Whales, seals, dolphins & albatross - no fluke!

After a very windy night l thought we may not get to see the whales but in the event we were the only boat that did go out - in a 2 metre swell. We saw 3 different sperm whales - all bulls, the females hang about in much warmer water near the equator. We got really close - within about 10 metres - they loll about at the top for about 15 mins before diving for about an hour so were lucky to see 3. The last one had a pod of dusky dolphins hanging around him - annoying him it seems. We also saw 6 - 7 huge albatross with wing spans of up to 4 metres!

After we left Kaikoura we travelled up the coast by the sea. I got M to stop so l could take a photo of the beautiful blue sea. I walked over some rocks and got the shock of my life when one of them moved and l was standing 2 feet from sunbathing seals - see photo.