After a short drive, 2.5 hours, from Christchurch to Kaikoura we were ready to be amazed by the marine life miracles that have made Kaikoura a must have on the Southern Island loop.
Our first day there we went whale watching, our second day swimming with dolphins.
Both were an open ocean experience. So we had no guarantees of either spotting whales or encountering dolphins interesting in frolicking with Flipper-happy humans. But more importantly, it was exactly what we wanted. A relatively eco-friendly and animal-friendly experience. The animals weren’t lured by putting out bait or by any other unnatural means.
Luckily our chances of spotting the whales were enhanced by the use of a special listening device which the skipper of our boat used now and then in the water. But no sonar was used. They didn’t want to disturb the marine life.
Our chances of encountering human-happy dolphins were by no means influenced. We were either lucky or we were not. The only good fortune we had was that we went on the early morning trip, which started around 05.30. The dolphins usually return around that time from individually hunting fish way out in the open ocean and then gather closer the shore for some playing around and chitchatting with eachother..
Our time in Kaikoura was magnificent. We not only spotted 3 whales, but we also encountered huge groups of dolphins. We were able to swim and fool around with them for quite some time.
The swimming was exhausting though. The dolphins are so quick it takes a lot of agility and energy to keep up with them, even for a little while.
Nevertheless, It was really an experience I will never forget and would recommend to anyone going to New Zealand.
More photos of whale watching and dolphin swimming in Kaikoura:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_dude_in/sets/72157623339531222/
John’s blogpost on Singapore, Christchurch and Kaikoura:
http://www.oldenhuizing.com/2010/02/03/nz-christchurch-kaikoura/
1 Comment(s)
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Ha Jeroen,
Wat leuk om nu jouw blog te lezen, ik blijf dan nog een beetje in de vakantiestemming!
Volgens mij is het genieten voor je, maar dat heb je echt verdiend!
Na de eerste week weer in controle op werk en ga met frisse energie aan de slag, zo’n maand vakantie doet goed! Ik ben wel jaloers dat je echt gezwommen hebt met dolfijnen:-)
groetjes Fem
ps al weer drie keer bij Jack geweest…