When I was six my favourite television show was Flipper. Mum and Dad didn't quite share my enthusiasm though, and as much I begged, pleaded and whined they wouldn't buy me a dolphin. Oh, I got plenty of dolphin posters, inflatable dolphin toys for our backyard pool and I think I even had a flipper T-shirt. But it wasn't the same as a real one.

Thirty years later I still get a thrill when dolphins leap and frolic in the bow waves of dolphin watching cruises, but nothing prepared me for the buzz of looking a 180 kilogram bottlenose dolphin in the eye during a half-hour swimming with dolphins adventure at Sea World on the Gold Coast.

Our morning began as we struggled into very unflattering wetsuits beside the Blue Lagoon deep water pool. As we eased our way onto a submerged platform our marine playmates for the day, Zac and Sirius, swam up to meet us and see if we had any fish. Responding to the hand commands (and a few tasty fish snacks) of Sea World's dolphin trainer, Claire Holland, they slowly swam past us several times, allowing us to stroke their velvety backs and bellies. At Claire's instruction, we gently slid into the water, and before we knew it we had the two huge dolphins swimming and diving around us, clearly comfortable with the human interaction. As we trod water Zac and Sirius performed several tricks for us: diving up from underneath us to leap through our outstretched arms, floating on their backs while we stroked their bellies, beating their tails on the surface to make sure we were thoroughly wet and for the finale, posing with us while we hugged them for a photograph.

"Sea World's interactive animal programs are all about teaching people about these amazing marine mammals", explains Claire. "It's great to spend time with the animals in their own environment," she says, as she makes a barely perceptible hand movement and the two dolphins jump out of the water on cue. Most of the dolphins in the program have been either hand-reared at Sea World or have been rescued from less dolphin friendly parts of the world.

The Dolphin Aqua Adventure Program is available to adults (14 years and over) and includes a souvenir photograph. You must be able to swim. For children there is a modified program in shallow water.

While the Sea World dolphin encounter is not quite as good as swimming with wild dolphins, it's easily the next best thing. Although I'd still like one of my own ... wonder if Mum and Dad would change their mind now I'm a grown up?