Kaikoura New Zealand
The small town of Kaikoura New Zealand is located on State Highway 1, 180 km north of Christchurch on east coast of the South Island New Zealand.
Kaikoura is most known as a base town from which whale watching tours are launching. Another famous attraction of Kaikoura is swimming with dolphins. The name Kaikoura in Maori means “to eat crayfish”, and indeed crayfish takes a big part in the economy of the region. One more attraction of Kaikoura is a large colony of Southern Fur Seals. You can take a look at them at the eastern edge of the town; I suggest doing it when the tide is low and in the evening.
I visited Kaikoura New Zealand and also participated in whale watching activity which was kind of fun. You get on the boat with other whale watchers, and then you sail some distance away from the shore towards the Hikurangi Trench. Then the boat skipper starts to search for whales using an interesting sonar device by sinking it underwater and listening through the earphones. He looks for whale that finished feeding and going up to the surface for air. Whales usually stay on the surface for about 15 minutes. During this time they accumulate enough oxygen for the next hour or so, in which they dive very deep for food. Therefore you can see each whale only during his surface period - 15 minutes every hour. One of the most spectacular things you will see is when whale starts to dive: after taking enough oxygen, whale starts diving, and at this moment you will see its huge tail raising above the water and then going under. Thats it for this whale and skipper takes the boat to look for the next one. If you are lucky you may see more than one whale. In my case we saw one sperm whale, then, when he dived we tried to find other whales but with no luck. 50 minutes passed by and then we came back to watch the same whale once again when he resurfaced. This was a nice experience in Kaikoura New Zealand. Recommended for marine life lovers.
