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Published: November 7th 2005
Dusky Dolphins
These are the playful dolphins that I was swimming with in Kaikoura. After arriving in Christchurch I spent a few days relaxing in the area, enjoying the greenery and the singing birds. I filled my belly with the delicious food that I have been craving for most of the winter - With the exception of one meal brought to me by my boss in August, I hadn't had good Indian food since I left Denver, so I ate it for four meals in a row (I know, somewhat boring with all of the other options available in Christchurch.) I took a ride out to the Antarctic center to mail some packages for some friends and then I went to Lyttelton Harbor to see the main port for most of the Ross Island expeditions over the years - Scott and Shakleton both passed through Lyttelton Harbor with the magnificent sailing ships Discovery, Nimrod and Terra Nova and now the Nathanial B Palmer, which is a USAP icebreaking research ship, makes regular stops. The streets around Lyttelton are filled with historic buildings and up on the a hill overlooking the harbor is the Timeball Station, which is a castle-like structure with a ball on a mast that would drop at a specified time and served
Captain Scott
This statue was placed by Scott's widow - There are several famous explorers featured in statue form in the many gardens of Christchurch. as a means of setting the chronographs on the boats to Greenwich Mean Time, thereby allowing the ships to properly calculate their longitude. The Timeball was closed when I was there, but I did check out the local museum's Antarctic Hall and had a conversation with the curator of the museum who has been to Antarctica thirteen times. I decided to take a long hike back to the other side of the Port Hills, which separate Christchurch from Lyttelton, via the Bridle Path. The Bridle Path is a well travelled trail that was used by the settlers to get from the port at Lyttelton to Christchurch - It was a nice hike and I did several other nice hikes at the top of the pass - One of the trails lead to a nice view point where Quail Island, which is where Shackleton and Scott's ponies and dogs were trained for their time in the Antarctic. The Bridle Path ended at the gondola station and I got on a bus there and headed back to Christchurch - It was a nice hike.
The following day I boarded a train bound for Kaikoura and a few days of wildlife viewing.
Lyttelton
These are some of the old buildings in Lyttelton. The train, one of New Zealand's scenic railways, passed through the coastal hills and farmland joining the coast near Kaikoura. The train passes through several tunnels and over several bridges and the scenery was spectacular for the whole trip. Kaikoura is a small town with a peninsula and lots of wildlife. The area is best known for its plentiful supply of crayfish (lobster for everyone back home) and a large offshore canyon that is home to many deep-diving animals, most notably the sperm whale. My main reason for coming to Kaikoura, where the snow-capped peaks meet the Pacific, was to see the whales. My first day there I was on a boat - The fast double hulled boat made its way out to sea on a rollercoaster ride that made me question the endurance of my stomach, but I made it back with out any mishaps. On the way out we stopped from time to time to put a hydrophone into the water to listen for the clicking sound of the whales. We learned interesting little facts like "There she blows!", made popular in the book Moby Dick, would not be correct in Kaikoura because the resident population is predominately
Timeball Station
Timeball station was used as a means of setting the clocks on the old ships so they could properly determine their longitude. male - "There HE blows" would be more appropriate. Back in whaling days the sperm whale was notorious among whalers for being the only whale species to fight back. In fact, they were known for ramming boats or breaching from the water and crushing the boats beneath their massive bodies - The sperm whale is the fourth largest whale and the largest of the toothed whales. The massive cetations are the deep diving champions of the whale family and one of their favorite foods is the giant squid, which can be found in the deep canyons off of Kaikoura. We were cruising on the surface of the Pacific, with 7000 feet of ocean below us, searching for the giant leviathans of the deep, but the whales were not cooperating. We reached the turnaround point and were informed that the trip was unsuccessful and we headed back to the mainland - The whales were "Out of our operating range". I was disappointed, but that is how it goes when you deal with wild animals. I tried three more times to see the whales but the second and third trips were cancelled and on the fourth trip the closest thing to a
The Bridal Path
The hike over the Port Hills was via the Bridal Path, which was the route taken by the early settlers to get to Christchurch. whale we saw was a giant wandering albatross that flew past the boat - The albatross, which has the largest wingspan of any bird and have been known to fly around the planet, made the whole trip worth while because they are very impressive themselves.
Though I failed to see any whales, I did do another thing that has made Kaikoura famous - Swimming with the dolphins. I was amazed by this experience! We put on wet suites and snorkelling gear and headed out on a long coastal boat ride towards the south. The first pod of dolphins we found had calves with them, so we didn't swim with them - They were an awesome sight though. The next group we came to was small, but they didn't run from the boat, which normally means that they will be receptive to strange swimming companions. We were told before we jumped off of the still moving boat that we must entertain the dolphins or they will get bored and leave - We were told to sing through our snorkels, dive down as deep as we could or make eye contact with them and swim as fast as we can in
Sheep
Sheep are the most noticable animal in New Zealand's country side. circles trying not to break eye contact. The horn that signified that it was time to jump in sounded and we all slid off of the boat into a pod of dusky dolphins. The water was very deep and cold. There were dolphins all around us, so I tried to dive, which is difficult in a wet suit, and attracted several dolphins to me. They apparently were not entertained enough by us though, because they swam away after a few minutes and we loaded back into the boat. The next pod we came to had hundreds of dolphins in it and they were flipping and spinning out of the water - The dusky dolphins are known as the acrobats of the sea - which meant that they would enjoy having some strange human entertainment. We all slid off of the back of the boat and were immediately surrounded by dolphins everywhere. The diving and the singing had decent results, but I made eye contact with one of them and did my best to swim around in tight circles following the dolphins lead. I managed to keep eye contact with the dolphin and it stayed to play - Around and around
Lyttelton Harbor
A view of the harbor from the Bridal Path. we went as fast as I could swim, but a leisurely pace for the dolphin. Every once in a while the dolphin would dart off and come back in the opposite direction and around we went again. The circle swimming was amazing because it was done at close quarters with the dolphins - less than a foot away at times. I could clearly see into the eyes of the dolphins and they all had a look of happiness - kind of like the look on a playful dogs face just before you throw a ball. The swimming went on for around twenty minutes before we were all exhausted and it was time to go - The dolphins weren't done yet though and they put on an acrobatic display for several minutes for their audience on the boat. The dolphin swimming was amazing and definitely worth the money. The tours are done in a way that benefits the dolphins and maintains their wild nature (they are all wild animals and the swimming is done in the open ocean) - The number of people that are allowed to swim is closely watched and regulated and no swimming is done when there are
The Port Hills
A view of the Port Hills with Quail Island in the distance. The yellow flowers are a non-native species that is nearly impossible to get rid of. youngsters around.
I did several nice hikes in the area around the Kaikoura peninsula as well. I walked along the shore watching the fur seals lazing around and swimming. I watched several species of sea birds going about their normal business and at one point I passed a large nesting ground for the red-billed seagull - There were thousands of birds on the rocks surrounding me and they didn't want me there. Several of the birds took to the air and decided to re-create a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds', but despite all of their diving and swooping (and noise) I got out in one piece without even being pooed upon - Mom, you would have loved this trail! I walked all the way to Whaler's Bay, passing through many fields full of sheep and passing several interesting rock formations, but the tide came in forcing me to go up to the top of the cliff and follow the cliff top trail back. The cliff top trail is exclusively on farm land, so sheep were everywhere. The views were spectacular from the top - The trail follows the edge of the cliff, so you can see a long
Scenic Pathways
One of the more scenic trails I followed. way out to sea and the entire surrounding coast. The sky was threatening rain, so I hurried back to the Hostel.
After four days in Kaikoura I decided to move on to Hamner Springs for an evening soaking in the thermal springs and then I headed to Westport - The only town (other than Christchurch) that I could get a bus to from Hamner. I was off to the West coast.
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Mike Bair
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Best of luck in all your travels Keith. Your words and pictures have enriched many lives. Never doubt that. M~