{"id":733,"date":"2009-07-09T23:43:01","date_gmt":"2009-07-10T03:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/?p=733"},"modified":"2012-10-10T20:17:35","modified_gmt":"2012-10-11T00:17:35","slug":"restoring-our-honeymoon-blog-day-16-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/?p=733","title":{"rendered":"Our Honeymoon blog: Day 16"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><strong>South Island Day 16 &#8211; Kaikoura Whale Watching &amp; Dolphins<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">We drove down the east coast to Kaikoura for the last event of the trip.. A Whale Watch tour which we booked before we left..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">My hopes weren&#8217;t too high, as I didn&#8217;t know too much about the area, though they had a web site that showed stats for what was spotted each day &#8211; and they looked like pretty good odds.<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">We loaded into a pretty powerful boat, with a glassed in interior, and viewing decks outside. When the boat loaded, people rushed the gates, and it turned out that Mish and I had to sit apart inside.. That kinda sucked, but it turned out that we were only inside in-between sightings &#8211; and there were to be many of them!<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">I think within the first half hour, we had our first sighting. The boat launched into high gear, and flew across the ocean to where the whale was.. Then they opened the doors, and we rushed out to get a glimpse of my first Sperm whale.. Here is a pic of him diving..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou1.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">The next time we got a sighting, I took a short flick to give you an idea of the boat racing.. I missed a couple of the big jumps we made over the waves, but this gives you a bit of the idea..<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EHtKOEEHRVE?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">And here is the second Sperm whale diving..<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou2.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">While I took the still photo, Michelle videotaped it with the other camera (yes, we each had our own cameras for this tour!) :<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NnDIIuAbHHU?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Here is a pic which gives you a bit of the feel for how huge Sperm whales are.. Just massive bodies swimming in the ocean&#8230; <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou3.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">This pic gives you a view to their blubber.. The insulation that allows them to dive for about an hour in the freezing depths..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou4.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">After about 4 sightings of 3 Sperm whales (the last sighting was the same whale as the first sighting &#8211; after he had come back to the surface from his dive which lasted over an hour) we started heading back..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">But then they spotted a huge pack of dusky dolphins &#8211; 400 or so apparently (we could see about 100, and they say for every 1 you can see, there are 3 under the surface)..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Here is one pic showing one of these little dudes launching up..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou5.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">They were very &#8216;playful&#8217;.. You could see them jumping and doing flips in the air all over the place.. There were so many of them, I got the feeling I could walk across them to the shore&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Note that the flips aren&#8217;t actually them &#8216;playing&#8217;, but actually hunting.. They apparently hunt in packs, and while one guy goes up and splashes the surface, the others wait down below to feed on the fish that got scared down..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou6.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">It was quite an amazing feeling to see these creatures.. All in the wild, in their natural habitat..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou7.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">I just caught the landing of the flip in this one.. Notice the amazing background even.. It was a beautiful day, with wicked scenery..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou8.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Another group shot..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/100412_0340_Restoringou9.png\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Sorry for the camera work on this one.. but a couple good flips caught here..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OGwTECfpuw0?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">The number of dolphins was just amazing.. It really put the little pack of dolphins we had seen in Milford Sound to shame!\u00a0 (If you haven&#8217;t seen it, you can check out all the other days of our honeymoon in the drop down above (click on the name of the slate in the white text box next to my profile pic)<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">After the tour was over, we grabbed some souvenirs for the nieces, and planned out our flights home for a bit.<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">We also hit a Fudge factory where the guy makes tons of flavours&#8230; He just came back from vacation in the north island.\u00a0 The fudge was great, and he was very friendly.. Just a little shop down the street from the whale watch. Funny how the locals think a trip to the other New Zealand island is a vacation!\u00a0 We met a few like that.. And Australians who had never been to New Zealand.. crazy!<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Once we were all sorted out, we headed for Christchurch, which was a much bigger city then we&#8217;d seen in a while..\u00a0 We camped there for the night, ready to head back to the North Island tomorrow..<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Island Day 16 &#8211; Kaikoura Whale Watching &amp; Dolphins We drove down the east coast to Kaikoura for the last event of the trip.. A Whale Watch tour which we booked before we left.. My hopes weren&#8217;t too high, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/?p=733\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-zealand","category-trips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=733"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733\/revisions\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deridder.ca\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}