beneath the cliffs

I decided to head towards the peninsula walk, but this time i would follow the cliff base around the peninsula. It was simply beautiful, the raised limestone and siltstone laid down beneath the sea about 60million years ago is now exposed. The peninsula was once an island and has now been connected to the mainland because of debris from the mountain range. The Kaikoura mountains are rising faster than any other mountain range in New Zealand at 10mm per year. The limestone has been uplifted and sculpted by the waves to form many different shapes and patterns.

Offshore there is a very deep underwater canyon, this system comes unusually close inshore, this is known as the Kaikoura canyon. The canyon collects sedimendts which will form rocks on the future and even mountain peaks in millions of years. Id love to witness that journey! here are some pictures, but the real thing is much more impressive, I even came accross a little heart shape naturally created on the rocks! I also walked through a huge colony of breeding birds, mainly red billed gulls, which swooped down at me from all angles. There was an incredible atmosphere down there at the base of the cliffs, seals slept and soaked up the sunlight, the birds were very vocal and the waves crashed against the rocks, this area will never be static, the coastline is constantly being reshaped and moulded, sculpted by mother natures hands. unfortunately the tide was coming in and it can get pretty dangerous there on your own, i didnt want to get stuck, so i turned back and carried on along the cliff tops! I looked down and noticed a kiss, how lovely! x

hidden waterfalls and baby seals...

Sarah and i decided to head down to a waterfall where you can sometimes find seal pups playing at this time of year. Unfortunately there were no seals near the waterfall but it was still a beautiful setting.

We headed down to the coast and sure enough found a huge colony of New Zealand fur seals. Males arrive at breeding colonies from October, they have access to around 12 females. When a pup is born it is about 60cm in length, it will suckle from the mum for the first 6-12 days.They were adorable, we tokk about 100 pictures and didnt want to leave.

a spectacular diving machine...

Today was my day off so i took the opportunity to hit the sea in search of the Sperm Whale. Luckily enough the sea was calm, the sun created a haze and it was beautiful. We observed the smallest penguin in the world, the blue penguin, we also saw blue shark, new zealand fur seal and various species of albatross, including white capped albatross wondering albatross, and salvins albatross.

The captain slowed the boat down and switched off the engines, the crew explained that they were going to put a hydrophone into the water to try and listen out for the clicking of the sperm whale. The crew allowed me to have a listen and sure enough we could hear the sperm whale.

After a few minutes floating on the ocean the crew shouted "blow" our boat turned around and headed in the direction of the whales breath. The whale is hardly visible at the surface and when they dive, they dive! They can disappear for upto 2 hours, and can dive to depths of 3km below the surface. The sperm whale is mainly seen around the areas of ocean where the continental shelf drops off dramatically to depths of 1000-3000m. Their diet consists of mainly on giant squid which is only found in the deepest water.

We managed to locate the sperm whale who stayed at the surface for about 10 minutes, logging. The blow is directed to the left and is very bushy. I managed to get some video which showed the whale changing direction, with great agility. So for a brief moment the sperm whale stayed at the surface, taking in some oxygen in preperation for a huge dive...on the final blow the body of the whale slightly disappears and then re-emerges raising dorsal hump, he then rolls and acceelerates displaying his strong tail stock and flukes, as it becomes completely vertical sinks sliently inton the abyss.

simply beautiful and unforgettable, i love to think that they are still out there as i write this, surfacing to breathe below the light of the moon.

Pilot whale, Oceanic bottlenose dolphin and Orca...

Yesterday we headed out for our swim and Cully (our skipper) said "Jenny have you heard the gossip?" i replied "nope, what's happened?" and he said "we've got black and whites!" (black and whites, code for Orca/killer whale!) so we headed north in search of the pod and sure enough this huge 2m dorsal fin broke the surface of the water. Simply breathtaking, I got some wicked video, we were so close we could hear them breathe, the water visability was incredible and we watched as this huge bull orca's black shadow crept below the surface of the water, we saw the whole creature, like a birds eye view...one passenger said "well thats the best thing iv ever seen in my life" i couldn't have agreed more, and the knowledge that they are completely wild, just doing their own thing, made it all more magical! it wasn't a movie, it was happening.

we headed back to the office for lunch, only to be told it would have to be a quick lunch as we were heading back out on a 'wildlife tour' there was NEW GOSSIP! this time we were told there was a pod of Pilot whale in the area travelling closely together with bottlenose dolphin. We were told that we should try and get photos and video as this doesn't happen often. One guide has worked in Kaikoura for 7 years and had never seen pilot whale in the area! SO WE WERE EXCITED.

It didnt take long for us to find them, they stood out like a sore thumb, cruising and rolling at the surface. Pilot whale are a nomadic species, mainly found around northern Atlantic waters, and the central pacific. They prefer deep water where they feed mostly at night on squid and fish. They are about 7.5m in length and travel in pods of 50-1000, normally fewer than 50 are seen together. This pod seemed to contain mainly females with a few males and even some calves :). Amongst the pilot whale were some oceanic bottlenose dolphins.

Again the water visability was amazing and we watched as these bttlenose dolphin glided below the surface.These guys are very sociable particularly with other cetaceans in this case the pilot whale. They can reach speeds of upto 18mph, and we watched as some of them came into bow ride. They were huge compared to the bottlenose we often find in aquariums.

So that was yesterday and today, well they hung around and we caught up with the pod after our afternoon swim! This time we watched as some of the pilot whales spy hopped at the surface (the whale is verticle with its head bobbing up and down above the surface) and then we watched as they all seemed to surface at exactly the same time at least 15 of them and dive down. They dive to depths of at least 600m for about 10 minutes.

here are some pictures...

few more pics...:-)

 

this is a northern giant petrel, very ugly birds!

feeding frenzy! 

more pictures from today...

"Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feelin' everythings going my way!" :-)

Today was a brilliant day out on the sea. The seas were moderate and there was a bit of wind, eventually during the aftenoon we got 15 knots. We had a lovely swim in the morning and then a fabulous spectator wildlife tour in the afternoon. A lady on board sat in the sun and she sang..."Oh what a beautiful moooorning, oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feeeeeeling, everythings going my way..." she continued to sing the whole song! it really was the perfect soundtrack. The dusky dolphins were out in full force of around 400+, they were often intercepted by the hectors dolphin, and we watched as the hectors seemed to get sandwiched between two duskies! every so often a New Zealand fur seal rolled above the surface and waved his flippers in the air. White capped albatross flew over head so gracefully, they are simply beautiful birds. These birds have long narrow wings, long bills, with nostrils in small tubes on the sides. These birds are oceanic mainly, they are silent at sea, except when fighting over food.

The wildlife in this small part of the globe is simply incredible, there is such an abundance, its a great sign.