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Kirsten and Chester
Patiently waiting to see the whales Day two was our first real adventure. We drove 2.5 hours north along the coast to Kaikoura for our whale watching tour. The drive was scenic and beautiful. Kirsten tackled the job of driving on the left side of the road while Chester helped navigate. The landscape was filled with rolling green hills, hungry sheep, and bare wine vineyards. We did well managing the roads and made it on time to our destination, even when Kirsten pulled over because she thought she saw a ton of seals, it was only kelp.
The tour was pretty full with all ages represented, but why someone would bring a two-year-old on a boat is beyond us. Chester took her Dramamine to ensure her breakfast stayed down, and it did! Victory! This was not so for many others. At one point on the trip, one father had a toddler passed out on his lap and his wife puking her guts out in the seat next to him. At least 4 or 5 people missed out on the whales because they couldn’t leave the inside seating area. Now we know what the crew had the latex gloves for.
The boat was able to find four whales
for us to watch. The first one we got to right as it surfaced and we watched it for about 7-10 minutes. The majority of the sperm whale is underneath the surface. They just float on the surface looking like an enormous Baby Ruth, until they exhale making a spout. Right before they dive down, they arch their backs and flip up their amazing tail. The next two whales were side-by-side, which is a rare sighting according to the guides. We reached them right before they dove, but it was still really cool to see one go down and then the next. The last whale we got to right as it surfaced and witnessed the whole event again. It was pretty amazing. The tour lasted 3 hours and was well worth it. After we made it back to shore, we drove down to where a seal colony lived. At first we were a little disappointed, we didn’t think 3 seals made for an entire colony. Then as we were driving out there was a bunch of seals close to the road and in the brush and shade. While walking on the boardwalk, there was a mother and baby seal right
below us. The baby looked right up at us. Amazing.
After a road-side lunch of seafood chowder and scallops, Kirsten drove back to Christchurch. We took the rental car back to the airport, but not before paying $50 to fill up half the tank of a tiny Ford Focus. This wasn’t half as bad as the cab ride back 8 km to our hotel that was $44. It’s good to know that every cab driver in every country screws you.
Tonight will be another early night since we have a shuttle picking us up at 7:30 and taking us to the train station to travel to the other coast and the Franz Josef Galcier.
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OnlineChinaTours
Online China Tours
wow, cool to see so many natural wonders, the birds, the seal seem lovely, aren't they?