Watching for Whales

Sunday 19 January

It was a bit Moby Dick - a relentless quest to find a whale who we knew was hiding out in the ocean nearby - but who refused to surface for the money shot!

After a mega brekkie (possibly a little reckless given we were about to spend 3 hours on the high seas) we checked in for our Whale Watch cruise at around 11am alongside about 50 others. The cruise set off in good time and we were informed and entertained by Billy from Ashby de la Zouch as we jetted off to where the whale had been earlier that morning.

The harbour we left from was quiet and functional, but only a week earlier (and then a week later) a small pod of Orca had come in and delayed departures as they cavorted around the boats... such a shame our timing was so off.

The eco friendly waka was equipped with a super sensitive listening device which could pick up sperm whale clicks within a 5km radius but sadly despite pootling around for a couple of hours and liaising with the other whale watchers it seems Marama HB120 was fast asleep and not clicking. Billy had informed us that this was possible but not a regular occurrence, however if they are going to sleep, they do like a noontime siesta - oh good to know that now!

We were however blessed with superb weather, glassy flat seas, several Royal Albatross fly byes, a visit from 4 dusky dolphins and a wave from a laconic fur seal. The birdlife was fabulous - we also saw cormorants, petrels, sheerwaters as well as the magnificent Southern Royal Albatrosses, who were really giving us a great display. These magnificent seabirds, known to the Maori as toroa, have an average wingspan over 3m wide, have hollow bones to lighten the weight, but still weigh roughly 8.5kg (19lbs). Their heads and beaks reminded me of the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland, very strong and sturdy.

Back home on dry land we received an 80% refund for not seeing a whale - so $35 each for a three hour cruise seemed like a neat deal! We did look at rebooking for the early morning Whale Watch on Monday but there was only one seat left so we called it a day.

Back at Banjo we piled into a very clean Pajero (Louis had spent the morning swimming and washing the car - not at the same time) and headed back up the coast to the seal colony at Ohau Point. Armed with my Canon camera and a long lens we spent a happy hour or so there capturing these smelly but endearing fur seals or kekeno. Cue a million oohs and aahs as we watched the pups at play - and far too many photos.

Back home to Banjo we felt it would be rude not to sample the local produce so wandered down to the local fish & chips shop which is world famous in Kaikoura! It was super busy but we got two decent sized batterend tarakihi, a chicken schnitzel and a big portion of chips then took them back to Banjo to eat in the dying embers of the day's sunshine. What a day!