Kaikoura is really nothing more than a small spit of land along the remote West coast of the South Island. The dramatic Kaikoura Range to the Northwest and the Pacific to the East frame the low, grassy hills and rocky beaches. The coastal shelf falls off steeply just offshore, and it is along this shelf that cold Antarctic currents meet the warmer flows from Fiji. These currents teem with sea life, and act as highways for many species of whales, including orcas, humpbacks, blue, sperm and southern right whales. A "bachelor pod" of sperm whales has taken residence here, and this makes Kaikoura one of the most reliable whale spotting locations on the planet.
Our tour was the first of the morning, and was met with cloudy skies and cold drizzle. As we searched for the pod, we crossed paths with many albatrosses, terns and petrels-- the long-distance vagabonds of the cold southern oceans. After a couple of near-misses, we located Tiaki, a massively built sperm bull whose name means "guardian" in Maori (he has been observed protecting calves from orca attacks). He is fully 18+ meters long and allowed us to sidle up next to him for several minutes before nosing down, turning up his massive tail and powering into the depths. We saw two other whales, but these were only brief encounters.
We spent the rest of the day hiking around the peninsula. To one side, the shore, where hundreds upon hundreds of fur seals laze about on the rocks and vast multitudes of seabirds ride the updrafts along the coastal cliffs. To the other side, gentle hills covered with golden grasses and colorful goldfinches flitting from thistle to thistle. As we returned to our little beach-side B&B, a rainbow appeared.
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