11th January
I had to be up early today, as I'd booked a trip to a town called Kaikoura, further up the East coast from Christchurch. This was a Maori settlement - the name meaning 'eat crayfish' - and there is certainly a large concentration of marine life there, as it has now become a major tourist hub for marine life spotting and boat trips to see dolphins & whales.
The Maori ate a lot of seafood as well as the large Moa bird, which they would flush out of the bush by setting fire to it.
The Europeans arrived to Kaikoura as whalers and sealers, and they traded arms with the Maoris - there being conflict between different Maori tribes. The Maori used to trade with the precious 'green stone' Pounamu, which is Jade. To them it represented strength, status, connection to ancestors and the land. They would carve it into tools, weapons and adornments.
Traditionally, if you purchase it, you should never buy it for yourself, only for someone else.
Because the Maori tribes bought guns from the Europeans during the 1830's it was known as the musket wars.
Our tour guide was Clive, and we were a small party of 11, including a very 'large' family from Yorkshire/Aberdeen. This was Grandparents, Mum & Dad and two small children - the 3 year old being extremely whiny which made the Mum extremely grumpy. The Grandparents & Dad are from Huddersfield, and the Mum from Aberdeen where they live. He was saying he's a civil engineer and they are going through the process of trying to emigrate to New Zealand. He almost had enough points but then they changed the system so he's having to build them up again.
As we left Christchurch, Clive mentioned about the earthquakes, and something that happened that the kiwi couple had mentioned - Liquefaction. The shaking from the earthquake causes the earth to become loose and it loses its strength and stability - behaving like a liquid - which seriously impacts the foundations and stability of roads and buildings. The earthquake in 2016 had meant that much of the road we were driving on has had to be re-built.
Many houses had to be taken down as they were not safe. Clive said it was weird during covid, as people would go and pick fruit & nuts from the fruit trees left behind in people's gardens where the houses had to be removed.
As we got out into the countryside we passed many farms, including a deer farm. It is weird to see deer kept in this way - so different to how we see them in England.
The plan was to drive along the beautiful coastline, make a couple of stops, have lunch & then go on a whale watching boat.
The coastline was very nice and we stopped a couple of times to see seal colonies. I'd never seen so many!
They were mesmerising to watch.
They used to be able to swim further inland to have their pups, but the river had now been blocked by rockfalls from the earthquake in 2016.
At Kaikoura town it was very hot, 34 °C, but very windy. Apparently, on the east coast, they can get these extreme wind conditions and the temperature can change dramatically in a short space of time.
For us it meant there was a chance that our boat tour would be cancelled - we were warned - due to the high winds.
We went for lunch at a fish n chip shop. I thought this would have been all pre-arranged but the guide basically took us in and said, "grab a drink and then order what you like". They had different kinds of fish which you could have battered or 'crumb' - breaded basically. It was nice and fresh. We ate it outside and Clive ordered a few extra chips and battered crab-sticks for everyone - there was loads of food! - maybe not the best choice of lunch before going on a choppy boat ride though 😂
Our boat tour went ahead - but they put safety conditions on it - one being no children under five now allowed on the boat. This was a blow for the family as it meant that the whiny 3 year old couldn't come on the boat and Mum got the short straw to stay with her, making her even more grumpy!
I was happy though!
On collecting the ticket they asked if we were happy to go on the boat in these 'conditions' and that there would be a high chance of sea sickness (especially for us after our fish n chips!) 😁.
It is all very organised! Clive said, in the morning they fly planes out from Kaikoura to spot and see what wildlife is about that day, and where it is. They then feed this information to the boats so they know where to look for the whales and dolphins etc.
The captain of our boat was a lady and she told us how they tracked the whales with sonar. The boat went very fast and then stopped so that we could go outside on deck.
There was a sperm whale in the area that they were tracking. These are amazing creatures - the size of a bus! - and usually solitary. They have to eat 2 tonnes of food a day.
Their head is filled with oil - which is how they got their name, when the whalers first killed them and found the large concentration of 'fluid' in their head they thought it was semen - that's the story anyway, but the name stuck.
The oil in their head is quite unique - here is the crew member explaining some of its previous uses and how it is the most optimum oil for taking pressure changes. It is used by NASA on their space ships.
We were out on deck for a little while, watching Albatross and sea gulls fly around. Then we had to hold on tight while the captain sped on to where the sperm whale was.
This was such an incredible thing to see - I was quite overwhelmed! we drifted along side it for a while before it dove back down - they can hold their breath for hours at a time.
This particular whale was known to the boats and is named Holey Moley. He is 14.56 m long last time they measured.
We then went to a pod of dolphins - the common dolphin - there were so many of them and they are so delightful to watch, swimming around and jumping out of the water - its like they are showing off!
these were literally flinging themselves out of the ocean
I didn't know this but dolphins don't sleep because they have to stay conscious to breathe. They do, however, shut down half of their brain at a time, called uni-hemispheric sleep, allowing them to rest while remaining aware, swimming slowly, and surfacing to breathe, closing one eye while the other hemisphere stays alert. Incredible!
The wind seemed to have dropped where we were and the boat ride was quite lovely - unlike the photo of me 😂
Once on dry land we were driven back to Christchurch.
I had seen this poster the day before, and was going to try to get a last minute ticket at the Town Hall. I didn't book as I wasn't sure how late we would get back from the trip
....when I got there at 6:45pm he was sold out - never mind.
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