Kaikoura

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Free Willy

Kiakoura is the main tourist destination in New Zealand to go whale watching. It all started way back in the eighties when a local diver got himself in the newpapers for swimming up close to the visiting sperm whales. Kiakoura is ideally placed on the edge of the oceanic tectonic plate and therefore not to far from the shore the seabed drops away hundreds of feet and provides the necessary diving grounds to attract sperm whales.

Whale watch Kiakoura is the one and only company to provide the Whale watching tours and they put on a great trip. A slick modern catamaran transports you out to sea all the while information about the whales is continually presented to you either on a big LCD screen inside or over the speakers while you’re watching them from the decks outside.

We waited 3 days to do this trip due to rough seas and it wasn’t until Christmas Eve that we finally got to go out, even then there was a strong seasickness warning and they were advising people not to risk it if they had a history. Being a bit of a wuss myself I was a little apprehensive I was doing alright until other people started to throw up!! It was especially heart breaking to see the excitement drain away along with the colour in the faces of all the little kiddies on the trip as they one by one fell foul to the sea sickness monster and were strewn along the decks outside spewing their little socks off!! It wasn’t until I had to make a charge for the toilet myself that I had a little bit more sympathy. Jo as always nursed me through it and it wasn’t long before I was back to full fitness and enjoying watching the whales.

Over the course of the three hours we were out at sea we watched three different sperm whales, all were well known to the crew but one in particular they were especially pleased to see as it was the first sighting of the year for the one they called Little Nick (They were relieved that he hadn’t been killed by the Japanese who continue to hunt them, even under an international ban).

The tour guide made the point that watching sperm whales was sometimes referred to as ‘log watching’ because for much of the time they are pretty stationary resting on the surface only every so often blowing water high into the sky as they gather in air in preparation for a lengthy dive. However, when it was time to dive they sprung into life. After one last big gulp of air they would lung forward with a huge bridging of their backs and just before disappearing the trade mark black tail would be flicked out of the water like a massive high five, spectacular!

We really enjoyed our stay in Kiakoura. It’s a cool little town. Whilst waiting for the weather to improve we spent a lot of time either wondering around the shops or going to the lookouts for fantastic views of the bays either side of the peninsula. We also got to see some seals at the colony at one end of the bay and on a couple of occasions spent time just sitting in the car looking out to the rocks where we could watch them play about and do their thing.

We also got a chance to do a bit of Christmas shopping, not presents though just a good supply of alcohol and food to take with us to Christchurch. Although much to Jo’s disgust they had never heard of mince pies and clotted cream!!

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