Kaikoura Whale Watch

Kaikoura was our first evening on the Active trip… and one of the few days we had bad weather.  This time, the weather was much better.  We signed up for a Whale Watch boat ride.  Kaikoura is a huge breading ground of ocean wildlife.  They have a huge underwater canyon that is right off the coast.  It drops from 100m to close to 800m almost instantly when you reach it.  This allows lots of deep water ocean life such as giant squid and whales to stick around close to the shore.  We left that morning – and it was a bit windier than we both had thought.  It seemed like at least a quarter of the people on the boat had some kind of sea sickness.  But other than that minor fact, we had a brilliant time.  We were lucky enough to see two whales, Tutu and Tono.  They are two sperm whales that are named and recognized by scars and lines on their bodies and fins.  We actually saw Tutu twice.  We saw her right as she dived the first time.

Sperm whales stay underwater about 45 minutes before they need to come back up for air.  So here’s that same Tutu we saw after she resurfaced.

We also saw lots of albatross

As well as some really playful Dusky Dalphins.

Then on our way back, the captain spotted one more bonus one.  We were a bit rushed to get back, but they stopped anyway to let us see one more sperm whale Tono.

By Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus