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We're traveling to New Zealand in June and right now we're planning to take a day to drive to Kaikoura and do a whale watching tour. I was just reading reviews online that seem to indicate there is only one company for whale watching. Reviewers said that you could not be out on the deck when the boat is moving? That seems like it would greatly reduce your chances of seeing whales or dolphins since sometimes sitings are very quick. Is this correct that you can't be out on the deck while the boat is in motion?
Would you recommend the whale watching tour?
Whale Watching in Kaikoura - worth it?
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Why not ask them. res@whalewatch.co.nz
Some years ago I went bird watching on one of their whale boats and there was no way they could have kept you inside on that vessel. The new ones do have an enclosed cabin but with wide outside areas. I would not expect to be allowed on the front deck when the boat is underway.
I'll send off an email to clarify. Good idea. We've gone whale watching in Iceland and also off the coast of Massachusetts before. I might expect that you had to stay inside for the initial ride out, but once you are out near whales or where they think whales might be, I would expect to be able to stay out the entire time. We certainly did on the other tours.
I did it a long time ago. You do go quite far out and the vessel was quite large and I think a fast catamaran (almost like an airplane ride), but as I recall once you got to a whale they stopped and everyone piled out.
Whether it's worth it would depend on the price, if you've seen other whales elsewhere, and how much you really want to see a sperm whale (they kind of look like floating logs). They aren't quite as exciting as the humpbacks, for example.