here is some extra information about these elusive creatures...
clicke here x
Saturday, 19 January 2013
My day on land...WOW
Saturdays are my land day, so i grabbed a cereal bar and power-walked to work, listening to my ipod. Iwas just making hot chocolates at around 8ish and the radio came on..."iv got Orca here..." a skipper was informing us. I ran out and popped mynhead through the wetsuits and told the crew. I was so excited, then i realised i wouldn't be seeing them as i was on land. I decided to ask Mal if she would get some shots for me on my camera....she returned with a huge smile on her face and i had a full memory card....here are just a few...
They hung around all day, feeding on the sting ray in the shallower waters. They can reach just under 10m in length. They have a large dorsal fin which can reach 1.8m. At encounter we try and keep a record of each of the individuals which pass trough and we have a fairly good catalogue now. They have a distinct saddle (grey/white patch) behind their dorsal fin. Their blow is tall and bushy and they often travel in tight unison as you can see from the images.
simply amazing-i wished i could of been there to experience them, but i was on land, cleaning and washing wet suits....
I thought it was going to be one of those days, and then Jess (one of the senior guides) said..."jenny how much do you love me?" i replied with "LOTS!"... she then said "would you like to come for a flight?" i almost cried, i ripped off my humongous wetsuit machine gloves and my apron and hugged her!
Then i was being strapped into the wings over whales plane and with the headset on the pilot took off...it was simply incredible, i couldn't believe i was flying over Kaikoura, we were in search of a pod of dolphin, as they had been unable to swim, as their were Orca in the area and they had been hunting which had spooked the duskys....The coastline looked stunning. Then suddenly we saw splashing and there they were 300+ dusky dolphin, running free in the Pacific ocean. Just beautiful. Jess radiod the boats and gave a GPS location, we circled a few times, enough to see them leaping and jumping, one of the best moments of my life. We also came accross macrel bait balls in the ocean, unfortunately the Orca had headed north so we missed them, but i had been treated and the images of those dolphins roaming free will stay with me forever.
(ps as i was editing the pictures back home and writing this blog e b y t came on the radio! smiling from ear to ear)
what a crazy day! :-)
simply amazing-i wished i could of been there to experience them, but i was on land, cleaning and washing wet suits....
I thought it was going to be one of those days, and then Jess (one of the senior guides) said..."jenny how much do you love me?" i replied with "LOTS!"... she then said "would you like to come for a flight?" i almost cried, i ripped off my humongous wetsuit machine gloves and my apron and hugged her!
Then i was being strapped into the wings over whales plane and with the headset on the pilot took off...it was simply incredible, i couldn't believe i was flying over Kaikoura, we were in search of a pod of dolphin, as they had been unable to swim, as their were Orca in the area and they had been hunting which had spooked the duskys....The coastline looked stunning. Then suddenly we saw splashing and there they were 300+ dusky dolphin, running free in the Pacific ocean. Just beautiful. Jess radiod the boats and gave a GPS location, we circled a few times, enough to see them leaping and jumping, one of the best moments of my life. We also came accross macrel bait balls in the ocean, unfortunately the Orca had headed north so we missed them, but i had been treated and the images of those dolphins roaming free will stay with me forever.
(ps as i was editing the pictures back home and writing this blog e b y t came on the radio! smiling from ear to ear)
what a crazy day! :-)
Thursday, 17 January 2013
travel planning...
So im starting to consider my options for travel after work in New Zealand come April. This country has so much to offer, wilderness treks, helicopter rides over glaciers, kayaking in Abel Tasman, Albatross watching on the Otago peninsula, Woofing in Dunedin, photographing the incredible scenery of Arthurs pass, swimming with th rarest and smallest dolphins in the world at Akaroa, staying in the city which is the first to see the sunrise in the world,Gisborne, jet boating in Auckland, canyoning in Queenstown, etc... and thats only half of the opportunities this fabulous country has to offer.
Iv spoken to so many people on board our tours and they've mentioned some fabulous places to visit, iv been gradually making lists and keeping notes, Hokitika cropped up, Fiordland national park and milford sound....so for the next few weeks my job is to plan some kind of itinerary of places and activities to visit from april. I have approximately 3 months to plan for in New Zealand, and then i fly to Fiji to experience some beautiful beaches, come mid July i should be in Tonga, here i'll hopefully get the chance to swim with Humpback whales....(if this happens it would be incredible)...and then onto LA and Colarado to meet up with one of my insprirational friends.
I'v got lots to look forwards to but also a lot of planning and saving needed. So my evenings will be spent trying to make all of the above happen, my days will be spent working hard on the pacific ocean and saving for my adventure...with some planning and a little spontaneity - I'm excited to see what happens and what's to come.
Imagine it, Believe in it, Experience it.
Iv spoken to so many people on board our tours and they've mentioned some fabulous places to visit, iv been gradually making lists and keeping notes, Hokitika cropped up, Fiordland national park and milford sound....so for the next few weeks my job is to plan some kind of itinerary of places and activities to visit from april. I have approximately 3 months to plan for in New Zealand, and then i fly to Fiji to experience some beautiful beaches, come mid July i should be in Tonga, here i'll hopefully get the chance to swim with Humpback whales....(if this happens it would be incredible)...and then onto LA and Colarado to meet up with one of my insprirational friends.
I'v got lots to look forwards to but also a lot of planning and saving needed. So my evenings will be spent trying to make all of the above happen, my days will be spent working hard on the pacific ocean and saving for my adventure...with some planning and a little spontaneity - I'm excited to see what happens and what's to come.
Imagine it, Believe in it, Experience it.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
treasure from my day at the beach...
I had decided to walk along the beach today, its simply beautiful at the beach front along the coast of Kaikoura. I had been wanting to find my very own Paua (pronounced power) shell for a while now and id been having no luck. Paua is the Maori name given to 3 different types of edible sea snail. These shells are known in the UK as ormer shells. Paua are commonly found along coastal waters along rocky waters in depths from 1-10m. These large sea snails survive strong tidal surges by clinging to rocks using their large muscular foot. Theyc feed on sea weed. In New Zealand there are restrictions as to how much paua can be collected, this is 10 paua per person per day. Paua poaching is a major industry in New Zealand and many thousands are taken illegally.
To maori paua are recognised as treasure, a tasty sea food and also used in many traditional arts and crafts. Paua is used alot to represent the eyes in many carvings and are traditionally associated with the stars, the symbolic eyes of their ancestors, this is a lovely thought. These eyes gaze down from the night sky. The meat of the paua is considered a delicacy in New Zealand and the shell is frequently used in jewelry because of the striking blue, green and purple iridescence. Im hoping to be able to make a few pieces as my friend is carving paua and has already made some fabulous tail flukes out of it.
Im so happy i found these, they are simply beautiful and its hard to believe that these colours are produced naturally. This day has strengthened my belief that if you want to find something badly enough you will, eventually, you'll stumble accross it, this can be applied to anything in life i guess, having faith and a bit of hope will eventually pay off.
To maori paua are recognised as treasure, a tasty sea food and also used in many traditional arts and crafts. Paua is used alot to represent the eyes in many carvings and are traditionally associated with the stars, the symbolic eyes of their ancestors, this is a lovely thought. These eyes gaze down from the night sky. The meat of the paua is considered a delicacy in New Zealand and the shell is frequently used in jewelry because of the striking blue, green and purple iridescence. Im hoping to be able to make a few pieces as my friend is carving paua and has already made some fabulous tail flukes out of it.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
a magical underwater encounter...
This footage captures the incredible experiences of our lucky passengers...the footage is taken using the new GoPro black (i want one, they are a bit of a 'must have' if your visiting New Zealand and taking part in lots of activities etc...) this footage really captures the peacefulness of the dusy dolphins under water world. The dusky dolphins are virtually beakless, they have a large dorsal fin witha paler trailing edge.
click here, the peaceful world of the dusky dolphins...
It's also clear from the footage that the dolphins are able to propel through their peduncle/tailstock, these dolphins are known for their acrobatics and agility. They can reach speeds of upto 35km/hr. They can reach depths of at least 150m. The males are bigger than the females reaching approximately 2.1m, whereas the females reach 1.8m.
click here, the peaceful world of the dusky dolphins...
It's also clear from the footage that the dolphins are able to propel through their peduncle/tailstock, these dolphins are known for their acrobatics and agility. They can reach speeds of upto 35km/hr. They can reach depths of at least 150m. The males are bigger than the females reaching approximately 2.1m, whereas the females reach 1.8m.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
New Zealand fur seal vs Octopus!
The New Zealand fur seal is found off the islands a coasts of New Zealand where there is a population of approximately 85,000-135,000. They are able to dive to upto 270m and can hold their breath for upto 11 minutes. Their favourite prey is squid and octopus, with some fish, lampreys, rock lobster and penguins. On one of todays tours we saw as a fur seal latched onto an octopus and lashed it around. (Again the pictures aren't the greatest but hopefully you can make out the octopus) x
pilot reports 40 pilot whale in the area!
Todaythe pilot of the helicopter used the radio to report that there were 40 pilot whale travelling through the area, they were closely followed by a pod of bottlenosed dolphins! unfortunately they were too far offshore for our dolphin boats to see them. However our boats did manage to spot a sun fish, something we don't encounter every day.
here are some pictures of the juvinile humpback whale that joined us at the start of the season, he's ventured off now on his migration of 16,000km from cold waters where they feed in the spring to tropical water winter breeding grounds like Tonga. He looked at me as i took the pictures, hopefully you can make out his eye in the first picture. (pics taken on a small pocket camera so thery're nothing special but they'll do) x
here are some pictures of the juvinile humpback whale that joined us at the start of the season, he's ventured off now on his migration of 16,000km from cold waters where they feed in the spring to tropical water winter breeding grounds like Tonga. He looked at me as i took the pictures, hopefully you can make out his eye in the first picture. (pics taken on a small pocket camera so thery're nothing special but they'll do) x
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