Tail of the whale

Today's the day ..................... to whale watch

That's it then - I suppose we'll have to go home now ..........

To get a picture of a whale's fluke going into the water was the biggie for me on our trip to New Zealand. And to be honest, I never thought it would happen - for a number of reasons.

For a start, I'm the world's worst sailor - so even if we were lucky enough to see a whale, I imagined by this point, I would be heaving up over the side. And in any case, the sea is huge. How can you go out there and think you will be lucky enough to come within photographing distance of one? Added to that - the weather has to be right on the day - because there was only one day that we could go on a trip. Are you catching the drift of my line of thought here?

However - the day dawned as blue as it was possible to be. The sea (unlike yesterday) was like a mirror. Our hostess lent me some of those sea-sickness armbands - and I took a pill as well, just to make sure. I suppose it was a good sign that the Whale Watch Company is so confident that you will see a whale that they offer to give you your money back if you don't.

Not to put too fine a point on it - we actually saw THREE Sperm Whales. Add on lots of Dusky and Hector Dolphins and the odd albatross or two and you can see why it was the most wonderful trip ever .........................