Sunday, July 10, 2016

Some Animal Life in NZ

Yesterday we went on a whale watch trip.  It was from the town of Kaikoura, about central latitude on the east (Pacific) coast of NZ.  It was a day after a big storm moved through, and the seas were really rough, so it was pretty grim on that boat.  Good thing there were seasickness bags all around...but we did see one whale in particular--and we saw him twice.  They gave him the name of "Tutu" because of markings around his middle that look a little bit like a ballet costume.  He is a sperm whale, and a bunch of male sperm whales winter there because of all the nutrients in the water.  But he put on a great show for us.  My photo isn't great, but here it is--Tutu diving back down into the deep:
The day before, just north of Kaikoura we stopped at a waterfall and its pool.  It was considerably inland.  So it was quite a feat for all the little NZ Fur Seal pups that play there to clamber up over boulders and obstacles in the stream that empties into the ocean.  Here is one seal pup up close--he came out of the pool and was on the hiking trail!

And here's a still photo of them playing in the pool...it doesn't do it justice, but the blog software won't let me upload a video here.  Use your imagination:  baby seals at play!



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