Originally Posted by
anabolism
*When we were in Auckland almost a year ago, I was told that the swim with dolphins thing is better from Bay of Islands because the dolphins there are different, and since the tours won't put you in the water if there are any baby dolphins around, there was very little chance of getting to do so in Auckland, but a good chance in BofI. Also, there are more dolphins there, and since you get put in the water a bit away from them, so they come up to you if they want, they're more likely to do so there.
I hate to tell you this, but when I was there, most of us on the boat went so far as to get suited up and ready to jump in the water, and at the last minute, babies were spotted and we couldn't go in. So we got another hour cruising around as a sorry.
That was April though, maybe the females are still preggers in Jaunary.
I would also suggest driving---it's not a bad drive (3 hrs?) and there was a glowworm cave not far from Paihia where you could get a personal tour.
On a forum-related note, I was surprised at the number of cars I saw in Paihia with either rainbow flags on the bumpers (or the HRC ones). I'm guessing these were weekend-ers from Auckland maybe.