{"id":1640,"date":"2015-08-10T14:11:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-10T04:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/?p=1640"},"modified":"2016-11-19T08:56:50","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T08:56:50","slug":"into-the-deep-the-sperm-whales-of-kaikoura-nz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/?p=1640","title":{"rendered":"Into the Deep – The Sperm Whales of Kaikoura"},"content":{"rendered":"

———————————————-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

UPDATE: Kaikoura Earthquake November 2016<\/strong><\/span>
\nOur thoughts, best wishes and prayers are with everyone affected by the earthquakes that struck the northern areas of New Zealand\u2019s South Island.<\/span>
\nPlease know that you have many friends around the world who are standing with you through this very tough time. We are all looking forward to seeing you back on your feet very soon. We also can\u2019t wait to come back to visit and spend time with you in our beloved Kaikoura, one of the most beautiful and special places on Earth.
\nBest wishes and take care WS!<\/span><\/p>\n

———————————————-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m often asked what my favourite whale is? Well that\u2019s a difficult one. There’s the Minke\u2019s for looks, Southern Rights for hanging in there, Blues just because wow, Humpbacks for joy and then there\u2019s the Sperm Whale\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sperm Whale by Linda Cox<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Largest of the toothed whales, largest brain of any animal, can hold its breath for hours, can dive thousands of metres to the depth of the oceans, has epic battles with eight meter long Giant Squid! I mean REALLY? Everything about the Sperm whale is amazing and also just a bit mysterious too.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale recharges its blood with oxygen before diving back into the Kaikoura Canyon, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Female Sperm Whales live in maternal pods ruled by a grandmother matriarch in the warmer water’s near the equator. At puberty the boys are\u00a0kicked out of these pods and head into the cooler temperate waters, with mature bull males cruising deep into the Southern Ocean. Males are usually solitary but do form into bachelor pods.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale begins another hunting dive back into the Kaikoura Canyon, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Sperm whales specialise in deep water hunting and can easily dive to several thousand meters in search of prey. This means they are found far out to sea in the deep oceans and are not often seen close to land.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Looking back to the coast across South Bay (south of Kaikoura) with the spectacular Seaward Kaikoura Range in the background.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Kaikoura Canyon<\/strong><\/span>
\n I\u2019ve travelled to Kaikoura on New Zealand\u2019s South Island because it is one of the few places on earth where Sperm Whales can be seen within a few kilometres of the coast. What makes Kaikoura so special is that New Zealand\u2019s continental\u00a0shelf\u00a0drops over a\u00a01000 metres into the Kaikoura Canyon only a few kilometres from the coast. The\u00a0Kaikoura Canyon is U shaped, 60 kilometres long and up to 1200 meters deep. It leeds into the even larger\u00a01500 kilometre long Hikurangi Channel and then out to the\u00a0southwest Pacific Basin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale recharges its blood with oxygen before diving back into the Kaikoura Canyon, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

These submarine canyons are a perfect hunting ground for\u00a0Sperm Whales and a\u00a0semi permanent bachelor pod\u00a0gathers at Kaikoura\u00a0most of the year. So much so that some of the whales have been named.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiaki<\/strong> \u2013 The Guardian. He is one of Kaikoura’s most dominant whales and has been known to look after younger sperm whales visiting Kaikoura.<\/span>
\n Tutu<\/strong> \u2013 Special Ocean Dweller. This is the shortened version of the Maori word Tutumairekurai. Tutu’s dorsal fin\u00a0is very similar in\u00a0shape to a Hectors Dolphins which has been given this Maori name.<\/span>
\n Manu<\/strong> \u2013 Birdie. When Manu dives the silhouette of his\u00a0tail looks very much like a bird in flight.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale begins another hunting dive back into the Kaikoura Canyon, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Sperm Whale raises its head showing its very distant blow hole, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The rich waters of Kaikoura are not only home to Sperm Whales but Dusky and Hectors Dolphins call Kaikoura home. Humpback, Southern Right, Blue and Killer Whales also migrate through the area as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Dusky Dolphin cuts through the water, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Humpback Whales dives in South Bay, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Humpback Whales dives in South Bay, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Whale Watch Kaikoura\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\n Kaikoura and whales go a very long way back! M\u0101ori\u00a0legend tells the story of\u00a0Kahutia-te-rangi\u00a0who is an of\u00a0ancestor of\u00a0Ng\u0101i Tahu and\u00a0Ng\u0101ti Porou,\u00a0M\u0101ori\u00a0tribes in the South Island and east coast of New Zealand’s North Island who was saved from an\u00a0attempt on his life by his half-brother\u00a0Ruatapu by a\u00a0humpback whales\u00a0(paikea). In remembrance\u00a0of this he took the name\u00a0Paikea\u00a0‘The Whale Rider’.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Paikea’ One of Whale Watch Kaikoura’s customer designed whale watching boats.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Today it would seem only natural\u00a0that whale watching would become a primary tourist industry in the area but it took the very tough economic times of the 1980’s and the vision of local M\u0101ori\u00a0elders such as Bill Solomon to follow the example of their great ancestor Paikea\u00a0‘The Whale Rider’<\/em>\u00a0and set up Whale Watch Kaikoura.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Aoraki’ Another of Whale Watch Kaikoura’s customer designed whale watching boats<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Since then\u00a0Whale Watch Kaikoura has grown into\u00a0a\u00a0multiple award winning business that is renowned\u00a0as\u00a0one of New Zealand’s premier\u00a0tourism experiences. <\/span><\/p>\n

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On board we learn more about the Sperm Whales and what makes Kaikoura such a special place<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Listening in on the whales helps the crews locate the whales<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Checking out one of the local Seal Colonies<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Whale watching trips leave daily depending on weather and sea conditions. Please see Whale Watch Kaikoura’s\u00a0website for current conditions and trip availability.\u00a0WWK Website<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Whale Watch Kaikoura Centre, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Whale Watch Kaikoura<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The ‘Whaleway’<\/em> Station<\/span>
\n Whaleway Road, Kaikoura<\/span>
\n http:\/\/www.whalewatch.co.nz\u00a0(KWW)<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I would like to thank Lisa Bond,\u00a0Marketing Manager\u00a0and all the staff and crews from\u00a0Whale Watch Kaikoura\u00a0for all their\u00a0great support, advise and encouragement in creating this page.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale lifts its talk as it begins to dive, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Camera Gear
\n<\/strong>Nikon D610 with Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f4G ED VR<\/span>
\n Nikon D7200 with\u00a0Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f\/2.8G ED VR II Lens<\/span>
\n The camera gear was kept safe and dry in a\u00a0Lowepro\u00a0DryZone DF 20L\u00a0waterproof duffle bag.<\/span>
\n Sirui W-2204 Waterproof Tripod with Sirui K-20X\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to Nikon\u00a0Australia for their continued support and encouragement!\u00a0Nikon<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Australia
\n<\/a><\/strong>Thanks to Maxwell International Australia for all your wonderful support and guidance with Lowepro camera bags.\u00a0Lowepro
\n<\/a><\/strong>Thanks to Mainline Photographics\u00a0for all your wonderful support with Siri\u00a0tripods.\u00a0Mainline Photographics<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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A Sperm Whale begins to dive, Kaikoura NZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

———————————————- UPDATE: Kaikoura Earthquake November 2016 Our thoughts, best wishes and prayers are with everyone affected by the earthquakes that struck the northern areas of New Zealand\u2019s South Island. Please know that you have many friends around the world who are standing with you through this very tough time. We are all looking forward to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-whale-watching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1640"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2484,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1640\/revisions\/2484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}