Some of you may be pleased to hear (after my previous 8 months banging on about how sunny my travels have been) that its freezing cold and wet in New Zealand but i am loving every minute of it. Spent the first few days in Christchurch but didnt get sight seeing until a few days later. After hiring a camper van, headed up the north coast to a place called Kaikoura. The town itself is a lovely friendly former whaling town alongside the ocean and with the glorious backdrop of the snowy Kaikoura mountains behind. The place itself is stunning but if that isnt an attraction enough it seems Kaikoura is THE place to come whale/seal/dolphin spotting and for those bird nerds its great for various sea birdlife.
Given the declining number of whales in the world i wasnt convinced i would stand much chance of seeing any whales the boat trip i had booked on arrival but kept my fingers crossed hoping we might see a sighting. We headed out on a catarmarran and thankfully whilst it was cold and windy the weather was still good enough for the trip to go ahead. After sailing out for 25 minutes or so the captain put what looked like a massive microphone into the sea to try and hear the whales underneath and after 5 minutes he struck gold and soon revved up the engine to head in the direction of the sound. After a short wait, we spotted what looked like a shark's fin (it was the whales head) and a mini fountain which was clearly the spray from the whale's blow hole. We'd spotted a sperm whale. It was amazing. It only dawned on me as i was watching the whale how very special a moment it was and how lucky i am to have seen such a wonderful and dignified mammal in its natural environment. We cruised up along side the whale from the rear (new zealand law prohibits anyone getting too close to the whales thankfully) and were lucky enough to see the whale dive to the bottom of the ocean in search of food and see its tail flip up as it went down.
We were lucky enough to have 4 whale sightings in total and it was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my trip so far. We were also lucky enough to see a seal colony, dusky dolphins, shags (a bird), albatrosses (SP) and so may other birds i had never seen before.
New Zealand is supposed to be an amazing country but i cant help but think that i've already seen the best in Kaikoura but the reality is there is so much more to come and i just cant wait!!
Am loving the camper van. Very cozy indeed. Spent the first night in a campsite but the next night in a car park (free camping) overlooking the ocean which had some amazing views which compensated for the fact that we had no showers or toilets!!
Off to some thermal springs tomorrow then further north to Blenheim in a few days to see a friend's sister before heading further up north to Picton and Nelson
