New Zealand - whale watching & sea kayaking
After my hoofcare recertification near Christchurch in New Zealand I drove north to Kaikoura to go whale watching. This was my reward for slogging through Moby Dick in emma_in_oz's book club last year.
I liked the black stone beach as much as the whales:
Finding a whale was an amusing, slightly chaotic process. They don't use sophisticated equipment since apparently it's detrimental to the whales. At one point we were all lined up along the sides of the boat to see a whale that was supposedly rising any moment, when they hurried us all back inside to take our seats so the boat could head off at high speed for where the whale had come up instead. We had only a moment to see that one before it dived again, but had ten minutes or more to look at this sperm whale on the surface:
before it dived:
The guides could tell when the whale was about to dive and told us to get our cameras ready. Once they dive, they're down for 45 minutes or more, so you only get one chance per whale!
We also saw a large pod of dusky dolphins, which are far more athletic and exuberant than the kind we have in Western Australia. My camera wasn't quick enough to capture any of the high leaps and backflips. Unfortunately I got seasick despite two seasickness tablets, which doesn't fill me with confidence for my swimming with whale sharks trip next month!
The next morning I went sea kayaking to see fur seals in the water.
I liked the black stone beach as much as the whales:
Finding a whale was an amusing, slightly chaotic process. They don't use sophisticated equipment since apparently it's detrimental to the whales. At one point we were all lined up along the sides of the boat to see a whale that was supposedly rising any moment, when they hurried us all back inside to take our seats so the boat could head off at high speed for where the whale had come up instead. We had only a moment to see that one before it dived again, but had ten minutes or more to look at this sperm whale on the surface:
before it dived:
The guides could tell when the whale was about to dive and told us to get our cameras ready. Once they dive, they're down for 45 minutes or more, so you only get one chance per whale!
We also saw a large pod of dusky dolphins, which are far more athletic and exuberant than the kind we have in Western Australia. My camera wasn't quick enough to capture any of the high leaps and backflips. Unfortunately I got seasick despite two seasickness tablets, which doesn't fill me with confidence for my swimming with whale sharks trip next month!
The next morning I went sea kayaking to see fur seals in the water.