Today was going to be a busy day! With yesterdays Whale Watching Trip cancelled, I had rescheduled it for this afternoon, as well as my already booked Albatross Encounter in the morning which would a boat trip focussing on seabirds. As I had feared, the drop in the wind had taken its toll on the number of birds passing, but this was my chance to get close to the seabirds I had watched from the shore the previous day.
The Albatross Encounter set off at 09:15 with the morning
blue skies, and over the next two hours I had brilliant close encounters with a
number of seabirds. The first species was a brilliant Gibsons Antipodean
Albatross which dominated the chum, fighting off a raft of Northern Giant Petrels
and a single Southern Giant Petrel. At the back sat a few Salvin’s Albatross as
well as around 40 Cape Petrels. Having only managed to see a single individual
in all my Seawatching the previous day, I could not believe how many Cape
Petrels there were, with them coming extremely close to feed, and also flying
next to us while we were in transit. Another nice bonus was a Antipodean
Albatross sporting a satellite tag and leg ring, and individual that our guide
said they see only a few times a year whos partner was sat on eggs on their nest.
Passing by were a few Bullers Shearwaters and Huttons Shearwater, but the calm
conditions were clearly causing a few problems, and we also found a small group
of four Westlands Petrels sat on the water, giving me a chance to look at this
target species. On the way back we also had a solitary Little Penguin.
Although the seabirds were amazing, the show was absolutely
stolen by a pod of around 10 Dusky Dolphins. As we came out of harbour we could
see the animals a little way off with their fins frequently protruding from the
calm water. However, when we started chumming in deep water we had an
incredible encounter when they approached us, so close you could see them swimming
under the boat and felt their bow-waves shaking the vessel. One animal decided
to go a little crazy and we saw it breach about five times in a row, throwing
itself out of the water. It was awesome to witness.
Once back on shore, I had just over an hour to wait before
my Whale Watching Tour. I had mainly booked it as an excuse to get back out
into the sea, while I might also see some Sperm Whales, the key species for the
Kaikoura whale watching industry. The boat out to the deep water was rough, but
it was a large vessel with a lot of people on board, much more so than the
mornings small intimate boat.
Once we reached the deep water, there was immediately an announcement
that there was a whale just off the boat, so everyone got ready on deck and
eagerly awaited. Although the animal was initially identified as a Sperm Whale,
when it reappeared the ID was quickly corrected to a BLUE WHALE! Of all the
species to see on this trip, the largest animal in the world was not one of
them. And not only did we see, but we saw it extremely well, with the boat
following the whale for around 45 minutes as it surfaced for a few minutes,
then dived for 15 before reappearing. At one point it surfaced right next to
us, giving absolutely unbelievable views of a quite incredible animal.
Since the tour was only two hours in the deep water, after a
while with the Blue Whale we switched targets, and sure enough quickly found a
surfacing Sperm Whale. After a deep dive, the Sperm Whale was resting at the
surface, so we were able to watch it for some time, before it turned and dived,
bringing its tail right out of the water for us to see. This was the species I
had thought we would see, and we got phenomenal views. Add in the incredible surprise
of Blue Whale and it was an incredible whale watching experience. There were
just a few seabirds on offer, but it was nice to see some Bullers Shearwaters
and White-chinned Petrels.
The tour finished at 16:45 at which point I had a three hour
drive down to a campsite at Lake Ellesmere where I wanted to spend the night.
Additionally, some NZ birders on the Albatross Encounter had given me a
location for Black-fronted Dotterel behind a MacDonalds just north of Christchurch.
Since it was such a short detour I made a stop as I passed, and to my surprise
the third bird I looked at was indeed a very nice Black-fronted Dotterel,
sitting on the near shore of one of the lagoons. Thrilled with that result, I
continued south ecstatic with how the day had gone, ready to throw myself into
one final days birding.
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