Morocco’s Maha Haddioui and India’s Sharmila Nicollet took a break from practice for this week’s Australian Ladies Classic-Bonville to spend some time with beautiful Bella.
The Ladies European Tour (LET) stars spent an hour in the pool at Dolphin Marine Magic – Coffs Harbour, getting up close and personal with one of the ocean’s most inspiring mammals under the watchful hands of it’s keeper, Alejandro.
Although a little reluctant at first, Haddioui and Nicollet were soon captivated by the dolphin’s friendliness, and by the end, were happy to be towed about the pool on boogie boards.
“It was awesome. We learned so much about the dolphins, and there was a lot that I didn’t know,
”Bella is beautiful,” Haddioui grinned.
Nicollet was especially impressed to hear that dolphins exfoliate their skins up to 15 times a day to protect themselves from germs. It was a routine she compared to her one time a day with a laugh.
“Bella was awesome,
“They are very intelligent creatures, and there are a lot of things that I didn’t know,
“I’ve loved dolphins since I was a kid, and interacting with Bella was great. It was so much fun,” Nicollet added.
Earlier, the pair had their first taste of the stunning Bonville layout and left the course very impressed. Haddioui, who is on her first visit to Australia, described the course as unbelievable. The sun, however, had some bite according to the Moroccan.
“I got my first sunburn, which is quite something coming from a country on the border with the Sahara desert,” Haddioui grinned.
Nicollet, too, was impressed with the course and Coffs Harbour, noting how easy it was to drive on the city’s roads compared to the chaotic traffic back at home in India.
“It’s my first time at Coffs Harbour. The golf course is wonderful and so is the city. I enjoy driving on the roads here because compared to India this is so peaceful and scenic. I just love it,” she smiled.