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New Zealand
South Island
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is the last stop on our epic 3 month New Zealand trip. This location was for a bit of relaxation before we head home and our last chance to see some New Zealand wildlife. And boy did it not disappoint!!
Kaikoura Penninsula from Whale Watching Plane
For us, our last stop was all about the wildlife. We booked a kayaking tour and whale watching tours both from a boat and from a plane (hoping we might increase our chances of seeing a whale). We were lucky on the boat to see a large male sperm whale.
Male Sperm Whale
Male Sperm Whale Tail
Male Sperm Whale Tail
Kaikoura has a deep portion of ocean very close to the shore called Kaikoura Canyon. This deep section of ocean is year round home to several sperm whales. Sperm whales like the rich food source present in this canyon, particularly large squid. The male sperm whale is mostly a solitary mammal. This canyon can support approximately 1-3 adolescent male sperm whales. This type of whale can grow up to 11-15 meters in length and typically need to surface for air about every 60-90 minutes. The sightseeing boats and planes talk to one another and once a whale is spotted for the day, they can be followed and seen relatively predictably based on their timing of their breaths.
Male Sperm Whale
Male Sperm Whale
We were able to see likely the same sperm whale from the boat, as well as from a plane. It was a very unique experience to see them from two different perspectives.
The second major thing we did in Kaikoura was a kayaking tour. We were told that occasionally they get see a pod of dolphins. We were super lucky on the morning we went on this tour, a pod of 150-200 dusky dolphins were sighted feeding in the waters close to the shore right where we would be kayaking. So off we went in search of that pod of dolphins. We hurried and got ourselves in the kayaks and headed for the pod. Fortunately they were close enough that we were able to get close to the pod. As we sat there watching them, they were very curious and came right up to the kayaks, swimming under them and occasionally lightly touching our paddles or the bottom of our kayaks. This was truly an awesome experience.
Dusky Dolphins
The dolphins entertained us for over an hour, swimming around us doing flips and aerial flips.
I was able to take some GoPro video of them while they entertained us. We were able to paddle ourselves close to the pod, but then they swam around us and through our kayaking group while we sat in awe watching them.
We also found that Kaikoura was a prime nursery for raising young NZ Fur seal pups. We were able to catch them frolicking and learning to swim in the the small pools created by the rocky shoreline.
We hope you have enjoyed sights of New Zealand during our travels. While it takes a long time to get to New Zealand from the US, it is definitely worth the trip.
Coming Soon:
Lofoten Islands, Norway. Why did we travel here in the winter, you ask...
To see Northern Lights. Check back soon to find out if we saw any!
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