Smooch a sea lion
by Rachel Alt

The last time I put my head in the mouth of a 180kg sea lion was 20 years ago. My mother perched nervously on the edge of a wooden bench nearby. Earlier the same day, a dolphin splashed me as he extended a flipper for a handshake. I'd felt the weight of a 90kg Australian fur seal lay a wet whiskery kiss on my cheek, and the sandpapery graze of a sharks' fin against my finger tips as I reached through the water to stroke the over-fed fish. It was one of the happiest days of my pre-pubescent life. This was the magic of the Coffs Harbour Pet Porpoise Pool.

It was compulsory then that I return to the porpoise pool on a recent holiday along the NSW North Coast. 'Touched by magic, kissed by a seal' the sign encourages from it's roadside location. My boyfriend skeptically eyeballed the gaudy paintwork and carpark steadily filling with families of primary school aged children.

The Porpoise Pool has had a cosmetic makeover since my last visit when I was 12. It was originally built as a research and refuge facility for injured animals. Facilities like picnic and BBQ areas have been improved to complete the experience for visitors. Being one of the wet-weather entertainment options in the area, the pool is popular and has two shows daily. Adolescent peacocks strut with their downy rears and half-grown plumage. A red kangaroo languishes in a dusty enclosure, harassed by pelicans and seagulls. He doesn't rate much of a mention with most visitors though - it's all about the dolphins.

Natural performers

The brochure for the pool encourages visitors to arrive about 30 minutes before the scheduled time of each show. We do so and are greeted by four dolphins clustering at the edge of an Olympic-sized pool. The dolphins toss balls to visitors who squeak and splash in delight, and return the volley of balls from behind the handrail at the pool's edge. Parents and kids gather, skin and hair sparkling from the frolic spray. The dolphins as they glide past the crowd like family dogs asking for a belly rub and the crowd coos like visitors at a maternity ward.

My boyfriend muses that two of the dolphins have no teeth 'probably from playing catch too often with the balls, or chewing other dolphins.' We ask Trainer Adam who tells us that the old-timer of the porpoise crew, Bucky, has been at the facility for the past 37 years. Bongo and his 19 year old son Zippy both lost their teeth from catching too many balls. Righteousness piqued my boyfriends interest and he happily nudged me. The magic of the porpoise pool was starting to take hold of their biggest sceptic for the day.

The kissing booth

Before the show starts there is also an opportunity to have a photo and a kiss from Elle, an Australian sea lion. I sit for my photo and feel her hot fishy breath before the tickle of her whiskers. It's over in seconds, but the kiss left me giggling. My boyfriend is corralled into a photo by the energetic staff who do all they can to help everyone feel comfortable joining in.

The 'kissing booth' fun continues poolside where Bucky the Dolphin squeaks and burbles enticingly to guests. Parents propel their kids forward, inches from Bucky's long mouth, rubbery pink tongue and two rows of tiny teeth. A dolphin's kiss at eye height is a pretty scary proposition for a toddler. It's a bit scary for me too and the fun abates a little when I thrust my cheek in for a kiss from our thin-lipped fish-eating friend.

Up close and personal

The show starts with the usual stunts and education messages which characterise marine shows. But it's the small size of the crowd, and the chance for real hand-to-flipper (and fin) contact that makes the Porpoise Pool different from it's more heavily promoted peers like zoos and themeparks.

Unfortunately the days of putting heads in sea lions are long gone. But there are plenty of opportunities to be intimate with these flippered friends during the show.

Maxine, a sea lion, shows off her ballroom dancing skills with her trainer, then selects an 8 year old boy from the audience to be her next dance partner. At almost twice the boy's weight the eager seal sandwiches him against the raised wall of the pool. His thin knees buckle under her soggy weight before he's rescued by the trainer. The boy takes his seat next to us in the stand, enthusing breathily 'Now I'm definitely having a shower' to my boyfriend, who unwittingly chuckles.

The park erupts after the show. Little kids, restless after sitting for the 30 minute show, race to an enclosure to watch fairy penguins being fed. Pearly takes off on four flippers, her trainer calling after her like a heckled mother. Maxine won't go back into her cage at the end of the dolphin pool, and the trainers enlist the dolphin's help to herd her back home. My boyfriend insists we stop by the aquarium on the way out to see the Port Jackson sharks being fed.

There is a minimal gift shop at the end, not palatial halls of consumerism characteristic of other tourist attractions. Photos of experiences are available for $10. I sneak a look at ours - and see the photographer caught an indefineable happiness in my boyfriends face as Elle the sea lion kissed him. I know that look well. I shared it the first time with another sea lion twenty years ago.

More about Rachel
Rachel Alt has lived, traveled and written about India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Scandanavia, Western Europe, Cyprus, Fiji, Vanuatu and the UK. Her work has appeared in Lonely Planet, The Sun Herald, TNT , www.bootsnall.com and now Yahoo!7. Her next trip will be to Japan to eat the best sashimi in the world, to walk under the cherry blossoms and stay in a Buddhist temple on a mountain top.