We crest a prodigious South Pacific swell, and there it is—a spinner dolphin within arm’s reach of my perch at the prow of the speedboat. And it’s not alone. A pod of 30 or more of the creatures are darting and leaping in front of me now, each one seeming to return my grin as we follow the waves to the wild western side of Tetepare. Beyond us stretch 1,600 kilometers of ocean—all the way to Australia’s Queensland coast. But for now, I’m oblivious to this epic setting, mesmerized instead by the silvery flash of the dolphins as they pilot us toward shore.