bloody great fishes
kaikoura is a little village with a big location, sandwiched between the blue green pacific and the brooding mountains of the southern alps. it is however a less obvious geographical feature that draws herds of tourists here: just a few miles offshore is the huge kaikoura canyon, creating an area of water that is deep enough for whales to paddle around in. as such, hordes of tourists jump on little catamarans and are driven the relatively short distance to see these aqueous leviathans.this spectacle is highly weather dependent, and my first attempt yesterday afternoon was cancelled due to rough seas. undeterred, i dragged myself out of bed in the morning and got a seat on the 10am boat. we came across one after about half an hour, and it was a genuinely impressive sight. sperm whales are huge, although they don't really do much apart from rest and spout water from their blowholes... that is until the moneyshot, when they arch their backs, show you their massive bodies, and dive under leaving you the scintillating view of an arced tailfin slipping under the water. i was lucky enough to see three whales, and each time the sight of that jagged fin disappearing into the murky depths made me gasp with astonishment.
we also saw some albatrosses, which are huge and would definitely be a nuisance if you had one round your neck, and a school of playful, photogenic, dolphins. the trip was really good, although the fee was, as always, totally unjustifiable: i suppose you have to anaesthetise yourself from the feeling of total impotence you get when faced with the numerous extortionate, unconscionable, fees thrust at you here, but i really haven't managed it yet.
kaikoura is also really good for walking and cycling around, which has been a pleasure after a week of relative inactivity. i hiked up a cliff yesterday for views and hayfever (damn!), and am off to one of the back bays now to check out some sea lions. apparently they are fat and lazy, so we should get on pretty well!
posted by bicrom @ 12:20 am
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