As you can see from our very witty title we have been whalewatching in the 'whale watching capital of NZ', Kaikoura. This is a lovely seaside town on the east coast about 150km north of CHCH. We have come here to whalewatch, have some r and r and to meet up with our neighbours from the village, Sue and Jim Bryce. Anyway, back to the whalewatching. On a clear, sunny morning we set out on a very fast catamaran to the deep water which is not far off the coast. We were very lucky to see four large, male sperm whales swimming on the surface and then diving down showing the classic tail fluke. We were able to get quite close and I managed to get some good video footage. We also saw some beautiful dusky dolphins and a range of beautiful sea birds including a young albatross which was just sitting on the surface too full of fish to fly and not in the least bit concerned by our presence. An amazing morning for me Phileas and now over to Fogg.
Hi, Fogg here. We really did see all the attached images. These sperm whales are majestic creatures. The water round Kaikora is deep and these whales dive about 800 metres for about 40/50 minutes holding their breath. Apparently the record dive for one of these whales is 3.5 km for about two hours but this was recorded in Sri Lanka. The dusky dolphins are amazing. They swim faster than our boat which itself was travelling at about 60km per hour. They seem to put so little effort into it! And the water was so clear. All quite wonderful. Very best wishes to you all. Fogg. x
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hello and fogg phileas (sometimes posted for some strange reason as Kate!).
Back from our trip to the Alps with two of our grandchildren - Serge ski-instructor and me chalet-girl. No TV or mod cons there so in the evening, all generations have to read, to play games, to draw or write etc. My grandson discovered the delights of clock patience (having told me it was rubbish.) Generally if S and the children did not ski, we went on a long walk. The weather was wonderful, and although there was still a lot of snow around from December and January, we had bright sun and clear blue skies. We mostly ate on our balcony, well wrapped up but in the sun. I discovered my Rutherford Readers books only at the end of the holiday so still have not started Atonement. I now have to read the Kite Runner and another by the same author, neither of which I fancy! Such are the stresses of life! During our time in the mountains I read in French an interesting biography of Francoise Sagan who was a very sad character, and led a dissolute life, mostly staying in bed reading when not drinking herself silly, gambling or taking drugs. She died aged 69, with severe osteoporosis, and a breakdown of most of her body, in poverty and owing millions of euros to the taxman! I did however enjoy her books.
Spoken to SJ who has just had her gall bladder operation and is recovering slowly, tired but ok. She and E will be coming to dinner here next Friday if you have any messages. Their computer equipment has been delivered but is as yet UNTOUCHED! We both got Phileas' letters and were very touched by them, thanks.
Really enjoyed reading your accounts of your time in NZ. We laughed about the Kea parrot. S had to translate something last year for a bird festival in France - it was all about them. Apparently they are very clever and the bird people had rigged up a system for them to work out - it was a string which had to be pulled and held, opening a trap which then held food. If the bird pulled the string and let go to get at the food, the trap closed. Sure enough the birds worked in pairs and got the food!!
So glad you are getting to grips with the bullocks, the shags and other NZ specialities. Take care of the back.
Love to you both
Jenny and Serge
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