03.02.11 Kaikoura Whale and Seal Watching
Well, despite the 25knot wind the captain decided to take his speedy boat out to see the whales. Half the proposed passengers decided against going as the sea was rough and the whales were 19miles off shore. It was an adventure trip getting there, and even more fun trying to hang on when the boat stopped beside a big whale…the rocking and rolling meant that photography was almost impossible, but it didn't matter. The whale was enormous, a sperm whale. He obliged us by spouting 7 or 8 times, floated around and about while the waves broke over him and then did the tail up thing before diving into the depths. At one point the drifted within feet of the boat. A seal played around him, and an albatross floated past. What magnificent creatures. Our 2 hour trip turned out to be a 3hour 45min trip due to weather and distance the whales were!!! Fun though.
Next we drove round the bay to see the fur seal colony….colony it was not, but there were 2 or 3 seals on land .
We found a lovely lunch time stop for soup and whiled away a large portion of the afternoon. On the way back to camp I stopped to buy a new second hand book to read and spent about half an hour browsing in the patchwork and knitting shop….these shops are treasure houses.
Back at camp Damian took a spa, had a swim and read his book while I played with my photos, wrote this and took a lovely long hot shower…even used the hairdryer provided.
It's time for supper now so I will sign out. Yummy strawberries from Jana again for dessert.