Sounds Of Silence
Blue Whales are so named because they are predominately blue. Humpback Whales are named because of their distinct hump on their back. Killer Whales are mis-named as they are a type of dolphin. Then we get to Sperm Whales. For all these years I had presumed that the word "sperm" had some old-fashioned meaning that was lost to time. This is not the case. When the first whalers captured a Sperm Whale they cut into its large nose and out squirted about 1000 gallons of sticky white liquid. Not being very good anatomists they decided that they had struck the whale's reproductive organs (in its nose?) and so the whale was so named. Then they took several long baths.
We now know that this creamy white stuff is not sperm at all but a very viscous oil that the whale uses as ballast for diving and surfacing. It's quite interesting: this oil is a liquid when warm but when it chooses to it constricts the blood supply to the region that holds it and it cools and solidifies. This increases its density and causes the whale to sink to the bottom of the ocean. When it wants to surface again it opens up those same blood vessels and the oil liquefies and become less dense. A Sperm Whale can dive to a depth of about 2km, I think.
I learned all of this while on a whale-spotting boat trip in Kaikoura in the NE of the South Island a couple of weeks ago. I got to see three Sperm Whales. Actually, I did not see a whole whale but rather an indistinct grey sausage about 20 feet long just breaching the surface of the water. You can spot them by the way they exhale from the hole in their back and shoot jets of water upwards. The guide on this tour was very experienced and could tell us when they were about to dive and stick their huge tails out of the water as they point their nose down. I felt an Athena moment coming on but all I got was 10 photos of grey sea and a flat battery.
Kaikoura is a small place that exists for only two reasons: whales and crayfish. Before the whale spotting became a tourist must-see it was just a crayfishing community set in the shadows of mountains by the sea. Very beautiful on a clear day but I had low cloud while I was there. To console myself of this I decided to eat a crayfish (badly as it turned out; they gave me a nut-cracker but I ended up using a chair leg) and then visit the seal colony up the road.
It was definitely low-season for seals. I walked into the small car park there and almost tripped over a very fat and sleepy seal as he lay dozing on the grass reservation. He lazily opened his eyes and gave me a look of such disgust I had to laugh. He then rolled over and went back to sleep. Further investigation revealed about 30 such seals sleeping on the rocks. I find seals very cute and cuddly though it's sobering to know that if you get in between them and the sea they get very aggressive. They weight about a ton each too so can kill you by sitting on you. They pack a mean bite too. I still think they're cute and I want to be one. It would be a great way to get women cooing at me.
I headed North to Marlborough next. This region is famous for its sounds that stretch out for many miles and its fertile valleys and vineyards in them. Stopping in beautiful Blenheim (it's like a big new industrial estate but people live there) I got myself booked onto a highly educational wine tour of about 5 vineyards.
The lady who checked me into her hostel was a funny one. I was talking to her about the weather and such and as I was about to depart to go to my dorm (another 6-bedder full of crazies) she gripped my arm and looked at me deeply, saying "I hope you have a really good stay". "Mif," I replied and fell out of the office.
The wine tour was great. I shared it with an old soak called Ray who was guiding it and two couples. Not as depressing as it sounds as the couples were middle aged and one of the wives was an Irish lady so she and I were on the mission to drink all the free booze that came our way. Some of the others were spitting, actually SPITTING, the wine out after tasting. Amateurs. It was only 11 AM and I was starting to sway. As is usual for my wine tours to date I learned bugger all about wine but had a good time.
I decided to take the time to go up to Picton and see some of the Marlborough Sounds. As you might have guessed they are very beautiful and I decided to take 4 days and walk the 71 km of the Queen Charlotte track. This track is well-defined so it was hardly wilderness but it took me through virgin forest, private property, and to numerous hostels. I had a great time wandering through it. My main highlight was having my lunch nicked by one of the wild birds that live in abundance there. I think it's called a Kea and it brazenly stole some crackers from the seat next to me! Another highlight was stopping for tea and a muffin in a small cafe close to the start and meeting the owner's pooch. This pooch had sponging down to a fine art and once he had completed scrounging from the table next to me he walked up and began to stare at me and occasionally squint as if holding back a tear. As you can imagine I was putty in his paws, being a sucker for a pooch with a cold wet nose. He wolfed down about half of my muffin and allowed me to scratch his back before sniffing and walking off.
Really the whole 71km was a highlight in itself and being in such peaceful surroundings for so long was just what I needed. I was also getting a lot of overdue exercise.
Since then I traveled Westwards to Nelson, passing through a suburb called Half Nelson (arf). Nelson is one of the larger towns in NZ and it is quite peaceful with the normal amenities. I treated it as a base to see some of the Abel-Tasman National Park and so traveled there a couple of days ago to do some sea-kayaking.
Now kayaking is something that has left me cold before. In Nepal when I tried out someone's kayak (or canoe as I would call it) all I ended up doing was going around in circles, swearing at myself loudly. Sea-kayaks are very different. They are 2-person, heavier, and have a rudder for steering! I spent a cloudless day skimming across water which was like glass and managed to get pretty close to some dolphins that were swimming around. I noticed this in Marlborough too, that dolphins are very sociable creatures and enjoy swimming along with humans and their vessels in the water. They especially like following in the wake of large boats. I also learned that they are known as "Wolves of the sea". They hunt in packs and kill each other for food which surprised me. They can be quite aggressive, as befits their intelligence I guess. I never trusted Flipper anyway.
I'm heading North soon to Wellington. I catch a ferry from Picton to Wellington and a week later I fly from Auckland back to Melbourne. I've been thinking a lot about NZ and it's never happened to me before but it's one of the few places I think I could live outside of the UK. I think it's because it reminds me in many ways of the UK, plus I love the accent.
We now know that this creamy white stuff is not sperm at all but a very viscous oil that the whale uses as ballast for diving and surfacing. It's quite interesting: this oil is a liquid when warm but when it chooses to it constricts the blood supply to the region that holds it and it cools and solidifies. This increases its density and causes the whale to sink to the bottom of the ocean. When it wants to surface again it opens up those same blood vessels and the oil liquefies and become less dense. A Sperm Whale can dive to a depth of about 2km, I think.
I learned all of this while on a whale-spotting boat trip in Kaikoura in the NE of the South Island a couple of weeks ago. I got to see three Sperm Whales. Actually, I did not see a whole whale but rather an indistinct grey sausage about 20 feet long just breaching the surface of the water. You can spot them by the way they exhale from the hole in their back and shoot jets of water upwards. The guide on this tour was very experienced and could tell us when they were about to dive and stick their huge tails out of the water as they point their nose down. I felt an Athena moment coming on but all I got was 10 photos of grey sea and a flat battery.
Kaikoura is a small place that exists for only two reasons: whales and crayfish. Before the whale spotting became a tourist must-see it was just a crayfishing community set in the shadows of mountains by the sea. Very beautiful on a clear day but I had low cloud while I was there. To console myself of this I decided to eat a crayfish (badly as it turned out; they gave me a nut-cracker but I ended up using a chair leg) and then visit the seal colony up the road.
It was definitely low-season for seals. I walked into the small car park there and almost tripped over a very fat and sleepy seal as he lay dozing on the grass reservation. He lazily opened his eyes and gave me a look of such disgust I had to laugh. He then rolled over and went back to sleep. Further investigation revealed about 30 such seals sleeping on the rocks. I find seals very cute and cuddly though it's sobering to know that if you get in between them and the sea they get very aggressive. They weight about a ton each too so can kill you by sitting on you. They pack a mean bite too. I still think they're cute and I want to be one. It would be a great way to get women cooing at me.
I headed North to Marlborough next. This region is famous for its sounds that stretch out for many miles and its fertile valleys and vineyards in them. Stopping in beautiful Blenheim (it's like a big new industrial estate but people live there) I got myself booked onto a highly educational wine tour of about 5 vineyards.
The lady who checked me into her hostel was a funny one. I was talking to her about the weather and such and as I was about to depart to go to my dorm (another 6-bedder full of crazies) she gripped my arm and looked at me deeply, saying "I hope you have a really good stay". "Mif," I replied and fell out of the office.
The wine tour was great. I shared it with an old soak called Ray who was guiding it and two couples. Not as depressing as it sounds as the couples were middle aged and one of the wives was an Irish lady so she and I were on the mission to drink all the free booze that came our way. Some of the others were spitting, actually SPITTING, the wine out after tasting. Amateurs. It was only 11 AM and I was starting to sway. As is usual for my wine tours to date I learned bugger all about wine but had a good time.
I decided to take the time to go up to Picton and see some of the Marlborough Sounds. As you might have guessed they are very beautiful and I decided to take 4 days and walk the 71 km of the Queen Charlotte track. This track is well-defined so it was hardly wilderness but it took me through virgin forest, private property, and to numerous hostels. I had a great time wandering through it. My main highlight was having my lunch nicked by one of the wild birds that live in abundance there. I think it's called a Kea and it brazenly stole some crackers from the seat next to me! Another highlight was stopping for tea and a muffin in a small cafe close to the start and meeting the owner's pooch. This pooch had sponging down to a fine art and once he had completed scrounging from the table next to me he walked up and began to stare at me and occasionally squint as if holding back a tear. As you can imagine I was putty in his paws, being a sucker for a pooch with a cold wet nose. He wolfed down about half of my muffin and allowed me to scratch his back before sniffing and walking off.
Really the whole 71km was a highlight in itself and being in such peaceful surroundings for so long was just what I needed. I was also getting a lot of overdue exercise.
Since then I traveled Westwards to Nelson, passing through a suburb called Half Nelson (arf). Nelson is one of the larger towns in NZ and it is quite peaceful with the normal amenities. I treated it as a base to see some of the Abel-Tasman National Park and so traveled there a couple of days ago to do some sea-kayaking.
Now kayaking is something that has left me cold before. In Nepal when I tried out someone's kayak (or canoe as I would call it) all I ended up doing was going around in circles, swearing at myself loudly. Sea-kayaks are very different. They are 2-person, heavier, and have a rudder for steering! I spent a cloudless day skimming across water which was like glass and managed to get pretty close to some dolphins that were swimming around. I noticed this in Marlborough too, that dolphins are very sociable creatures and enjoy swimming along with humans and their vessels in the water. They especially like following in the wake of large boats. I also learned that they are known as "Wolves of the sea". They hunt in packs and kill each other for food which surprised me. They can be quite aggressive, as befits their intelligence I guess. I never trusted Flipper anyway.
I'm heading North soon to Wellington. I catch a ferry from Picton to Wellington and a week later I fly from Auckland back to Melbourne. I've been thinking a lot about NZ and it's never happened to me before but it's one of the few places I think I could live outside of the UK. I think it's because it reminds me in many ways of the UK, plus I love the accent.