thit_cho

http://tinyurl.com/3cqwag

Well, its a bit of a trick title, since I'm referring to the sperm whale, which I saw last month off Kaikoura, on New Zealand's south island. If you're not interested in that part of the world, stop here (please, no responses indicating that I posted on the wrong brach -- I know that, but some have wildlife interestst that go beyond Africa -- and I also posted on the Australia forum). I also have a few photos of NZ fur seals, but I was unable to photograph keas (parrots that live in the snow -- we saw a few, but the photos would have been into the sun) or the kiwi that I saw on a kiwi trek (in a small reserve outside Franz Josef). But, I have seen a kiwi in the wild.

I also visited four South Pacific islands (Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands (Rarotonga only)), but while I spent most of the time on those islands underwater or hiking, I only photographed their capitals.

Michael

sandi

Great pics and except for the markets, quite a pleasure to see so few humans. Disappointed to see a Starbuck's, but I guess you just had to show "they're everywhere" like roaches!

Chris_GA_Atl

Michael, I am glad you posted this here, as otherwise I would not have seen it. Your pictures came out very well and I enjoyed looking at them. How did you like Tonga?

Chris

thit_cho

Chris, I made the mistake of visiting Tonga on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and like Sundays, most things were closed for the Christmas holiday (which is why the street scenes, even of Nuku'alofa, are so empty). In fact, I was literally the sole guest at my hotel (the Watefront Lodge, reputedly the nicest in Nuku'alofa), which was a bit odd. But I did get to explore the island, with pleasant hiking in relatively pristine forests and through some very interesting fields. Unlike you, I didn't make it up to the northern island groups, which I would have done had it been "humpback whale season". And, the food, especially the very fresh tuna sashimi, was excellent.

The primary reason for my trip was to visit NZ's southern island, but I found it very easy to book stopovers and other short trips to some islands that I otherwise would find difficult to visit, so I'm glad I visited these few islands in the South Pacific (next up for me for the South Pacific is Easter Island and Bora Bora in May).

Chris_GA_Atl

I am not at all surprised that everything was closed during your visit, but I am surprised that your hotel was so empty. I had understood that Christmas is a big time for Tongan expats to return home to visit their relatives.

I love the South Pacific too -- next time we go there, I want to go to the Tuamotus and the Marquesas. Preferably on a sailboat, I think that would be really awesome.

Chris

thit_cho

Chris, the holiday season is a very popular time for Tongans to return and visit friends and family, and my flight was full, but I was told that they stay with family, not hotels, which is why my hotel, and one other hotel that I visited, were empty (if I hadn't booked my air tickets last February, I'm not sure I would have secured a seat on the flight).

I will also be in the Tuamotus (Rangiroa) in May -- the drift diving/snorkeling is supposed to be fantastic. My hotel overlooks the cut between the ocean and lagoon, and I was told that I should be able to watch dolphins from my veranda.

Kavey

Wooo, nice.

And, as you know, many of us here love wildlife worldwide, not just in Africa. Thanks for sharing it here as I don't read the Australia forum.

cw

Thanks for posting your photos. I greatly enjoyed them. Who knew where Charlie the Tuna's home is, and that there was an International Dateline hotel?

I like your mix of reality/street (license plate) photos with the scenic images. Did your glacier walk go to the one that had a warning posted (rivers changing courses)? It looked cold but you were in shorts.

Loved the sleeping seals.

CW

Femi

Ha ha! Your title made me look. I'd have missed your post otherwise.

What are those long bound root-like things in the Tonga market?

There was not a fur seal in sight the days we were in Kaikoura. Luck of the draw.

Love your pig shot in the cook Islands. Looks like you startled him.

Great (as always) to see pics of places off the beaten track.

atravelynn

Great whale viewing! Clear skies and calm seas. You really got close to the seals. Cool glaciers (no pun intended.)

Your other shots of builidings and such were good too with nice bright conditions. In the first several shots was a guy on a wire??? suspended way up? A workman, a thrill ride? What was that?

thit_cho

Thanks for looking and the favorable comments. To answer a few questions:

1. It was relatively warm in Franz Josef, around 75F, and was very pleasant on the glacier -- many of us wore shorts (its like spring skiing in Colorado and New Mexico).

2. The long root-like thing in the Tonga market is just that, a long root-like thing. As best as I was able to learn, its some type of starch (like taro or potatoe).

3. Lynn, the guy on the wire was jumping off the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere -- NZ is the global center for adrenalin junkies, and you can jump off virtually everything (bungee jumping was invented in Queenstown).

PredatorBiologist

That's a huge sighting, sperm whales are one of the difficult to predict species. Fantastic, and I'm always struck by the fabulous open air markets that you seem to capture all around the world.

thit_cho

PredatorBiologist, check out www.whalewatch.co.nz and their daily sightings (searchable by date) -- they see sperm whales on almost all of their outings.

joeyi

thanks for posting on this board, probably would have not seen them otherwise. Brought back some good memories of our trip to New Zealand & the Cooks, had to chuckle at the clock in Hokitika, we enjoyed that little town. Did you go to a glow worm del?
Really nice quality on your photos.

PredatorBiologist

Thanks Michael, that is a great site. Sure enough, as I'm sure you know it is one of the only predictable locations for sperm whales close to shore due to a deep trench that occurs close to the land creating rare conditions.

atravelynn

You didn't jump too?