Tuesday was an awesome day. We woke up to a beautiful warm day in Kaikoura, a beach town on the east coast of the South Island. The focus of the day was a approx. 3 hour whale watching boat trip that we booked yesterday. To say that it was incredible is an understatement. Definitely a highlight of our trip thus far. The ocean was calm and beautiful and we could see for miles. We had been out on the water only a very short while when we saw two sperm whales, one right after the other! These were not just momentary sightings either. Sperm whales come up from the depths of the ocean to reoxygenate for 10 to 15 minutes at a time so we got to hang out with each one for several minutes before seeing their absolutely amazing tails flip up as they dove back down to feed. Both whales were readily identified by the boat staff by the distinctive bumps at the base of their heads and by the shapes of their tails (We saw Rua and Taikiri). Sperm whales live in Kaikora's waters year round to feed on the abundant krill in the area. Only, male sperms live here though. Apparently, the water is much to cold for the smaller females who stay much further north.
One would think that seeing these two magnificent creatures would certainly be the highlight of our day but on the way back to the dock we joined a pod of literally HUNDREDS of Dusky dolphins. Alan got some great video footage of this. They swam with us for at least 20 minutes jumping continuously and immediately next to the boat. It was quite a humbling and moving experience to be surrounded by these beautiful animals. They swam with such speed and ease and seemed to be having some fun with our boat before passing us by. We will never forget it.
Tuesday was an awesome day. We woke up to a beautiful warm day in Kaikoura, a beach town on the east coast of the South Island. The focus of the day was a approx. 3 hour whale watching boat trip that we booked yesterday. To say that it was incredible is an understatement. Definitely a highlight of our trip thus far. The ocean was calm and beautiful and we could see for miles. We had been out on the water only a very short while when we saw two sperm whales, one right after the other! These were not just momentary sightings either. Sperm whales come up from the depths of the ocean to reoxygenate for 10 to 15 minutes at a time so we got to hang out with each one for several minutes before seeing their absolutely amazing tails flip up as they dove back down to feed. Both whales were readily identified by the boat staff by the distinctive bumps at the base of their heads and by the shapes of their tails (We saw Rua and Taikiri). Sperm whales live in Kaikora's waters year round to feed on the abundant krill in the area. Only, male sperms live here though. Apparently, the water is much to cold for the smaller females who stay much further north.
One would think that seeing these two magnificent creatures would certainly be the highlight of our day but on the way back to the dock we joined a pod of literally HUNDREDS of Dusky dolphins. Alan got some great video footage of this. They swam with us for at least 20 minutes jumping continuously and immediately next to the boat. It was quite a humbling and moving experience to be surrounded by these beautiful animals. They swam with such speed and ease and seemed to be having some fun with our boat before passing us by. We will never forget it.
1 comment:
We were glad to hear about your adventures & seeing pictures. I expecially enjoyed reading & seeing pictures of the whales. You know how much I like watching the sea lions in San Francisco. The Alexanders & Sheltons are viewing you adventures via the web site. The rest of the gang & our friends are enjoying the adventures thru us.
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