Just off the coast of Kaikoura is a deep sea trench that is over 4000 feet deep. This trench is part of a bigger Kermadec trench and it is the reason that Kaikoura has such a rich and varied population of sea creatures. Two different currents pass this point. The cold current hits the entrance to the trench and this creates an upwelling of nutrient rich water. This feeds phytoplankton which feeds squid which feed everything in the ocean. A warm current comes down from the tropics bringing warm water species mingle with the cold water species and they all eat at the upwelling. We walked up to the whale watching office which is co-located in the Train Station. It was 1.25 mile walk and we were early. I made a drift wood whale to while away the time and we watched the huge variety of people also on the tour. We splurged for seats in the Captain's Cabin while most people sat downstairs. This gave us a private van shuttle to the marina while the others had to take busses. We were surprised to find that the boat could handle the 98 passengers that boarded. It made us feel even more special to be two of the five people that sat upstairs on the Captain's Cabin. We were provided a snack box, water and drinks, very comfortable chairs, a window for each of us and our own exclusive viewing area on the outside. The ship had four 950 HP, eight cylinder engines that power a jet propulsion system. It had some get up and go! We motored straight out about one kilometer and saw a sperm whale right away. We lingered there until it dove and then chased another. The second one dove before we could get to it so we went to find the Dusky dolphins. We found hundreds of them in one giant pod. We could have spent the entire time remaining just watching then swim, flip, spin and fly through the air. But as luck would have it Melina spotted a humpback whale and off we scooted. The humpback is rarely seen here and it was surface feeding in some concentrations of fish that we had been seeing all day long. It was back to he dock and off the ship. We took lots of pictures and video and I will make separate posts for the whales and the dolphins.
A sea sickness patch is essential as there were 10 foot swells out over the trench
Still some clouds lingering over the mountains
Mr. Metal Detector
Wide open beachfront to the north
Wide open to the south
Whale Art
Flowers line the banks of the creek through town
Paddle and snorkel
Thar he blows
Time to spare
and drift wood to play with
Stocking up on Sperm Whale facts
Our Captain's Quarters host and sometime Captain, Melina
Our ship for the afternoon
A large screen that is suckering you into sea-sickness
A very decent snack box! Meat, cheese, curry jam, fish, three types of crackers and some sweets to top it all off
Captain Shannon
Folks fishing off the dock area
The line of folks added credence to the 98 person tour
Very VIP indeed
The viewing opportunities of the other passengers
Captain Shannon
