Whale Watching @ Kaikoura

Well we are heading north from Christchurch today to get to Kaikoura ... we have done our washing, Hugo is well but requires a bit of oil each day. We are both well, have organised our flights home (happy sad feelings) and we have got our Jack Johnson tickets for the Christchurch concert. ... so things are good.

Few places on Earth possess the magic of Kaikoura. Many who visit leave transformed.
It is a special part of New Zealand, imbued with powerful natural energy. A place where tectonic plates collide, towering peaks fall to the sea and ocean currents converge. Such rare combinations lure an abundance of marine life, the most famous being the Sperm Whale. It was a whale that led the Maori ancestor Paikea to New Zealand many centuries ago. His descendants live in Kaikoura today. Fittingly, the whale continues to guide the people of Kaikoura and the visitors they host.















Kaikoura is one of New Zealand's leading nature tourism destinations offering a variety of exciting marine wildlife encounters. Despite the recent rise in tourist numbers, the town retains much of its historical charm. Many new motels, cafes and restaurants can be found in beautifully restored old buildings. Fresh local seafood, like this crayfish, is always on the menu.




















The retention of the town's distinctive character has made Kaikoura extremely attractive to artists. Their work, inspired by the remarkable landscape and wildlife, can be seen all over town.
The Legend of the Whale Rider
According to legend, Paikea came to New Zealand from the Pacific Islands on the back of a whale many centuries ago. His descendants include the Kati Kuri people of Kaikoura. Paikea was the youngest and favourite son of the chief Uenuku from the island of Mangaia in the present day Cook Islands. This favouritism made Paikea's elder brothers extremely jealous. They conspired to kill Paikea while fishing offshore and tell Uenuku he drowned. But the night before the trip Paikea feigned sleep and overheard his brothers plotting. When far out to sea Paikea foiled their plan by deliberately sinking the canoe and drowning his brothers. Now adrift in a great ocean, Paikea clung to a canoe plank and awaited his own death. It was then that Tohora the whale appeared and lifted Paikea onto his great back. Tohora took Paikea south to New Zealand and the settlement of Whangara just north of present day Gisborne. Here, Paikea began a new and prosperous life.Many years later one of Paikea's sons, Tahupotiki, travelled further south and became the founder of the great South Island tribe of Ngai Tahu. It is from Tahupotiki and Paikea that the Ngai Tahu and Kati Kuri of Kaikoura claim descent.