Kaikoura > Christchurch
Special early start for Gavin (leaving James and Mummy asleep in the van): whale watching at 6:15am. The dawn was beautiful, and the bay looked so tranquil... however, we were warned that conditions were very rough out at sea, and that the forecast was for worsening gale-force conditions. So off we set in a souped up catamaran looking for sperm whales at great speed.
 
A few miles offshore and the sea floor plummeted beneath us to over 1km down, and it was seriously rough! Great big troughs of waves which the boat fitted inside completely before crashing out of the other side (This was why Catherine didn't want to come along! - as well as someone needing to look after James). We saw petrels and wandering albatross, and then we stopped. Everyone climbed up on deck and the skipper put his underwater mike off the side of the boat, listening for the telltale clicks. "Two miles east!"
Several false starts and we were there, having been briefed all about sperm whales' habits, and how we'd see one at the surface for a few minutes before he dived down for an hour or so (all solitary males in this part of the sea). We came right alongside, and I managed to film some sky and a bit of tail fin from the top deck. Below decks everyone else seemed to be throwing up.
 
We were fortunate to get to see another whale not too far away, perform exactly the same manouevre before we headed back to shore in the 'vomitarium' - my guts managed to hold together, and in between being thrown around on the sea, it was a really magical thing to see. And I especially liked the way the guide described us all being part of the chain (not foodchain):
upwelling > plankton > fish > whales > people coming to see the whales
-------------------------
Before we left Kaikoura, we drove along the peninsula to show (smell) James the seal colony, then set off in the gentle breeze towards Christchurch... and then the wind blew and BLEW! All the time our speed droppped as I tried to keep us going along the road!! At one point I really did think we'd have to stop and brave it out. Anyway, we made it and were in Christchurch Top10 in time to catch the bus into town. James was delighted to discover that this had the best playground yet with lots of slides, a trampoline and even a play helicopter you could sit in!
Our first impressions of Christchurch were very disappointing: everyone had told us this was the nicest of the major cities but our first view was that this was a cross between Soho and the seedier side of Nottingham!. Most of the shops were starting to close for the evening and we were walking around near the bus station (never a great part of town.) Things didn't improve as we went on yet another quest for an internet connection or shop which sold wireless networking cards. Gavin eventually ended up in a seedy gaming parlour while Catherine walked James up and down the street outside which seemed to consist mostly of sex shops.
After a rushed meal of noodles cut short because James threw a tantrum, we caught the bus back to our campsite and took James for yet more "lopter" rides before we crashed into bed.
8:18:57 PM 
|
