what an end to a fantastic year...

well...where do i start, i wanted a whale fix, and it came 2 days we saw Arnoux beaked whale x6!!!!!!!!

this species is only found in the southern hemisphere, they are dark slate grey or bluey black. the blow is low and bushy and slightly angled forward. They cruise at the surface in very tight groups and breathe in unison. 

 

and TODAY... well we had 10 Orca!

christmas time...

Steffie and i had crayfish for christmas eve, it was interesting, neither of us had cooked crayfish before...

i then spent my christmas morning having a well deserved lie in, i then took my parcels over the road where the kids had got the paddling pool out, it was very hot, i sat in the sun with a glass of vino and everything was right with the world. We ate roast lamb and delicious pavlova. I Then had a glass of bubbly and thought of my mum, a lovely day.

"i saw the angel in the marble and carved until i set him free..." (Michael Angelo)

Every so often i feel like putting pencil to paper...

Evening on the beach...

It's been a really hot day today in Kaikoura, with temperatures reaching the mid 20's!I decided to spend my evening on the beach. The mountains run into the sea, and flowers create a beautiful foreground.

Someone who was there previousley had made a stack of pebbles, a guy knelt down in front of the ocean, it was a peaceful evening, I wished you were there...

First glimpse of Hectors dolphin and little blue penguins...

Today i got my first glimpse of the smallest of the dolphin species and also one of the rarest, there were approximately 6 hectors dolphins which came towards our boat to check us out...unfortunately conditions did not allow me to take very good pictures, hopefully ill get some more opportunities to take pictures.

            

little blue penguins

unidentified beaked whale species...

ON this afternoons tour an unidentifiable species of beaked whale was seen to surface approximately 3 times, the animal blew twice and then disappeared. One of the passengers onboard managed to get a picture which shows a dark greyish back with and melon shaped head and no dorsal fin was seen at the surface. A possibility is that it could have been the spade toothed whale, however this species has hardly ever been seen alive, but the evidence could be the fact that the dorsal fin was so far back on the animal

but i guess we will never know...

Orca Alert!

Yesterday we had a pod of 8 Orca (killer whale) travel through the area, unfortunately i had only onetour in the morning and the Orca passed through during the afternoon tour, Gutted! but hey at least we know they are out there, they were due another visit as they tend to visit every 4-6weeks, this fits in with when they were last seen just before i arrived in Kaikoura. I guess it just wasn't my time to see them, i cant wait until i do!

picture taken by Whale Watch Kaikoura.

swimming with Dusky dolphins, an incredible experience...

Today was my day off, and i decided it was time to take a plunge in the Pacific! I squeezed into my wetsuit and tried on my fins, pushed the mask onto my face and sat on the back ledge of the boat. As we travelled, our fins in the water, the dusky dolphins followed our boat. I was a bit worried about the temperature of the water, but the horn sounded and there i was in the ocean, i put my head under the water and looked down...it was beautiful. I could hear the clicks and whistles of the dolphins swimming around me, they looked at me dead on in the eye, they were just as interested in me as i was in them, i circled with them and dived down into their world, it was amazing...a dream world.

an experience i will NEVER FORGET...

lost in a moment of wonder...

I finished a successful day at Encounter Kaikoura with 2 successful trips swimming with Dusky dolphins. It was a beautiful day with a slightly blustery start it was hard to spot the pod at first as ther were lots of white caps, eventually we came accross a pod and had a successful swim. I noticed in particular today that there were many more birds than usual, i think it was due to the wind conditions. After i had locked up the wet suiting area i made my way home along the coast, i looked out to my right and was suddenly in awe and wonder that the ocean i was looking at was the Pacific and that the sea would go on for miles, click here... it made me think about all the marine mammals and oceanic birds it must be home to...i wish i could fly over it.
the map shows where i am in New Zealand and the little blue arrow,

spelling *

I just wanted to apologise for the number of spelling mistakes on my page. I'm not the worlds greatest speller but im not that bad! the spelling mistakes or random letters are due to the fact im using a tab computer and sometimes it tends to freeze on me or it doesn't allow me to delete letters etc... so please ignore spellings, i will try and correct them when im at a laptop or desk top comp, so for now BARE WITH! x

wind, waves, people and birds all at the edge of the ocean...

we spent a beautiful evening at Kaikoura peninsula, breathtaking views, waves crashed against the rocks, birds flew overhead and people stared at the ocean in awe.

Pied shag