Lost in Vacation: Fishy Kaikoura!!

Our next destination on the way North would be Kaikoura. This small village on a shore is blessed with nutritient-rich antarctic currents that rise from deep sea canyons to the surface. The turquoise water with the black stone beach of the Bay of Kaikoura, which is surrounded by a range of partly snowcapped mountains would be enough to have you marvel at them for days.

Whale watch helicopter taking off

But what really draws most of the attraction in Kaikoura is the magnificent sea life. Whale watching, seal swimming and dolphin swimming are the main activities. And we did them all! (The dolphin swim was done later on our trip, when we passed by Kaikoura another time.)
Words are hard to find to describe Kaikoura. Luckily I shot heaps of photos to let them speak. :) Kaikoura was one of the absolute highlights of NZL!

Whale watching. Impressive.

Putting up a show for us

They are highly organized. Top notch boats and instruments, scouting planes.

On the whole, we saw what must have been 15 sperm whales, sometimes 5 of them surfacing together.

The seal swimming was maybe not as haptic as the dolphin swim, but nevertheless the seals can get very playful if you really strive to attract their attention. By the way, playful seals can appear pretty menacing with their white eyes and roaring noises when they zoom past you in the water...

One of the folks I got to swim with.

Only on land the seals are that relaxed. Under water they are quite workaholic.

If this wouldn't be enough, the Kaikoura Peninsula, which can be walked in 2 or 3 hours, has the most beautiful cosy scenery that sets a surreal contrast to the ragged charm of Kaikoura. One of the best strolls I had in my life. Even though halfway through, like Stevie, I was attacked by obviously breeding seagulls, which will make watching Hitchcocks "Birds" at totally new experience from now on...