Prenessa and the Dolphins

It could be any family beach holiday. Except for one thing: dolphins. The Naicker family from Durban are visiting the idyllic beach, Ponta D’Ouro, in Mozambique with more than simple relaxation in mind. Around 100 Inshore Bottlenose and Spinner dolphins inhabit the sheltered waters at Ponta D’Ouro, making it a perfect site from which to try and swim with these graceful, intelligent and social creatures. The Naickers are on a life time mission and this stay in beautiful Ponte doOuro in Mozambique forms an integral part. 11 year old Prenessa Naicker is brain damaged and her family will stop at nothing to help her develop to the point where she is self sufficient in life. They have heard that an encounter with dolphins might improve Prenessa's development and outside of South Africa - where swimming with wild dolphins is illegal - Ponte do Ouro is the place to be. Prenessa is lovingly supported by her parents and three older brothers as she tries to connect with the dolphins. Her brother Tharschen hopes a good experience with the dolphins will help her to articulate her thoughts, “so we can know what she’s thinking and feeling”. But nature has other ideas. Four years ago the Naickers brought Prenessa to Ponta D’Ouro for the first time to try to swim with the dolphins, but they were unsuccessful. And Aarthy, Prenessa’s mother, has to overcome her own fear of the water, which is the result of watching her sister drown when she was in her teens. Now, this determined family has to pull together as they wrestle with increasingly stormy weather and the possibility that the mystical dolphins may once again be just out of reach. But Alvin, Prenessa’s father, is not prepared to give up. He says “I believe in dreaming. If you have a dream maybe it will be reached one day.”