Day 75 Kaikora (Whale Watching Helicopter)

Morning broke and I had my first glimpse of the South Island and it had its first glimpse of me. Onwards to Kaikora which is a unique place in the world due to its deep waters and a subsea shelf running at right angles to the coast. This shelf diverts lots of food into the depwater bay of Kaikora. A fact not missed by the mighty sperm whales of the Pacific. The male wakles at the age of ten head here from Fiji etc (by sea, not plane) to beef themselves up till they are twenty and then head home in search of a female to make baby whales.

Before I reached Kaikora I was rudely chased of the beach by a sea lion (I'd not seen him nor his pup) and then I succumbed to the offers of Cay's Crays. I was longing to try crayfish famed in New Zealand's waters and Cay and her husband were just the purveyors. I asked Cay to take me by the hand so to speak in how to eat a crayfish and she sliced one open, took out the gut vein thing (very appetising) and said you can eat the lot but personally she would only eat the white meat and claws. Me too when you see the rest...think Alien meets Predator. Cay will also not put out tartare sauce despite repetaed requests from her customers on account it masks the taste. I agree Cay stay with your convictions. A dash of salt and a squeeze of melon is the bomb.

Fed and watered I jumped on board Kaikora helipcopters wee beauty to see the whales. My first helicopter ride and hopefully not my last as we soared, banked and whizzed around the clear blue sky and scoured the ocean for whales. "There she blows" and the humbling sight of the most majestic animal lay before us. I'll let the picture do the talking. These male whales dive to great depths and to do so they come to the surface to take in air. Their blood is saturated with haemoglobin to soak up the oxygen as they do not feed under water. They also detect their prey (sharks, rays etc) using a clicking noise and when they find them they send out a sonic boom which stuns the unsuspecting cratur. They then put on a napkin, swim up and eat it...... without tartare sauce!

Our pilot told us more about the whales. The males are solitary and you only tend to see one at a time. So guess what up pops another and he dips his tail so only is head is above the water. I swear he did it so he could watch the copters!

They are incredible animals and if you happen to meet a whale hunter anywhere, far be it for me to condone violence, but kick him in the ass please.

The evening drive took me to the beautiful city of Christchuch and the home of Peter and Jane Taylor who moved out here some four years ago. Peter and I used to tear up the fairways (literally not metaphorically I might add) at one time on the excellant James Braid designed links course of Brora. It came as no surprise to find Peter now living within a short drive (by car not club) of no less than seven golf courses. Something Peter openly admitted to.

Off to my kip to reflect on the splendour of the whales. Oh and they do swallow their prey whole you know. No chewing.