Kaikoura and the sperm whales

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It was great to end my tour of NZ on a high note. I left Picton on the train bound for Kaikoura the whale watching capital I arrived at that they call the Whaleway Station, very apt. It incorporated the railway and the whale watching station. We left and headed out to sea, it was windy and therefore quite choppy. We headed out to where the continental shelf is, the water just drops into an abyss which is why the sperm whales are found here. There is an abundance of food where the warm waters of the Pacific flow and the cold waters of Antarica. The first stop we made the whale dived just as we arrived, the second time we stopped the same thing happened and I thought that maybe we weren't going to see anything.

After a while they put down a sensor which locates where they are and because the sea was choppy they had headed much nearer to the coast than they normally do. So off we went then up came the first one, then the second, then the third in the end we saw six whales. It was just amazing watching them glide into the water sending huge puffs of water into the air, such a huge mass but so graceful. It was a real privilege and the highlight of my stay in New Zealand.

In the afternoon I went to the seal colony so overdosed completely on nature it was wonderful couldn't have asked for a better day.

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Comments

[Jo]

I am so jealous of you right now!!! What an amazing thing that must have been to watch Xx