With the weather report seeming a little grim, we decided to take the opportunity, whilst it was calm, to get back kayaking, this time around the seal colony coast of Kaikoura.

Kaikoura Kayaks offers an experience whereby you ´can´t get closer to wildlife´so we decided to give it a go. We met Simon, our guide, at their headquarters, not far from where we were staying in South Bay. From here, after a safety talk about ocean kayaking (which we did in Abel Tasman) we donned our spray skirts and jumped into our kayaks, Dani and I in a two man one and Simon in a single.

Although the sky was cloudy and still, almost a moody sky, the ocean was completely calm as we paddled on out towards one of the bigger seal colonies. On arrival to the outer rocks, we met up with three seals already in the water, performing their daily cleaning process, sliding in and out of the surface whilst scratching their flippers over their bodies. You do have to be careful at this point to make them aware that you are actually there, otherwise you will make them jump and they could become nasty.  Once they had spotted us though, they were fine to let us sit there and watch them. As these were the older seals, there was a younger pup amidst them, who on seeing our kayaks, decided it would be fun to get up close and see what we were, swimming under and around us.

We paddled around the rocks where there must have been over 50 seals resting and continued around to the bays along the coast. As we went into each one, more seals could be seen lounging on the rocks, always one eye open watching what we were doing. As some slipped off their stones into the ocean, you have to remember that seals can actually fall asleep under water too, coming up to surface for air, closing their nostrils tightly to go back under, without even waking. Saying that, during this time they are not fully asleep, more like dozing, but if they get sick of the land, they can always do this. We cruised these pretty bays for a while before heading back along the coast.

At this time, we came across a Blue Penguin, the smallest penguin in the world measuring about 30cm in length, bobbing around on the ocean current. They breed here on land and come out to hunt at this time of year before their epic 6 month life at sea. About five minutes after this encounter, we got to see a Giant Albatross gliding above us coming down the oceans surface to look for food with its three and a half metre wing span touching the water as it did. Enough..??? No way, as we paddled back, we could see one of the dolphin watching boats ahead of us with a pod of Dusky dolphins in front of it performing jumps and flips ahead of it. We were too far away to paddle to see up close and personal, but even from this distance, it was a wonderful thing to encounter!

So, in two days, we have seen Sperm whales, colonies of Fur seals, Giant Albatross, Dusky dolphins and a Blue penguin…!!! Kaikoura is definitely the place to be for marine life as well as having an impressive mountain backdrop for hiking and, not so far off, skiing…………… bliss!!!!!!!!!!