Capturing dolphin from speed boat with my Nikon D 5100!


The day before, we enjoyed cycling 27 km at Qixingtan Bike Trail in Hualien City. And now it is time to take a speed boat out to the sea of beautiful Hualien for dolphin watching.

I was grateful that I brought along my Nikon D 5100 DSLR camera to capture some rare moments of dolphins in the coastal sea of Hualien. All pictures taken here were shot through this immature photographer.. :) 

I hope that the sharing here helps you to see the wonderful creation of God, the beautiful sea, naughty dolphins and appreciate what the Taiwan has to offer!
Whale watching season falls between April to October in Taiwan and Hualien is an ideal place for this sight seeing.

We took up a whale watching tour package with a local whale watching company. The staff were very professional and nice. We were briefed on safety measures - how to put on the life jacket, etc. And then we were shown video clips and pictures of different types of whales and dolphins.

There was a van to transfer us to Hualien Harbor where the speed boat was. 

Once we put on our life jacket and hopped on to the speed boat, I couldn't contain my excitement!




Being a person born on an island ( Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia), I have special likings to the nature - the sun, sea, sand, mountains.

So this tour really made me excited! I went to Bali to watch the dolphins in the open sea once (which I would share as well in another post). This Hualien dolphin watching be my second time to watch dolphins swim freeling in the ocean. The difference between this Hualien experience and Bali's would be that Hualien's is in the deep sea while Bali's was close to the shore.


Leaving the Hualien Harbor to deep blue ocean

I managed to take some beautiful shots of the harbor from the boat. Hualien is simply breath taking - full of nature beauty!


The clock tower at Hualien Harbour

 I also didn't really listen to the tour guide to sit proper in the boat. Instead I sat at the front deck of the boat so that I could enjoy the sea breeze, soak in the warm sun, and feel the wave of the ocean smashing on the speed boat. Occasionally, the sea water would splash up and make me little wet- which I was perfectly fine! I just love to be in the nature! I love sea!
All the tourists in life jacket! 


Sitting in the front deck enjoying the sea breeze, warm sun, and the 
beautiful ocean and clear blue sky!
Out to the sea with clear blue sky!

Our tour guide from the whale (dolphin) watching company. 
She is very professional and humorous!



Sightings of beautiful dolphins!
1st sighting of dolphins... so excited!! I almost scream out loud for joy!


We were told it's a whale watching tour. But we didn't manage to sight any whales. However, we saw schools of beautiful dolphins appearing at the sea line from afar. I almost screamed out loud for joy during the first sighting! You could imagine how excited I was to see the beautiful creation of God!

The tour company had very experienced staff. The boat driver slowed down our boat and slowly moved closer to the dolphins.

And as we moved closer, we could see the dolphins even clearer. The sea was so so clear and blue!! And the dolphins seemed not to have any fear of humans. They continued their swim happily in the ocean. How I wish I could jump in and swim along with them!

You should see my face then - smiling from ear to ear!! :)
Schools of dolphins swimming close by to our boat 
Both look like a loving couple! :)

Another closer shot! Wish I could stretch out my
hand to touch her!

With the water reflection...

I lvoe dolphins.. .can you see the edge of the boat? That's how close the dolphins are! How I wish I could touch them and swim with them!



Back to the Hualien Harbor

Another view of the Hualien Harbor as we came back from the sea!

Nice view!




I actually didn't have enough of dolphin watching. How I wish I could stay on longer. Better still - how i wish I could swim in the open water with them communicating to them in their language. :)

So even after 2.5 years, I still remember my Hualien trip vividly. 

Look at the smiling faces of the dolphins? How could I forget? :)




Written on 2015.10.19 (2.5 years after the trip on 28 March 2013)