She had recognised me from the blog, little knowing that the person with me was her New Zealand contact. It is indeed a small world. In the three hours that we were there, I talked to a couple from France, a guy from Israel, an English couple and I heard another couple of different accents plus of course the lady from Switzerland. A real multi-national bunch of people.

Moko was having a lot of fun with the 10 or so people in the water, chasing boards, noodles and seaweed. He was full of beans zipping here, there and everywhere saying a quick hello to anybody new that entered the water. It was great that every now and then Moko would interact exclusively with one or two people, this gave them the chance to touch him and say hello. Some people were a little apprehensive and when he was darting in and out they stood back a bit just observing.

Others stuck to him like glue!

How many toys does one dolphin need? Lots! (actually not too many as he becomes distracted and possessive)

Of course there were other people that couldn’t just let go of him, not as in holding on to him, just sticking beside him to the exclusion of some of the more timid swimmers. I did think it was unfair of a couple of swimmers who when they couldn’t hold Moko’s attention in amongst the people, decided to swim off into the deep and away from the group drawing Moko away with their splashing. If they had just stopped where they were and waited, Moko would have found his way to them. They were trying to get a friend to take photos of them and Moko. As it was, I bet all their photos show is two little black heads and one tiny fin they were so far out (I even wonder if they got the fin).

Kirsty and her mate Moko with his favourite toy

It wasn’t too long before the first of three launches, full of people, pulled into the bay and anchored beside Moko’s buoy.

As soon as Moko heard the motors as the boat came around the reef he was off, heading straight for his buoy and the boat, he loves playing with the anchor chain. Most of the shore swimmers had to sit it out on beach until the boat left although as the tide dropped it got easier to swim out there with him.

Patiently waiting for Moko's return

I had my fins and snorkel and went out to him at the boat. The water was quite murky so you couldn’t see too much but some of the boat swimmers were diving down the anchor chain and Moko would follow suit right beside them. When he got to the seabed Moko would lay on his back looking up.

I wonder what he finds so fascinating with the chain and why he lays on his back; although I believe the chain noise has something to do with it. I think he feels that all these people having fun beside him are his pod and he’s just doing what his pod is doing; squawking, leaping and diving! It was good to see Moko having so much fun in the deep and doing what dolphins do; diving and leaping about.

He kept disappearing, the ocean was flat calm and everybody would be twisting & turning scanning & trying to locate him. Then suddenly he’d appear again right beside someone surprising the hell out of the person, on one occasion he came up right underneath my friend who was floating about on her noodle. She got the fright of her life as she was nearly upended!

Moko what are you doing?

The Moko Mobile waiting on shore, swimmers out at the boat

Once the boat left Moko followed everybody back into the shallows but it wasn’t long before another boat arrived and he was away again. 

Kirsty tried unsuccessfully to distract Moko from swimming over to the boat, you can see his dorsal fin is pointing in the wrong direction- 

 

I wonder whether the skippers of these boats know that they’re not actually giving their swimmers the best opportunity of interacting with Moko. Most had people on board that got into the water, if these swimmers had been dropped closer or swum in closer to the shore they would be able to stand, touch him for longer than the quick swim past he does in the deep and also see him a lot better as the water is clearer closer in.

It didn’t worry me, I’ve seen him in various situations now but I feel for the older or less than confident swimmers that walk into the Bay and then don’t get the chance to swim with him. I know he’s a wild animal and he’ll go where he chooses but no matter how we look at it, humans are more or less dictating where he plays and who he plays with when he's in a playful mood. This is much more obvious than the last time I visited. I also notice that Moko has many more marks on his dorsal fin and along both sides of his body than the last time I saw him too. Another negative caused by his success. 

Moko made some very loud grunting noises under water when he met this gentleman as he dug under his feet-  

The last boat left and Moko came into play once again. This time he was very pleased with the large lump of seaweed someone had found for him. He chased it about and was very proficient at keeping it over his head and beak while dashing about.

Very soon he seemed to tire of all the play and made a beeline back out to his buoy where he popped his beak up on the rope and took a break. Unfortunately a few swimmers couldn’t or wouldn’t read Moko’s signs that he was tired. They swam out after him.
 

The Moko Mobile had left by this time but luckily another frequent Moko swimmer was there and paddled out after them to let them know what was happening. Moko was ready for a sleep.

We packed up our belongings and made our way slowing back around the shoreline reluctant to call it a day.

 

"So you found Moko then?"

We passed three more foreign couples making their way down the track, I offered them information on Moko about him sleeping and that he wouldn’t be doing it for too long if they waited patiently for him to come into the shallows and also the tide times so they didn't get caught out on the rocks.

Here is a YouTube clip from some of the afternoon. You'll have to excuse the speed wobbles occasionally, I usually use my digital camera to take videos but unfortunately that was away overseas so I used the HandyCam video instead which does give a clearer picture but it didn't help that I stepped into a hole on a couple of occasions and zoomed in rather quick on others. I am also learning the tricks of uploading the files from the DVD disk to the computer which is rather complicated too so I haven't done any editing but all in all it's a pretty good for a first attempt-

 

Swimming with Moko

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP9o-m_kQV0

Things to watch for-

0.30sec- Watch the guy shadow Moko with his camera, he's stuck to him like glue! :)

1.10min- Moko bats away the noodle with quite a force

2.00min- Moko tries to toss a swimmer off their boogie board

3.25min- The guy in the red shorts gets the message from Moko, "Get out of my face"

3.30min- Watch a guy take a self portrait of him and Moko

3.50min- Moko hunts out his own seaweed clump to play with

4.20min- Listen for the "dreadlocks" comment :)

I had another incredible day with Moko although I’d have to say the first weekend with him was extra special, nothing beats that one on one experience. With his popularity has come more people and more problems. It would seem everyone wants a piece of Moko  and once again I worry what the outcome will be. There are many people looking out for Moko and I can only hope he stays safe, sound and happy. I also wonder how he will cope over the coming winter months, I know those that care about Moko won’t abandon him but there will be less and less people for him to play with. I wonder where that will lead him. Maybe I’m attaching human emotions to a dolphin but I think he’ll be bewildered and lost at the sudden lack of friends.

Lucky I have a winter weight wetsuit……

Until next time, stay safe Moko.

I Went Swimming With Moko the Friendly Dolphin

Moko is a friendly, lone bottle nose dolphin that has been making human friends around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand for the last three or so years. He had stayed in Mahia in Northern Hawkes Bay for most of this time but early in the summer of 2009 he followed a fishing trawler north to Gisborne where he stayed for a couple of months before once again following a trawler north, around the East Cape and into the Bay of Plenty, where he has taken up residence in a small bay between Whakatane and Ohope.

I travelled across to Ohope from Tauranga during the last weekend in February especially to swim with Moko. I’ve been following Moko's story for a couple of years. I’m originally from Hawkes Bay and spent most of my childhood holidays at Mahia and I've climbed Mokotahi Bluff (which he was named after) many times, so Moko was obviously going to be of special interest to me.





Mokotahi Bluff, Mahia

  



Beautiful Ohope Beach

Lately I’d been following Moko’s Facebook page and a blog on daily Moko happenings, I was also getting regular tweets on my mobile as to where he was during the day. I was worried if I didn’t go and see him soon he might move on. The few days prior to arriving, Moko had been hanging out in Whakatane River but with fine weather forecast and the ocean swell dropping I knew he would be back in his favourite place, Otarawairere Bay. This is a small bay located in the headland between Whakatane and Ohope and the only way to reach it is by one of three very steep walking tracks.

I headed to the bay about 2pm, Moko was there but unfortunately he was playing quite a few hundred meters off-shore with the occupants of two anchored runabouts, a dozen or so swimmers and a couple of people in their kayaks. A few strong swimmers had made it out from the shore to play with him but mostly people stood around at the waters edge hoping Moko might come back in to play with them. It would have been a disappointment if you were a visitor to come so far and get so close but not have the opportunity to swim with Moko especially as we could see his fin, he also did a couple of leaps and tail slaps while we were watching. I had the luxury of knowing I was here for another day so while I was disappointed I knew my time would come. And it was, after all, a lovely Sunday stroll over the hill…….yeah right!




Part of the climb to Otarawairere Bay




At the top of the track looking back to West End Beach, Ohope

I headed back over to the bay just after 7pm Sunday evening, hoping Moko was going to still be there. And luckily enough he was. I spotted him way over the otherside of the bay swimming with a small group of people.




Low tide at Otarawairere Bay. Moko's buoys are behind the tree in the top right of the photo

Once I was around there I waded into the water to about waist height and very soon Moko was checking me out. What an awesome creature he is. I loved the feel of his skin, smooth and solid; it felt a bit like a wet gumboot. It was great to hear his little squeaks and pips. He loved to swim in close and rub past, occasionally catching my shin with his tail. It didn’t hurt but he gave you a bit of a fright, he’s very long and you think he’s well past when his tail catches you out.




Moko and his boogie board

I had a “noodle” with me but he was more interested in his familiar boogie board (the woman that was there has spent many hours with Moko, he knows when she arrives and heads straight for the boogie board she brings) although he did play with the noodle on and off. He’d take it away and then rest his head on it until you tried to catch up to him. Then he’d be away with it again.




Resting on a "noodle"

I played with Moko for over an hour, it was so relaxing, he swum in and out and around us all. Into the shallows and off after the board into the deep and back again. It was a very special time, a beautiful dolphin to play with, luke warm water (or was it the thrill of swimming with Moko that took the chill away), the sun setting on a beautiful summer's day and an orange glow bathing the bay. Nobody wanted to leave the water as we all knew he’d be by himself but as it got darker we had to finally drag ourselves out.  




A boy and a dolphin

Moko did a few laps that slowly got bigger until he decided no one was coming back in to play.
 


"Come play with me"

It was quite sad watching his lone fin make its way back to the buoys in the fast disappearing light. We watched as he propped his beak on the joining rope and settled in for the night. Dolphins sleep with half of their brain at a time as they need to continue using their blow hole to breathe. Moko usually rests his beak on the floating rope that joins the two buoys and stays there for the night.

What an amazing time I had, I felt very privileged to have experienced this once in a life time opportunity. I have swum with dolphins many times when we’ve been out on our boat but nothing can compare with this. Usually dolphins are interested in you, that's if they're not on a food hunting mission, they'll stop and check you out but will keep just out of arm's reach and they’re just as likely to up and leave at the drop of a hat. Not Moko, he is there, in your face the whole time, in a nice way of course!

And I still had Monday to look forward to……




Moko resting at the buoys

At 7:30am Monday morning there was, as yet, no news as to where Moko might be. Should I do that hike again over to his bay? It took me all of 30 seconds to decide I’d head back over to Otarawairere Bay in the hope that he was still where we’d left him the night before.

It was on with the backpack, don't forget the noodle, throw in a snack and I was on my way. I didn’t pass anybody on the track and once I got to the top of hill and was in sight of the bay I scanned the beach and the water with my binoculars. Not a soul in sight. I zeroed in on Moko’s buoys away over the other side. A big bright orange one and a smaller black one set slightly off to the side. No sight of Moko, two buoys bobbing about, two buoys, two buoys…….wait…….three buoys! Moko’s head and beak came into sight above the slight swell of the ocean. Exactly as we’d left him the night before, snoozing on the rope. I wonder if he's been there all night, I wonder when he eats.

That quickened the pace and I was off racing down the other side across the sand and over the rocks, with fingers crossed he wasn’t going to suddenly awaken and be off out to sea in search of company. Still nobody about when I got to his little beach and now I could clearly see him resting. As excited as I was I didn’t want to swim out to the buoy and disturb him so I casually swum out about 50 meters or so and “pretended” to just be having a morning dip. I did whistle a tune & slapped the noodle on the water a couple of times………oh and I called his name a few times. Truth be told, being in the grey, dark water all by myself with a “fin” in the distance was a little bit scary.

Suddenly he spotted me and came whizzing through the water straight at me, another scary moment hoping it was Moko and not a shark. No side profile to check the fin shape! I headed back into where I could stand with an excited Moko right on my tail. Once I could stand he tore around and around me, squeaking and chirping. He got a hold of the noodle and tossed it about. I threw it for him and he’d throw it about for a bit then bring it back to me. This was the most incredible experience, all by myself with a friendly wild dolphin as a playmate.




"Thar he blows!" Spot his eye.

After about half an hour or so a woman joined us, she came into the bay from the other direction and had been watching us from the stairway. The two of us had Moko to ourselves for a good hour before others started to arrive. Moko quietened down a bit and just swum lazily around and between us two. At one stage he rested his head on the noodle and was quite happy for us to stroke and rub the length of his body, we were in thigh deep water and the water was very clear, we could see the whole length of his body. I noticed his skin had a very fine film of what felt like gritty dust, smaller grains than sand, but a definite rough feel about it. As we stroked him it came off, I wonder if it’s something in the water that settles on him overnight, baby barnacles?




Moko and his best friend Kirsty

After a short while he came to life again and he made sure we did too by digging his beak under our feet to get us to play and bumping his beak against our lower legs.




Shellie & Moko, stars together!

"Come on, come on, throw it"

By now a guy had arrived, and as I could see him furiously texting away, I knew it wouldn’t be long before word was out about where Moko was. We spent the next half hour playing throw and fetch with Moko while the guy took photos with his underwater camera.




"Make sure you get my best side"

"Which one do I choose?"



Tossing the boogie board

At one stage Moko pushed his head up under my arm and rested it on the board while I was kicking it along. Later when I was floating on my back with the noodle behind me and my feet together, Moko came up to my feet and used his beak to push me along through the water creating quite a bow wave. He is certainly a very powerful animal but so agile with it. He can duck and dive as quick as a wink!

It was about now that we heard a whole lot of chatter coming from the direction of the track and suddenly about sixty Japanese students appeared on the beach where the chatter got more excited and louder as they spotted Moko in the shallows.



“I’m outta here!”



“Hi, my name is Moko”

Four of the boys got in for a quick dip with Moko and then they were gone. I hope they take away some special memories, after all they’d come a long way in on the track to see him. More people were arriving and after three and half hours it was time for me to leave. As I left the water Moko came quickly up to me in knee deep water and gave me a couple of nudges, I like to think he did not want me to go.

Both encounters with Moko were very special and an experience of a life time, I am so pleased and thankful I made the effort to seek Moko out. What a wonderful gift he has given us. I hope he remains safe and sound. Safe travels Moko, wherever they eventually take you.




"It's mine"

Watch my YouTube video clips of Moko here; listen to the cicadas and Moko squeaking;

1) Swimming with Moko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XQv0anLF7I&feature=youtu.be

2) Moko, New Zealand's Friendly Dolphin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cJLbVp4rWU