Up close and personal with a dolphin pod

Visitors will be able to get up close and personal with a wild dolphin pod as part of a new interactive experience at Port Stephens, NSW.

Dolphin Swim and Imagine Cruises' 'dolphin pod experience' is the only one adventure of its kind in Australia and is the closest visitors can get to swimming with dolphins, the companies say.

During the four-hour 'Aquatic Marine Viewing Experience' four people enter the water at any one time, attached to a cable that runs between the twin bows of the catamaran while it sails along at 5km/h.

The in-water experience lasts around five minutes.

Tour co-founder Frank Future from Dolphins Swim Australia and Imagine Cruises explained "the dolphins come right in to check out the humans riding the bows and when they got out of the water the participants couldnât wipe the smiles off their faces.

"It's an intense and moving experience that takes you right into the dolphinsâ world where you can hear and feel their vocalisations."

Future said the new dolphin pod 'experience' caters for tourists seeking a more unique dolphin adventure, adding "more than 250,000 people a year come to Port Stephens to join dolphin cruises but many are looking for a more in-depth experience and this is it."

The new dolphin encounters are expected to boost the appeal of the region.

Port Stephens Tourism Marketing Manager Tars Bylhouwer commented "this is an experience you canât do quite like this anywhere else in Australia so weâre confident dolphin lovers from far and wide will come here to try it."

The NSW Marine Parks Authority granted Dolphin Swim Australia a three-year licence to run the dolphin encounters.

Dolphin Swim Australia joint venture partner, Andrew Parker, said that staff would conduct scientific research on the dolphins during the trips to ensure the activity had no negative impact on the species.

The experience costs $229.