Saturday, February 05, 2005
Don't call me Flipper!!
Yesterday I saw two sperm whales do their breathing on the top of the water thing, and then dive to the very very deep depths around Kaikoura. I saw them from a boat from what felt like far too close, and yet not close enough.
Gosh.
That was an experience that's going to be with me for a very long time. Just...wow. With additional wow and good gracious bits attached.
I almost didn't get to see this most impressive of sights, as the sea was covered in a thick fog for most of yesterday, and the boat I went out in was the first boat to go out that day - and there was the possibility that it was going to have to go back in early, if the fog came back again.
But luckily, the fog burned off and the sea was as clear as clear could be, though a little choppy. Which concerned me, as my distant memories of going on a small boat did involve being deeply deeply seasick. But I had my ginger table and wrist bands and managed the entire trip without sickness.
You do tend to forget stupid things like seasickness when you're watching a whale do it's whale thing.
We saw two sperm whales. The Whale Watch team have given the whales identification names - the first one we saw was Big Nick (so named because he had a, erm, big nick in his dorsal fin). Big Nick has been spotted over the last 8 or 9 years in Kaikoura. The second one we saw was named Te Oki (I think), which means something like The Protector - so named because he had white scars on his head. Te Oki has been coming to Kaikoura for the last 12 or so years.
We also ended up being surrounded by a very enthusiastic pod of Dusky dolphins, who are often called the acrobats of the sea - and it was way easy to see why. They were leaping and flipping and diving and...it was just marvellous. They kept diving under the boat (the water is so clear that you could still see them after they'd dived) and then would leap out the other side, flipping and occasionally beating their tails on the surface of the water (which I think is either a territorial or sex thing). There were calves in the pod, and they were very happily leaping about and having what looked like a great time.
It was funny to see the difference in reaction between when we were viewing the whales and when we were viewing the dolphins.
There was a reverential silence when we watched the whales - there was a feeling of the group holding their collective breath, waiting for the dive. And then when the whale dove, a sigh rippled through everyone, and that was it.
The dolphins brought out quite a different reaction - everyone was laughing and cooing and oohing and aahing and pointing and joyful and it was all smiles everywhere. There is something all embracing about the playfulness of the dolphins, that engages you immediately - they seem to be having such a good time that they bring out the joy in your soul.
There were two very different reactions from the women on either side of me - as we pulled away from the pod of dolphins (though a couple followed us for a while, playing in our wake) the woman on my right looked at me, tears running down her face, and a huge smile, and said "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." The woman on my left, pointing at the pod now performing for the next boat, said "They're just a bunch of tarts, aren't they?"
Gosh.
That was an experience that's going to be with me for a very long time. Just...wow. With additional wow and good gracious bits attached.
I almost didn't get to see this most impressive of sights, as the sea was covered in a thick fog for most of yesterday, and the boat I went out in was the first boat to go out that day - and there was the possibility that it was going to have to go back in early, if the fog came back again.
But luckily, the fog burned off and the sea was as clear as clear could be, though a little choppy. Which concerned me, as my distant memories of going on a small boat did involve being deeply deeply seasick. But I had my ginger table and wrist bands and managed the entire trip without sickness.
You do tend to forget stupid things like seasickness when you're watching a whale do it's whale thing.
We saw two sperm whales. The Whale Watch team have given the whales identification names - the first one we saw was Big Nick (so named because he had a, erm, big nick in his dorsal fin). Big Nick has been spotted over the last 8 or 9 years in Kaikoura. The second one we saw was named Te Oki (I think), which means something like The Protector - so named because he had white scars on his head. Te Oki has been coming to Kaikoura for the last 12 or so years.
We also ended up being surrounded by a very enthusiastic pod of Dusky dolphins, who are often called the acrobats of the sea - and it was way easy to see why. They were leaping and flipping and diving and...it was just marvellous. They kept diving under the boat (the water is so clear that you could still see them after they'd dived) and then would leap out the other side, flipping and occasionally beating their tails on the surface of the water (which I think is either a territorial or sex thing). There were calves in the pod, and they were very happily leaping about and having what looked like a great time.
It was funny to see the difference in reaction between when we were viewing the whales and when we were viewing the dolphins.
There was a reverential silence when we watched the whales - there was a feeling of the group holding their collective breath, waiting for the dive. And then when the whale dove, a sigh rippled through everyone, and that was it.
The dolphins brought out quite a different reaction - everyone was laughing and cooing and oohing and aahing and pointing and joyful and it was all smiles everywhere. There is something all embracing about the playfulness of the dolphins, that engages you immediately - they seem to be having such a good time that they bring out the joy in your soul.
There were two very different reactions from the women on either side of me - as we pulled away from the pod of dolphins (though a couple followed us for a while, playing in our wake) the woman on my right looked at me, tears running down her face, and a huge smile, and said "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." The woman on my left, pointing at the pod now performing for the next boat, said "They're just a bunch of tarts, aren't they?"
