Point Kean Seal Sanctuary, Kaikoura

Drive or walk along the coastline from Kaikoura township to the very end of the headland. There you will come across a small car park with a few unusual visitors of the ‘New Zealand Fur Seal’ kind. The rocky outcrop at Point Kean expanded much further out to sea following the recent earthquake and the seals are now spread out over a significant distance. However there are still some inquisitive ones that come in closer and will happily lounge about on the raised boardwalk or grassy banks. In the last couple of years I’ve usually only seen sleepy young males around these parts but very occasionally a young pup will join it’s mum and delight it’s audience.

If the tide is right take a walk further around the headland, being careful not to trip on the rocks and slippery seaweed. There are a lot more seals around these parts, hidden from sight. Be warned several will happily flop across the pathway and don’t much care if it was meant for our feet not theirs. I’ve regularly had to clamber up and around some grumpy seal who has been all to happy to bark and snarl at me. It’s still a treat to spend time visiting them though and as long as you are careful and don’t block their route to the sea, the only aggression you’ll experience is their bark. All bark and no bite……but never risk this!

Spotting whales in Kaikoura

Which is better is a tough question. Spotting Kaikoura’s resident sperm whales from the water or air?

Having been fortunate enough to experience both I can categorically say that the answer isn’t easy.

Nothing beats a sighting of a whale close up by boat. Bobbing alongside such a magnificent mammal is truly awe inspiring and even more so when the whale sucks in that last bit of air and arches its back upwards rising to the sky to sink deep into the depths below. The first time you witness this it simply blows you away.

The great thing about being on the water of course is that you also have the opportunity to spot other sea creatures and birds close up. Seals are often seen bobbing in the water and dolphins love nothing more than to frolic on the brow of the boat. There are heaps of rare seabirds in these parts including the largest of them all, the mighty albatross, which are often spotted on the horizon.

From a plane the view is very different as you’d expect and you have the benefit of being able to appreciate the full size and scale of the whale. The flight itself is quite an adventure - taking off from a grass runway in such a small plane whilst watching the pilot at the controls right in front of you.

The views of the Kaikoura Headland are quite spellbinding as are those of the mighty Kaikoura Mountain Range. The great thing about the plane trip is that it’s quick. Once a whale is spotted they can approach it much faster than any boat can which can really benefit a viewing. The whales only breach the surface of the water for a few minutes, taking in deep breathes of air before plunging down again. I was lucky on my trip and we actually saw a whale surface so spent several precious minutes circling just above.

So which is better, the plane or the boat? Hmmmmmmmm

Quite simply Kaikoura

‘Where the mountains meet the sea’ is the phrase often cited to describe the majesty of Kaikoura. An area of such outstanding beauty it cannot help but spellbind and captivate the visitor. Leading the way in eco-tourism and with so much going on in the area it has become an appealing year-round destination. A place where encounters with whales, seals and dolphins don’t remain just dreams on a ‘one day to be completed bucket list’ but become actual ‘pinch-me it is real’ moments.

Dusky Dolphins everywhere - don't miss this.....

My final trip in Kaikoura enabled me to encounter what could well be the biggest draw card in the area, the huge pods of wild Dusky Dolphins that are resident here. The friendly folk at ‘Dolphin Encounter’ run several well-organized and eco-friendly trips each day to view and swim with these enchanting little fellows. They make it very clear from the outset that the dolphins are the number one priority and the ‘encounter’ you have is strictly on their terms. Kaikoura is universally recognized as one of the best places on the planet to witness these playful, gregarious and highly sociable little dolphins. As I maneuvered myself about the boats deck my first reaction was sheer amazement, where on earth should I look? There seemed to be hundreds of them and they appeared to be absolutely everywhere – soaring through the water at a rate of knots beneath and around our boat sometimes even spurting water up over me from the sides. The noise they made was incredible too with squeaks and dolphin chatter filling the air. It was almost as though the dolphins were as excited to see us as we were them. It felt as though there was so much charged energy all about and I couldn’t help but feel emotional and enlivened by their presence - and then they only went and put on a real show. I’m not sure if they were just showing off but it was remarkably humbling to witness close up their breathtaking jumps and acrobatic twists and turns. The imagery I had seen from watching episodes of ‘Blue Planet’ was happening live in front of me!

Cheese, cheese and more cheese, Kaikoura Cheese Company - a dream

The Kaikoura Cheese Company operates a retail outlet on Kaikoura’s main street. Here tastings and purchases can be made of the artisan award winning cheeses that have left New Zealand’s top chefs and restaurants lauding. Believing myself to be a cheese connoisseur – for the simple reason that I eat an awful lot of it – I dropped by the store and sampled their signature ‘Tenara’ - an ash coated goats cheese which apparently takes fifteen days to mature and quite honestly left me drooling for more.

Crayfish by the beach galore in Kaikoura

The name Kaikoura itself means ‘meal of crayfish’. Kai being the Maori word for food with Koura meaning crayfish. This delicacy is famed throughout New Zealand and is fished in the waters around Kaikoura. Crayfish is a type of lobster found in abundance here with seemingly everywhere in the township selling it. The best place to sample it though must be the Kaikoura BBQ, a simple food cart set up by the beach. I was asked to choose my own crayfish from the chilly bin (ice box) and was given the tip that whilst size doesn’t matter so much price certainly does, the more expensive the crayfish the better the quality. My cray was then BBQed in front of me by the experts. Grabbing a table overlooking the beach I couldn’t imagine a more quintessential Kaikoura experience than this – sitting by the ocean, salty sea air drifting on the breeze, savoring the delicious flavours of the succulent melt in the mouth crayfish.