Day 138,139 & 140 Kaikoura

We have spent the last three days in Kaikoura and the weather has been spectacular. Very warm, some wind but cooling down at night which made it very nice for sleeping. Kaikoura is a nice little town with a population of a little less than 4000 residents. The town came to life as a result of whales and today it stays alive because of the whales.

The Kaikoura Peninsula extends into the sea south of the town and the resulting upwelling currents bring an abundance of marine life from the depths of the nearby Hikurangi Trench. The town owes its origin to this effect, as it developed as a centre for the whaling industry. The same currents and marine life keep the sperm whales in the area which has allowed whale watching to be the major draw for the area. The whale watching along with the Fur Seal Colonies, Dolphin and Albatross Encounters has turned Kaikoura into a very vibrant tourist town that draws over one million visitors a year.

We spent one day downtown just looking around and I must add we did have a very good feed of Fish n' Chips.



Main Street of Kaikoura





Whale Ribs




















What's the saying? When in Rome, do as the Romans. So we went Whale Watching. This took up most of the day as they asked you to be there early. So we had coffee.



This was not like any other wild life cruise we had been on. We were not allowed outside on the decks until a whale had been spotted. The sea was pretty calm but a calm sea always has a swell and it was about 6 feet. That combined with a small boat had us bouncing pretty good. I don't think anyone got sea sick but there were a few people looking pretty uncomfortable by the time we got back. Yours truly included.

When we did spot a whale and they slowed down it wasn't that bad which allowed us to get pretty close to these monsters. The sperm whale is a deep diver and only spends a few minutes on the surface re-oxygenating themselves before diving again. They were pretty interesting viewing and we got some pretty nice tail pictures.



This guy is about 18 meters long





They should call it Tail Watching





Going




Going




Going




Gone





















While we were out with the whales we also got a good look at a couple of sea birds. The narrator on board said that the first one was a Mollymawk, not sure what kind.



Mollymawk




Mollymawk


























The second bird is a Northern Royal Albatross. This one is a juvenile so his colour is darker at this time in his life. They are truly amazing to watch in flight, they have the ability to glide for long distances using the wind and the waves. Extremely graceful. Infact, on very calm days the birds may have to float on the ocean until the wind picks up.

Northern Royal Albatross

Our last day in Kaikoura found us hiking around Kaikoura Peninsula. The hike which took just over 4 hours had us leaving from our campsite and following the coast until we reached Kern Point where there is a Seal Colony.

Once we reached the point we climbed the cliff so that we could follow the coast. This gave us a "from on top" look at the bays and inlets below. We followed the coast right around to South Bay at which point we found the South Bay Track that took us overland back to the town of Kaikoura.

Town of South Bay



I like this picture
















It was a very pleasant hike, a little tiring but very pleasant. The scenery was pretty spectacular and we even managed to see some of the birdlife that hangs around the area.



White Faced Heron




Pied Shag

















Once we got back to town we stopped for another feed of Fish n' Chips before heading back to the camper and resting our weary feet. We had no trouble making it an early night.

Then there was a safety briefing and then we boarded the bus that took us down to the boat.