Wine, Whales and Water Part II

The drive down NZ SH1 from Blenheim to Kaikorua is one spectacular coastal view after another. The sea was rough, with a twenty to twenty-five mile per hour wind blowing in from the southeast, and waves crashed and foamed along the ragged and rocky coastline. Halfway to Kaikoura, fifty or sixty seals were perched along the bluffs and the pups were active, waddling and hopping along, honking at their playmates. We stopped for a few choice pictures, but had to move on quickly to make our whale watch tour.

From NZ Developed

After a day and night of drinking wine, the winding roads along the Pacific coast were working a number on both of our stomachs. When we checked in at the whale watch tour ticket booth, the warning was out: high winds meant rough seas, and rough seas meant a severe seasickness warning. The gift shop had anti-seasickness capulets for sale. We each bought one, and crossed our fingers.

We boarded the eighteen-meter catamaran after a short bus ride to Kaikoura’s South Bay Harbor. The harbor’s unique geography makes it a popular destination for migrating whales. About three miles off shore from the shallow harbor, the sea floor drops to more than 1,000 meters deep and more, a giant refrigerator for shrimp, krill, squid and other treats for humpback, orca, and Kairkoura’s most famous marine residents, the sperm whale. Although January is the best time of year to view migrating whales, a sperm whale was spotted earlier in the day, meaning our chances of seeing a whale were nearly perfect.

A half-hour cruise up, down and through the growing sea swell (just keep your eyes on the horizon, the guide said, and you shouldn’t get sick), we came to a quick stop. Other watch boats and planes began circling close, and soon, the tell-tale spout of air broke the ocean surface and we could see the back humps and blowhole of the sperm whale, equally long as our boat and over twice as heavy. He stayed on the surface for fifteen minutes, re-oxygenating his blood and digesting his most recent catch; it’s too cold to do it in the deep sea where he catches his prey. One last breath and he slowly arched his back, dipped below the surface and spread his tail in the air.

From NZ Developed

The captain then took us towards shore for a chance to view Kaikoura’s other famous marine mammal, the dusky dolphin. Before long, the ocean was teeming with both dusky dolphins, and the more well-known common dolphin, which apparently aren’t all that common in Kaikoura. Lucky us! It’s tough to say how many, but we guessed nearly 100 dolphins swimming around the boat, jumping, diving and flipping in the air. Quite the show!

From NZ Developed

From NZ Developed

With the tour already beating our expectations, we headed out to see again to get another view of the whale, back against the now much rougher seas. Several passengers lost their sea legs, so to speak, and the horizon was getting much more difficult to follow; the sounds and smells of land-lubbers losing their lunch on the high seas only made it tougher. Thankfully, we had only a short cruise before catching another siting of the whale, this time much closer. After another fabulous tail display before a long dive, we headed back to shore. I practically kissed the dock.

From NZ Developed

We stayed in a beachside hostel in Kaikoura, but after a long day of traveling and the exhilarating tour, we couldn’t muster the energy to be social. The en suite kitchenette was much more interesting; after eating out at cafes for every meal for a week, we were never so happy to see a hot plate and our own fridge. We enthusiastically shopped the local grocery store and hacked together a nice home-cooked dinner and breakfast, which put us in a great mood. Tomorrow, it’s more hiking and a drive south to the center of New Zealand’s English-cultural influence, Christchurch.