Dolphins, and seals, and whales- oh my!

Did you ever hear the one about the Aussie, the Yank, and the Brit on the day tour to Kaikoura?

Today was a good day. We started off being picked up by an enthusiastic guide named Maria who chatted energetically to us on the ride. After picking up our only other person for the tour, a British lady named Leanne, we made our way out of the city along the same highway we took our wine tour earlier in the week. I learned our guide used to be a social worker working with juvenile offenders, so we ended up having a good chat. We stopped in a town and got a coffee along the way. When we first arrived in Kaikoura, we went to a lookout and took some glorious shots:



Then we went to a beach to see some seals up close. We disturbed a few seals and a guy sleeping in the back of his camper, and also got some good pictures:

 


Marie then dropped us in town to get lunch, and we decided on a fish and chips place suggested to us by a local.
 

After lunch, Marie dropped us at the whale watching place and after chatting with a guide and watching a safety video, we were bused to a boat and loaded on. Our guide and safety crew were all very entertaining and clearly knowledgeable and passionate about their jobs. Throughout the afternoon, we spotted 4 sperm whales (and watched 3 dive), several albatross, and dozens of seals and dolphins. I took so many pictures I had to pause to clear some space on my phone.







After the cruise, Marie took us back to Christchurch. We had a quiet night in with simple dinner and packing up stuff because tomorrow we fly to Queenstown.

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