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The Kaikoura Peninsula is an ideal place to go Whale Watching. New Zealand is situated right on the continental shelf bringing Sperm Whales and Orcas close in to shore. This makes Kaikoura a wildlife hotspot. These animals are protected by law, visitor numbers are closely monitored to prevent upset to the Whales.

‘Sperm whale going down’

‘Whale watching boats’

There are 2 really good ways to see the whales of the Kaikoura peninsula. By air and by boat. Both ways offer spectacular views. From the air you can see the whole whale, from the surface you can’t see the whole whale but you can get some really good views when the whales dive for food. What people are really looking for is the Sperm whales coming up to the surface after diving for food. There are lots of other wildlife to be see around Kaikoura, Orcas for example are frequent visitors, you are likely to see orcas whilst Whale Watching.

‘Coming up for air’

 

To see all of the whale you need to be above it, there are a number of companies that offer flights over the whales. I flew with Wings over Whales in an aeroplane. The advantage with being airborne is you see more of the whale and see more sightings in a shorter space of time.
Whale Watch Kaikoura, is a great way to spend a day, based in the Old railway station. They sail a number of times a day, trips last about 3 and a half hours. Kaikoura is wildlife haven, there are plenty of different species that you’ll encounter on the trip. Numerous bird life, not least the Royal Albatross.

 

The Sperm Whale is the largest toothed whale. Reaching lengths of 20m and weighing 50 tonnes and living for around 70 years. Whilst out watching it is the tell tale spout of water that people are eagerly searching for; there is a stir of excitement when the first spout is spotted.

‘Getting ready’

‘Going..’

‘Going..’

‘Gone.’

The whale watching boats are fitted with Hydrophone which basically is an underwater microphone where they can listen to the clicks of the whales sonar, and direction the boats to the whales.

‘They are huge whales when you see them next to the boats’

There are a number of different ways to see the whales and each of the operators communicate with each other, so when a whale is spotted there is usually a race to get there first, you will see helicopters and planes circling over a whale, as well as a couple of boats. The department of conservation is very good though and limit the number of vessels that are allowed around the whales and also limit how close you can get. The whales don’t seem bothered by the visitors photographing them .

‘Common dolphins are frequent visitors.

Tags: Whale watching, New Zealand, travel and places

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 19th, 2006 at 5:52 pm and is filed under New Zealand Pictures, South Island. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.