Whale Watching in Kaikoura

Bridget:

We have been looking forward to this place for a long time now. If you can remember, Kaikoura was one of the stops we made by train on the way down to Christchurch. It was the picture of the little beach town with snow-capped mountains looming in the distance. After settling in Christchurch, we heard from several people that Kaikoura was a must. Not only did it have excellent views of the ocean and mountains in one town, but it is the best place on the South Island to do a little whale watching. Apparently the Continental Shelf drops off very close to shore which creates a mixing spot between the cold currents from the South and the warm currents from the North. This “mixing spot” is called the Kaikoura Trench which is like a huge underwater canyon where all kinds of marine life thrive. You know what they say…where there are little fish, there are big fish. Really big fish. Whales have been hanging around the waters of Kaikoura for years, specifically a pod of sperm whales. Neither of us had ever really laid our eyes on a whale in the wild, so we were pretty excited to add this experience to the list. There is only one whale watching tour company in the area, and their excursions are pretty pricey, but they come highly recommended and even offer an 80% refund in there are no whale sightings.

When we arrived in Kaikoura, we set up camp (which was surprisingly close to the town center) and headed into town to check things out. Kaikoura is definitely a beach town complete with surf shops, water sports, and plenty of fish and chips shops. Craig and I found a place called “Cooper’s Catch” whose fish and chips were mouthwateringly delicious yet still affordable. We loved it so much we back for seconds the next day.

The day of the tour, we had some time to kill, so we drove out the peninsula for some great views of the ocean, city, and mountains. There was also another seal colony close by, so we were able to get some close-up views of a few of them lounging on the rocks.

Since our tour was booked for 4:00 p.m., our anticipation had been building up all day long. We were sadly disappointed when we arrived at the whale watching center and found out that our trip was cancelled due to strong winds and rough seas. The receptionist offered to rebook us on the morning trip, so we said yes. Oh well, I guess we’d just have to spend one more night in beautiful Kaikoura and eat some more delicious “fush ‘n chups,” as it’s pronounced by the locals.

The next morning our patience paid off and we finally got out on the ocean to see some wildlife. Within 10 minutes of being out over the Continental Shelf drop-off, we had a whale sighting! As I mentioned before, most of the whales in this area are sperm whales. They spend about 5-20 minutes on the surface getting air and expelling waste before “diving” back down to the depths of the ocean. This makes it kind of tricky when trying to get the boat up close enough to get a good look before they dive. After diving, the whale stays submerged for an average time of 45 minutes. Sperm whales can get up to about 19 meters long (about 57 feet and the same length of the boat we were on), but usually you can only see the top one-half of them. The way they are sighted is by spotting the water spraying from their blowhole:

Then it’s only a matter of minutes before they get ready to dive. Here is a pic of the whale’s tail as it dives below, as they love to show it off before disappearing:

We saw a total of three whales that day! Here is a very short video clip of what it looks like when the whale dives:

After the whale sightings, the captain took the boat over closer to shore where a huge pod of about 500 Dusky dolphins were hanging out:

Dusky dolphins are a small variety of dolphin that are known for their playfulness and acrobatics (and frequent mating habits). They will often jump out of the water at incredible heights, do flips, and even 360 degree spins in mid-air. Here is a short video clip of these playful creatures:

We ended the day on such a great note and were so glad we stayed another day to give the tour another chance. Luckily for us, it paid off!

Next Stop: Abel Tasman National Forest