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PORTAL OCEANIA 

Kaikoura

Kaikoura is world wide famous to be one of the best places in the word to see whales. It is almost for sure, so sure that some tour operators give a refund if you don't spot any. The motive for this area in particular be abundant in whales if because not too far from the beach, the continental platform drops in a strait line to a submarine Canyon more than 3000 Metres deep. With so much space to swim, huge creatures like the Sperm Wale and the Giant Squid play happily in this waters. In the past, Sperms whales were hunted widely due the production of "Spermaceti Oil", used in utilities such as Street lamp fuel, Cooking oil and may others. Of course the meat was another reason. In new Zealand wale hunting is long ago prohibited, and as you will see, whale watching earns much more money for local population the animal killed.

Some data about the Sperm Wale:

Group: Cetaceous

Family: Odontoceti - Physeterinae

Other names: Cachalot, Great Sperm whale, Physeter Catodon

Length: Male 20 metres - Female 12 metres

Weight: Male 70 tons - Female 20 Tons

Dept of Dive: 3 km + at  3 metres per second

Hold its breath for: 2 Hours

Teeth: Up to 50 in each jaw - Form: conic teeth

Favourite foods: Giant squid, Octopus, big fishes, Moray

Enemies: Orcas Wale, Giant Squid, Big sharks, Humans.

Reproduction: 1 wale baby each time once every 15 months

Life span: 60 years - Sexual maturity at  20 years old

Estimate population in the globe: 570.000

In Kaikoura there are tour companies that take you to see them close. The price range in 2006 was around NZ$ 110 for a tour lasting approximately 2 hours. Spot a wale is not guaranteed but extremely possible. If the boat's captain don't spot any, there is a money back up to 80% of the tour cost. The day we went, we spotted about 3 or 4 whales, all in a medium distance from the boat. Some can come afloat just beside the boat but is pure luck. The boat have sonar to capture the sounds emitted by the wale, and by the interpretation of the sound the skipper tries to guess were the wile will surface. By NZ law, no boat can get closer to less than 50 metres from a wale, but if the wale decides to surface beside the boat there is no law against it. It happens some times. During the period surfaced, the wale will take deep breath for the next dive. The stay floating as much as necessary and than they start to move forward preparing for the dive. This is one of the top things they do, because when submerge the head the put the tail really high out of water, and all you her are wows and camera clicks. (normally the crew of the boat tells everybody when this moment is about to happen). Also, one of the highlights of our trip was the fact we were luck enough to have a gorgeous day. No clouds, no wind, and lake like seas. From out in the sea the view of the mountain at the back of Kaikoura is fabulous. Snow peak rises above the 2000 metres mark. I am pretty much sure the whales don't surface only to take a breath but to have a glimpse of the background view.

Kaikoura is a small town, very beautiful, quiet, and with a nice atmosphere. We went for just a day trip but we were so relaxed and feeling good there that we decided to stay another day. We went for a walk in the centre and found lots of friendly people having fun and affordable drinks and foods. Also, we went for a walk on the beach just before the sun went down. There are much more things to do in Kaikoura that one can imagine. If you already went in the wale watch tour, know that there some other nice tours around such us, spot dolphins, Sea Lions and seal, 4x4 to birds colonies, sea Kayak and much more. You can go by foot to see a Garnet colony if the time of the year is right. For the penguins, I mean Surfers, north of Kaikoura there a good right point. Kaikoura for us, was that kind of place that you first don't expect anything from it, and by the end you have a wale of a time.

Tourist Attractions in Kiakoura

Distances from Kaikoura to:

Seals	Garnnets