After our escourted tour finished in Christchurch (February 2002), I decided to buy one day tour program to Kaikoura to see giant whales. Booked the tour through the website and they picked us up(me&my mum) at the hotel.
Route map to Kaikoura
A whole day tour to go whale watching without lunch.Travel by coach through the scenic sights of North Canterbury. Driver is also your guide, tell us interesting info along the way. The journey from Christchurch takes about 3 hours by coach. Kaikoura is world renowned for the variety of marine mammals which can be seen, not least of all the giant sperm whales and the acrobatic Dusky Dolphins.
Favourite spots:
Giant whale
Of course getting to see giant whales is the most exciting part of the day. After arrival in Kaikoura we were transferred to a whale watch tour by boat. Oops ! Before that the tour company showed us short VDO about introduction of whales, give us some suggesting and warning we should take when boarding. That day even the weather was not good, quite cloudy and got waves but lucky we got to see giant sperm whales, allso dolphins and seals (quite stinky)
What's really great:
View along the way to kaikoura
We were so relaxed in Kaikoura. After watching giant whales, we took a walk along the shore and take picture. It's such a small lovely town
Accommodations:
Too bad we did not stay overnight here but I saw couple places of B&B, ther option would be a small hotel in town. No worry in 30 minutes you can completly explore this small town.
Restaurants:
Kaikoura Town centre
There are many cafes also restaurants around this area or you can enjoy light meals at the winery nearby, 5-10 minutes drive from Kaikoura town.
Other recommendations:
Me and the boat
If you decide to go for whale watching, prepare yourself if the weather is not good as you might experience big waves plus seasicness. Also there's no guarantee whether you will get to see giant whales, if not the tour operator don't get you a refund, just up to your luck....pray for it
Hey Chanchira, nice report. The first time I went whale watching was in Kaikoura and I must have been lucky as I saw two and the weather was perfect. We also saw a pod of dolphin and they were playing around our boat, it was so cool.
But thanks for sharing your experience as all travellers have to know that it's not always perfect conditions.
yes, Kaikoura is famous for whale-watching. I tried it three times but didn't see one whale: The weather was so bad that we couldn't leave the harbour. Nice to hear that you had more luck.
Maybe it could be helpful if you add the internet-adress of the whale-watching company to your report.
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