Press any of the buttons below to go to my other pages.
You are currently on a 
page.
Press any of the buttons below to go to my other pages.
You are currently on a
page.
| Whale spotted off to the right! Kaikoura in New Zealand is a great place to go Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) spotting. There is a resident pod of juvenile males that hangs around just off the coast of Kaikoura, where the New Zealand continental shelf abruptly plunges deep below the ocean. This sudden change in sea-floor contour forces the krill laden Antarctic waters closer to the surface, making feeding that much easier for the whales and other sea creatures. The biannual migration of Humpbacks also comes this way. We were very lucky and saw no less than three different Humpback whales! (We never got as close as it would appear in the photo. A tele-lens camera squeezes distances and makes them look smaller. The boat kept its' distance at all times to prevent stressing the whales). |  The tail of a Humpback whale as it dives again |
 The rare Hector's dolphins cavorting off the bow-wave | Hector's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori) are only found around New Zealand in shallow coastal waters. This small dolphin, up to 1.8 m in length, loves bowriding and will usually interact with small boats. Unfortunately, their hunting ground and human fishing grounds overlap. Legislation has been brought in to prevent the use of set-nets in certain areas at particular times.
On the way out to sea you have the opportunity to see New Zealand fur-seals, gannets, heaps of seabirds, and maybe even penguins. The most special of all are the whales and the Hector's dolphins. |