This can make things harder than normal with the whales at times feeding beyond our operating limits, meaning we have to cancel our whale watching tours. But when working with nature you never really know what is going to happen from one day to the next which is what makes this job so exciting (if not frustrating) at timesWhen we are unable to go out whale watching due to the whales being too far offshore and if sea conditions allow we offer Inshore Nature Tours this is where we go out and spend a couple of hours viewing other marine life in the area such as dusky dolphins, hectors dolphins, New Zealand fur seals, various species of marine birds, penguins etc.
Passengers travelling on our morning tour on the 16th October were fortunate enough to be able to see around 50 pilot whales as they were passing through Kaikoura. Pilot whales are actually a part of the dolphin family, but their behaviour mimics that of large whales. Whenever possible we do our best to take time to stop and view other species of marine life, it is always a 50/50 chance when trying to find dolphins but this month we were fortunate to be able to view dusky & hectors dolphins (at times we have the hectors swimming out the front of our booking office). There have been plenty of NZ fur seals lazing about on the rocks along with many marine bird species to view for all the bird lovers that join our tours too.
And of course NZ will remember Oct 2011 more specifically Oct 23rd 2011 as the day we won back the Rugby World Cup what a great day for all New Zealanders. We were fortunate to have many overseas rugby fans pay us a visit during their time here for the rugby which made for some fun conversations, colourful trips (such as the day when the boat was full of yellow and green colours) and great memories made.
This year is most certainly whizzing by, the busy season is nearly upon us we have new summer season staff on board now who are ready to have a great summer out there on the water. We look forward to having you join us just remember though it is highly recommended to book well in advance.Have a great month.
Lisa Bond
Captain @ Whale Watch Kaikoura
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