Whale Watching and goodbye South Island!

You don't really need to say anything about the pictures. They speak for themselves.
Our last day on the South Island was spent with another highlight. We went on a whale spotting tour and it was a success! It was the perfect day with the most beautiful weather. We were lucky because the tour is cancelled in bad weather. Honestly, you don't really want to be on the boat in rough seas (the bags were already within reach). Fortunately, we didn't have any problems and were able to enjoy the tour to the fullest. We sailed quite a way out to sea until the announcement came that we could now get up and go outside. The tension mounted and it didn't take long until we saw the first fin of an orca. Quite long and curved that thing can get. An orca's fin can grow up to 1.80m! Suddenly there were several orcas and even a baby orca with its mother. It was so beautiful to see how the two of them swam to the water's surface and then dived back down at the same time. It was absolutely breathtaking! Sometimes the orcas came so close that they swam right alongside or under the boat. And wow, orcas are so huge! Males can grow up to 10m long, females are slightly smaller. And he is still one of the smaller whales. Sperm whales can grow up to 20m long. We were lucky and were able to observe and photograph the orcas for over an hour. Kaikoura is very well-known for whale watching and a popular habitat for whales. In Kaikoura there is a huge underwater canyon (over 1600m deep) where the whales find food and breeding grounds. You can also see sperm whales, blue whales and other marine animals there. We only saw the orcas. But complaining about that would be on a very high level. The New Zealanders are very accommodating when it comes to animal tours and guarantee that you will get your money back if you don't see any whales. But we saw some and in full splendor! Albatrosses, seals, and many dolphins also made our day. I've never seen so many dolphins in one place and so close before! Dolphins are just amazing animals. They were dusky dolphins and you have to say that they are real acrobats! They jump out of the water and show off their tricks. The dusky dolphins do this because of their mating and hunting rituals. In any case, they look like they're having a lot of fun. And I have to say, it's really fun to watch them! Sometimes there are moments on this journey when I have tears in my eyes. Tears full of joy and gratitude that I am allowed to experience this. Today was one of those moments again. What an experience and what a wonderful world out there, on or rather in the sea. We have been traveling for 2 months now. Time flies so fast and so our time on the South Island ends. Today we are taking the ferry from Picton to Wellington on the North Island. The day started with a dreamy sunrise on the beach and a round of sports. It always looks so beautiful how everything reflects in the sand at low tide.

I'm really curious to see what the North Island still has to offer. The South Island definitely convinced us and set the bar very high.

See you