We awoke to rain on the roof of the campervan today. We've been incredibly lucky with the weather in New Zealand but today dawned decidedly overcast. The campsite we stayed on last night is one of the best so far and beautifully warm showers.
After breakfast we headed to the whale watch centre for our days activity. We were warned that it's foggy out at sea and there's a chance the skipper may bring us in early but we decided to take the risk and head out anyway, fingers crossed! It's also choppy out today so we both opted for a seasickness tablet.We took a short coach ride to the ship and were all seated inside for the boat to head out to sea. Visibility was improving by this point but we were still told we weren't guaranteed to see a whale. Whilst heading out to where the last successful whale sightings had taken place one of the crew took us through the area and what we were hoping to see.
Sperm Whales are native to the area and what we were most likely to catch a glimpse of. Throughout the season other whales come though as part of their migrating pattern. Most commonly humpback whales (like we saw on the Great barrier reef) and many other types including the occasional sighting of a blue whale. The biggest animal to have ever existed, less than 1% of the species are still around today so a sighting of one of those is pretty special! Given our luck with animals I wouldn't have been surprised but we're not in the right season!
I've learnt so much about animals on this trip and particularly those that live in and around water. Today was no exception. For example humpback whales are like blue whales and live on eating small krill. They're unable to swallow anything bigger than your fist. Sperm Whales still don't chew their food but can swallow pretty much anything. They feed on mainly shrimp but also fish and even eat great white sharks! Whole!
The reason sightings are so tough is due to the amount of time they can spend below water. They can last over an hour without breathing. Once they dive their ribcage shrinks to protect their lungs from the high pressure. They also then reduce their heartrate down to 1 beat per minute. The temperatures drop to freezing and they can only stay warm due to their thick layers of blubber.
We soon reached the point of where we expected to see whales and it became apparent not everyone was feeling as rosy as us! It was a pretty calm day at sea but half the boat seemed to be suffering from seasickness. Carly looked after a poor lady from the lake district who couldn't stop being ill! Thankfully we both survived fine but a large amount didn't!
The crew have two ways of finding a whale. One of the crew stands on top deck and looks for a visual sighting of a blowhole. The captain then uses a sonar device to pickup sound below the water. He picked up the sound of a whale in the ocean but it was further out than we had hoped so we had to make two further moves. Third time lucky and this time their was no sound below the water. Apparently that means the whale is coming to the surface (or its swum away!) Sure enough the first spout of water was spotted and the boat was quickly manoeuvred alongside the animal.
Wow! We had around 10 minutes of the whale above the surface filling his lungs with air to dive again! They are the most beautiful animals and just so unimaginably large. We saw a male sperm whale and it was wonderful to watch and get some pictures as it rested on the surface. It's weird but you spend all that time looking for a whale and then the most impressive moment is when it disappears again and the tail flicks up! We had a great vertical tail flip, very special to see! A very special moment seeing such an incredible animal.
On the way back into harbour we stopped to view some other wildlife. We saw a number of huge albatrosses soaring overhead and half a dozen dolphins (a school or pod) playing alongside the boat. The area is home to whales due to the incredibly deep ocean here and as a result you get stunning wildlife in the seabed air. New Zealand sits on a continental shelf but 5 miles off shore sits the Kaikoura canyon which down 1,200m.
As we left the ship I heard a few people moaning that we'd only see one whale! Ok you'd always hope to see more but for mammals that spend so long submerged it was amazing to see the one we did. We've definitely had more action packed tours but you don't see a whale everyday so we were very happy with our mornings work!
Returning to the coast the sky was still pretty grey with rain starting to fall heavier. We grabbed lunch in the car, Carly's starting to warm to the campervan, commenting how convenient it was to have our little indoor picnic! I think I can convince her to buy one when we're back in England!
We then headed up the coast, our last little stretch on the South Island. Mid journey we stopped off at a busy waterfall which is known for a spot where sealpups hangout! We're in the wrong season but at times of the year they have hundreds playing around in a small pool below the waterfall!
The pups are born here, learn to swim here and stay here while the parents are fishing out at sea. It's nearly breeding time again so there was only one 11 month old pup there but it was so beautiful to watch it messing around in the pool and bathing under the waterfall. It must be an incredible sight when it is teeming with pups.
The French couple had recommended a coffee stop further up the road so we stopped for afternoon coffee and cake! It was bizarrely amazing! Very modern and great food and coffee with stunning views. But 45 minutes away from civilisation! It was a lovely spot but seemed to be a slightly odd choice of location! 
We arrived in Blenheim, our overnight stop just after 5pm. The last section of our journey was driving through vineyards! We're now in Marlborough where 85% of New Zealands wine is produces. Sauvingon Blanc is king here and exported all over the world. All the cellar doors shut before 5 and we're probably going to have to leave for the ferry before its appropriate to taste wine tomorrow but we may squeeze one in!
After checking in we decided to leave exploring town until the morning and headed to the local craft beer German Beer Hall! I was in my element with paddles of beer and Carly mentioned the diet coke was excllent too! Back at the campsite asparagus and blue cheese risotto was on the menu, before back to the van for our last sleep on the South Island!
Footnote. Carly's interesting facts:
A blue whale weighs the same as 6 aeroplanes (is the same length as one). In one heart beat it moves 1000 litres of blood!! And the whale has 10 tonnes of blood in its body!!! We have 6kg roughly in our body, they have just over 9,000kg!!!It's tongue weighs the same as an entire African Elephant. The heart is the size of a mini cooper. A human can swim through its arteries.
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