Paddler captures footage of dolphins within touching distance on Auckland’s North Shore

Dennis Kuhn takes his outrigger canoe for a paddle off of Takapuna Beach five times a week, but had never experienced anything like the special encounter with a dolphin pod he calls “absolute magic”.

Kuhn was taking it easy during a solo paddle on Saturday when he noticed some dolphins and decided to call them over with a kissing sound.

To his surprise, they responded and swam around his canoe for half an hour, travelling 4km from Takapuna Beach to Maungauika/North Head in Devonport.

The 48-year-old told the Herald that the pod of around 20 dolphins, led by a “massive” 2m one, made waves around his boat, making it easier to paddle.

“The other dolphins behind it [the leader], they knew what to do. Like somehow they accelerated or maintained the wave or made it bigger or something.

“It was definitely a team effort.”

The dolphins also swam right under his hull, giving him the feeling that the boat was being lifted.

He was travelling around 9km/h but put in the effort of paddling just 1km/h, said Kuhn.

“The dolphins made me move, like that was absolutely amazing.”

The dolphins created wakes/waves in front and behind Dennis Kuhn canoe which made it easier for him to paddle. Photo / Supplied

The dolphins were frequently within touching distance, and he even got sprayed in the face a few times with the mist from their blowholes, he said.

“If they would have come within 2 metres of my boat, I would have called it a very lucky day. Very, very lucky.”

In the video, which he uploaded to his YouTube channel, the dolphins are seen jumping out of the water several times when he ran into some friends from his paddling group near the end of the journey.

Kuhn made sure not to touch or chase the dolphins but rather just let them lead where he was going, he said.

People should always be respectful of animals and not antagonise them, Kuhn said.

He wasn’t with his usual Saturday paddling group because of a small concussion he got recently, and even thought of not going out that morning.

“I couldn’t really be bothered but I thought, ‘No, go paddling anyway’ and, boom, the lifetime experience.”

Kuhn said he thinks the pod found it easy to interact with him because he was quiet and calm.

Kuhn has been paddling in the same waters for one and a half years and had only one dolphin come up to his boat before this experience, he said.