On monday we went by boat to the South Island. The first town we drove to was Kaikoura, a small town on the east coast. The town is situated on a peninsula with a beautifull coastline. On several locations you can find seals along the coast. On Friday we went by boat to go whale watching. We were lucky and saw two whales.
Kaikoura is host to the Sperm whale. This whale is of a smaller type with a length of about 20m. The whales, sharks and seals are drawn to this place because there is an abundance of food here. Because the southernly and northerly currents meet here the food is "pumped" into the Kaikoura canyon. The continental shelve is broken up at kaikoura by a deep sea canyon close to the coast that has a maximum depth of 1600 m. 
Tectonically the Kaikoura region is very interesting. The region is very active because The Indian Australian Plate clashes with the Pacific plate here. The mountains close to Kaikoura are uplifted very rapidly. A few major faultlines run north of Kaikoura.
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