Day 7 - Kaikoura

This is not a back blip, and I’ve now caught up on checking blippers’ journals and responding to lovely comments.

It was a glorious morning in Kaikoura today, perfect for a trip out on the water to do some whale watching.  We were very lucky in that some Orcas were migrating past Kaikoura, so we managed to glimpse them.  It was much harder to see a sperm whale, but we managed it just before we had to return to port.  Not having seen whales up reasonably close before, it was a real privilege to see this one.  Such a magnificent creature.

Back on dry land we stopped for coffee and a light lunch then walked back to the motel, where I caught up, at last, with blippers’ journals and responding to comments. At 5:45pm we were collected by the shuttle for The Pier Hotel, where we had booked for dinner.  Apparently they’re fully booked every night of the week, and the lovely gentleman driving the shuttle said it was a pleasure to pick us up as we paid his wages - what a refreshing viewpoint!  We had a delicious meal, delicious drinks, lots of chat and managed some people watching as well.  Can’t complain about that.  Afterwards we were dropped back to our motel by the same friendly gentleman.  Such service!

Main blip: The photo at top left is our very first sighting of a sperm whale.  All the other photos are of the same whale
Extra: The large photo at bottom left is an Orca; the Pier Hotel is centre right and bottom left is the view from the Pier Hotel