Whale of a tale

"Ideal sea conditions" were the words greeting us on the status board as we walked into Kaikoura Whale Watching.  The Kiwi at the desk noted that they rarely got to use that determination, so we were a lucky cruise. 

Our whale watching adventure's goal was to find the largest of all toothy whales: the sperm whale (the blue whale is much larger but doesn't have teeth and feeds on krill, whereas the sperm whale feeds on fish and sharks - including Great White Sharks).  Kaikoura is blessed with a large canyon just off its coast where male sperm whales like to hang out.  Because they're deep divers, they need very deep water to survive (most of their prey is in the lower levels of the ocean).  We only had to go about 10-15 minutes from the harbor to reach the "whale zone," and to get our first small sighting of a whale's tale (we found that particular whale just as he was diving down).

Since sperm whales usually take 30-40 minutes between each dive, we spent much of the cruise in a waiting mode, knowing there was a whale nearby but not knowing when it would surface.  When it finally surfaced though, what a beautiful and stunning sight.  This particular whale has been hanging out in the Kaikoura area for about 20 years, so they crew knew him well.  He was about a meter longer than our boat and spent about 10 minutes up on the surface breathing in the fresh air before diving down for more feeding time again.

Having previously seen humpback whales off Cape Cod, sperm whales by comparison are larger but less "playful" on the surface.  The humpbacks eat at the surface, so they spend a lot of time breaching, slapping their fins on the surface and coming up with food in their mouths.  The sperm whale spends its time at the surface breathing, digesting, and preparing to dive again.  Very different experiences, but both very worthwhile.

In addition to seeing the sperm whales, the cruise gave us the opportunity to enjoy some absolutely heart-stopping scenery along the Kaikoura coast.  Certainly wasn't a bad place to hang out and wait for the whales to need some fresh air. 

Yes, that's Erin next to a seal

Finished our day in Kaikoura with a hike along the Peninsula Walkway, up on the cliffs, overlooking a seal colony and (bizarrely) walking through cow and sheep pastures.  Around every bend was another viewpoint that made us stop to appreciate it (and break out the camera, of course).

Two thumbs up to our sojourn in Kaikoura.  We now will head back north along the stunning coast to wine country, where we'll say a sad goodbye to Shawna (she needs to head home for another previously scheduled vacation) and drown our sorrows in excellent NZ Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs.