Whales!

Drove on to Kaikoura yesterday with numerous side trips down dusty roads looking for a spot to camp. Most were by the roaring sea with misty spray. We eventually reached Kaikoura about 5.30, and pulled in to a Park Over Property in the township. After adjusting our position into the paddock so that they could get their buses out in the morning we had a good night's sleep. This morning dawned cloudy and calm and we drove round to look at seals. The sea was calming down all morning and by the time our boat left to go out to see the whales it was calm with a slight swell. We saw 5 sperm whales! This is unusual as our guide said that normally they only see one or two. 4 of the animals did the classic tail raising thing as they dived beneath the sea. Awesome! This photo is the best I can do with the little digital camera. I have much better ones on film which I will load later. This afternoon we drove to the Conway river where we are settling in for the night alongside another couple from Renwick.