The Lone Kayaker and Chums in Thailand…The Hot and Sweaty Search for the Pink Dolphin

Our time in Thailand was coming to an end. In terms of wildlife sightings, it had been way beyond my expectations. 50 new bird species, otters, elephants, monkeys and monstrous lizards to name just a few.

However there was one species I wanted to see more than ever…the legendary Pink Dolphin. It’s a subspecies of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin that often comes in a nice pink version around the east Thailand peninsula. It might even be more exciting than a Smooth-coated Otter.

So we based ourselves at Khanom which is reputedly the epicentre of the Pink Dolphin. We spent four nights at the absolutely excellent Margarita Beach mini-resort, a small group of shacks right on the edge of the sand of stunning Nadan Beach.

The shacks are beautifully laid out around a restaurant and a bar. And hey presto…they have kayaks for hire.

Although there was a niggly little onshore wind which threw up a bit of a chop, I paddled up and down the beach several times hoping to see a fin break the surface. I had no joy but as usual there was a host of collateral creatures to enjoy.

I was very pleased to see a new species of tern for me…an exceptionally white and exceptionally beautiful Black-naped Tern. A real cracker to see from the kayak seat.

Along the shore the Ghost Crabs were an endless source of fascination. As soon as the tide dropped low enough they spent hours digging a hole. As soon as it was complete the tide would come in again and fill the hole in. Then their endless labour would start all over again as the tide dropped once more. What a life.

Perhaps even more extraordinary is that they were wary and fast enough to avoid being caught by the local dog who spent much of its time hunting them.

Unfortunately it seemed that eyeballing a Pink Dolphin from a kayak was not going to be easy. A real pity but we did not have enough time to cover enough ground (water) in our remaining two days.

So we booked a tour in a longtail boat. Big disappointment. Although we found some dolphins, one of which was slightly pinkish, the guide quickly whisked us off to look at a geological formation and an unremarkable island with a freshwater spring which was catastrophically dull. We didn’t get much more than a glimpse of the dolphins.

I gave up hope of a really good session as the next day was travel home day. However Becky worked her negotiation-skills magic and somehow engineered a three hour dolphin-dedicated tour. Just the two of us on a longtail boat. En route to our bus.

Becky was chief spotter…and there were the dolphins!

The first two dolphins were pale grey. An absolute thrill to see but a pink one would be better.

I think the grey one heard me muttering so put on a bit of a show for us.

They were actually exceptionally difficult to observe and photograph. Generally they rolled at the surface, very unobtrusively, three or four times like a porpoise and then dived for several minutes. I got the impression they were feeding at the bottom.

Only occasionally did they do a bit of larking about.

Then, yippee, a pink dolphin rolled up. Fairly pink anyway…good enough. After about an hour of very unremarkable viewing and no decent photograph in 38 degrees and under a roasting midday sun, even our driver started to shuffle with discomfort as the sweat trickled into his eyes.

Just as we were about to pull the plug the dolphins switched to fooling about mode. The pink one started to nip at its grey chum…

At last, after firing off over 2,000 images so my camera was almost red hot, I managed to get the photo I wanted…a pink dolphin’s eye. And what an eye it is, bursting with personality. Well worth the wait, the heat, the sweat.

Ironically these most mythical of creatures decide not to hang out along the stunning coastline that adorns 99.9% of Thailand’s shore.

They choose to fish for mullett in amongst the multitude of ferries plying to and from Ko Samui. In the most industrial dock area imaginable with thudding engines and banging hammers as an audio backdrop.

I suspect the churning mud that is thrown up by the ferry propellers stirs up some tasty morsels for the dolphins.

It puts a geographical stamp on the photos, anyway…

A fitting end to our very memorable time in Thailand.