Dolphin Dreams and Whale Delights

Monday - Days like this don't come around too often... Today we did something Rachael has wanted to do her whole life, ever since that first encounter with a Bottlenose Dolphin that sparked a lifelong passion for whales and dolphins... Today we swam with dolphins!

When she first started reading about whales and dolphins Dusky Dolphins, along with Orca, caught her imagination more than any other with tales of acrobatics and a playful nature...today Dusky Dolphins lived up to all her expectations and more, it was mind blowing, enough to knock your socks off...in Rachael's case her flippers!

It was an early start as the trip started at 5.30am and we awoke to find the whole of Kaikoura shrouded in thick fog, a little disappointing but we were determined not to let anything ruin this morning. First task was to get kitted up in our thick, buoyant wetsuits, hood, mask and snorkel, then after a quick briefing we were taken out to the boats by bus. Mum, Laura, Lee and Rachael were all on the small boat Kotoku along with 9 other swimmers, our guide Emma and skipper Hank.

We headed out to sea, despite the thick fog the water was like glass and as we travelled along we would go through clearer patches in the fog where the sun was beginning to break through turning the sea from silvery grey to bluish green, then it would close in again and sea and sky would merge into one grey, murky mass.

20 minutes into the trip and we'd come into a clearer patch when Hank cut the engines, we all looked up in anticipation. Just ahead a lone, very young Dusky Dolphin was surfacing regularly. We were all more than a little concerned particularly when we saw that one half of its tail fluke had been bitten off, possibly by either a shark or Orca. The young dolphin did not seem to be in too much distress but on its own it would stand no chance of survival. Fortunately a couple of minutes later we spotted an adult Dusky nearby, likely its mother. Relieved we headed off in search of the rest of the pod, dolphins are pretty robust and can survive with such injuries, with its mother nearby this young one had a fighting chance of survival and once it regains it strength should rejoin the main pod.

A short while later Emma announced those words Rachael has waited such a long time to hear "we've located the pod of Dusky Dolphins, get ready to swim guys"
Heart pounding, adrenaline and excitement coursing through our veins, we put on our hoods, masks and snorkels, made our way to the back of the boat and sat ready to slip into the water. Just ahead the pod came into view...there were hundreds! Groups of dolphins were surfacing everywhere, some were porpoising, some breaching right out of the water just in front of us!! The water was calm and it no longer mattered the visibility was poor, we'd found Dusky Dolphins and were about to get in the water with them!

The horn sounded and we slid into the ocean, if it was cold we hardly noticed. Immediately we swam over towards the dolphins and start making noises through our snorkels....and there they were right next to or under you, swimming within inches of our fingertips, so close you could see the nicks and scratches on their bodies! Our of the greenish gloom a dolphin would appear, swim towards you, take a look and then disappear again...

Squealing with delight and happiness we swam through the water with dolphins all around us, it was an awesome, amazing experience and yes Rachael did lose her flipper, twice in the excitement! (fortunately she managed to retrieve them immediately!)
The best bit was when you made eye contact with a dolphin and then swam in circles following as they swam around you....

As the dolphins moved further away we climbed back on the boat to catch up. That first time we got back on board Rachael was a wide eyed, hyperventilating, bubbling mass of excitement as she tried to describe in one breathe everything she had experienced =)

The second time we slipped back into the water most of the dolphins hung around only for a short while before disappearing again, one dolphin, however, kept returning to swim amongst our group every time someone dived under the water. He would rush back, swim amongst us all, interacting with each swimmer before disappearing briefly. Its quite unusual for one dolphin to pay such attention to a group of swimmers when the rest of the pod moves off, it was mind blowing to think this dolphin was actively choosing to stay and play with us! You'd be swimming along and suddenly the dolphin would appear surfacing next to you or swimming under and around you, he would pause and slowly cruise past checking you out before disappearing again. The interaction was breathtaking!

The third time we entered the water was with another large group of dolphins, we spent a long time swimming around with groups of dolphins all around us. Thinking she'd heard a horn calling the swimmers back in Rachael lifted her head to see the guides pointing frantically in the opposite direction. She turned and what she saw took her breath away... The whole pod was porpoising quickly towards and through the swimmers. It was a stunning sight with the dolphins midair and the swimmers bobbing below! As you looked down loads more dolphins were rushing past beneath, the dolphins were heading somewhere, fast! Its a memory that will last forever, we were all speechless...

That was the end of the swim but not of the encounter, we dried off and headed off to catch up with the dolphins. When we reached them they had slowed down and were milling around, now was our opportunity to take some photos and we had even found a clear patch amongst the fog. The dolphins were stunning to watch in the water and beautiful to watch from above, body slapping, breaching time and time again, porpoising, bow riding all close to our boat. There were even tiny calved popping up next to their mothers or launching themselves through the air like miniature missiles!

All too soon it was time to return to Kaikoura, for Rachael it was one of the most special and exhilarating experiences of her life and she was so glad to have shared it with Mum, Laura and Lee.

By afternoon the fog had lifted leaving a gorgeous sunny and warm day. We were all still buzzing from the mornings adventure and so decided to go for a walk along one of the many creek beds in the nearby mountains. Later on as the tiredness crept in we relaxed by the beach watching the calm waters of the bay and mountains beyond, reflecting on the wonderful memories created by a wonderful day.....

Tuesday - Back out onto that beautiful, blue ocean again today. This time to go deep sea fishing. With the sun managing to break through the clouds it was another glorious day and with only a slight swell conditions were good for fishing.

The first job was to haul in the crayfish pots, while the machine was working Lee and Rachael scanned the surrounding water for anything of interest. This paid off when lee spotted a couple of Dusky Dolphins! Although we did not approach we watched as a mother and calf surfaced a little way off the boat. We wondered whether it was the same calf we had seen yesterday, if it was its good news: the calf is still alive and as we left Lee saw another couple of dolphins surface with them which could mean its gaining enough strength to join at least one part of the larger pod.

With the two pots up we had a good catch of reasonably sized crayfish, including one massive one! Now we headed to the edge of the canyon, into waters about 120m deep and started fishing.
It was very easy and good fun, we'd drop the line right to the bottom and almost immediately get a bite and have to haul it back up. We mostly caught Sea Perch, a large, bright orange fish, but both Lee and Laura also caught Spiny Dogfish and Rachael caught a Red Cod (both not good eating though). Mum was the first to catch what everyone was hoping for, tasty Blue Cod and then Laura followed suit by catching a really large cod.

Last cast of the day and Rachael also had a beauty on the line, but she had also got tangled with another line and while waiting for the line to be untangled that darn fish got away! Gutted!!

Fishing over we headed back to shore and on the way saw a magnificent Royal Albatross gliding just above the waves...
Back on dry land we collected our share of the catch - 1 crayfish each including the giant one! and around 25 kilos of filleted fish! We had fish coming out of our ears and will be eating it for days!

That evening we had a superb meal of crayfish and tasty pan fried cod =)

Wednesday - This morning we woke up to the sound of rain on the tent and emerged to find another dull, grey and rainy morning, with no sign of those glorious mountains or of it clearing...

Today it seemed would be an indoor day, 'indoors' being Mum and Laura's tiny camper van. Well at least it was warm, dry and the company ain't that bad either!

We watched a couple of DVD and did a little reading. Laura got to be Queen for the day, not having to lift a finger to make tea or food, as she had won the competition the day before as to who could catch the largest fish! Laura, naturally, made the most of it =)

Thursday - An absolutely gorgeous morning! Not a cloud in the sky, what a difference a day makes!

Today we headed off to do the Mount Fyffe Forest Walk, which we had attempted last week but been defeated by low cloud, not a chance today, with the clear skies came glorious, panoramic views of Kaikoura and the peninsula.

It was a strange sensation walking through the forest, it was very warm and yet we could see our breath steaming in front of us... The forest was beautiful, steep slopes covered in trees and ferns of all shades of green. It felt like walking through an ancient rainforest...

We had some close encounters with some of New Zealand's small forest birds, the Tomtit, Brown Creeper and Fantail - all of which seemed to find us just as interesting as we found them, coming in to investigate and them flitting off into the forest.

That evening, once we had collected Laura from work, we headed to Ohau Point to take some photos of the New Zealand Fur Seals as they lounged, squabbled and played in the evening light.

Friday - Wow! Another beautiful day! Maybe summer has finally arrived in Kaikoura....

After a short walk to a cool, small waterfall in Half Moon Bay Scenic Reserve, just up the coast, we headed out on our third boat trip of the week! This time to try and get a look at those magnificent animals the Sperm Whale.

Despite a bit of swell it was a glorious afternoon and the fast catamaran we were on literally flew over the waves as it headed out over the canyon to where the whales spend their time. Within minutes the guides had spotted a male Sperm Whale at the surface and we headed over. Only male Sperm Whales are found in the waters off Kaikoura, they come here to feed before heading to the breeding grounds when fully mature and old enough to compete for mates.

We got great views of this magnificent animal logging (lying at the surface) breathing regularly with its distinctive blow. A beautiful, long brownish grey back and head, just the dorsal surface visible amongst the swell and waves. Of course we were all hoping to see that classic tail as the whale dives deep to hunt for prey in the dark depths of the canyon. But after a while this whale simply slipped under the waves and disappeared. And so it continued, we would all go back inside, sit down while the boat raced across the waves and up to another whale, we'd all get out and watch it log at the surface before gracefully, quietly disappearing. The whales this afternoon were sleeping, not feeding.

We'd seen about 4 or 5 whales when we came across three all logging together at the surface, possibly some of the same individuals we had already seen, a sure sign these whales were resting as they are solitary feeders. It was pretty cool to see three of these impressive whales together, and to watch them turn under the water to show the white of their bellies and chins under the water, lifting just one side of their tail flukes into the air giving us a brief tantalising view of that tail! another even spy hopped, sticking the very tip of its head out of the water to check us out =)

Admittedly it was a little disappointing not to see them diving deep and raising their tails, but we both understand, better than anyone, that these are wild animals, that we were watching natural behaviour and that whales need to rest as well as feed. We both appreciated and respected that and were just thankful to be in the presence of such awesome creatures.

Back on dry land we met up with Mum and Laura and went to eat dinner with the New Zealand Fur Seals at the tip of the peninsular. Here in the evening light, we watched waders feeding and seals relaxing amongst the rock pools and ate another delicious meal of fish =)

As the sun dipped behind the mountains, touching the sky with pinky purple light and turning the water silvery blue we left the seals and headed back to our campsite.

Saturday - Definitely spoke too soon about that summer! Rainy and misty again this morning and a good opportunity to write this blog entry =)