Wings over Whales

 Ever since I was an adolescent I've had a soft spot for whales and dolphins, but especially whales.

When an opportunity to see whales from the air was offered me I was right into it.

If Whale Watching by boat is full up this aerial excursion is a useful alternative. Wings over Whales is a 30 minute fixed-wing flight.

On arrival at the airfield just outside Kaikoura we were given an overview of what to expect and also safety precautions. Our pilot looked so young but seemed very competent.

Passengers are most likely to see sperm whales as there's a population based permanently around Kaikoura due to the deep canyon and plenty of squid and other food available. Sperm whales can dive for 45 minutes and only surface for about 10 minutes to breathe so pilots need to keep that in mind when trying to time each flight to correspond when whales might be surfacing to breathe.

The best weather conditions include not too much sunny glare and few, if any, white caps on the water. This calmer water makes whale spotting a lot easier.

As you take off you pop on your headphones so you can hear the pilot and it pays to strap in. It's cramped and not that comfortable but that's not so important as actually seeing some whales. The pilot made a lot of sharp turns in order to allow both sides of the plane to take turns in seeing the wildlife. This is a wee bit unsettling in a small plane but you just have to trust the pilot to know what she is doing as you descend or climb somewhat on a steep lean.

The pilot used an app attached to her dashboard which enabled her to see where whales had been spotted earlier in the day. This meant she had an idea of where and when a whale was likely to surface. Though it is hit and miss, the pilots are pretty experienced at getting in the right place at the right time. Our grand total for the trip was one sperm whale, two beaked whales and a large pod of Dusky dolphins playing energetically..

We were slightly unlucky in that the sperm whale we did spot did not stay on the surface for  10 minutes. We barely got 5 minutes and all the time the pilot was manoeuvring from left to right so each side of the plane could see things. This meant the other side of the plane could not see anything when it wasn't 'their turn'.

If you want to take decent photos you will need an expensive lens that will close up the distance as, from the air, you do not get close so the whales are tiny things below you. Planes have to stay a certain distance from the wildlife so as not to disturb.

I didn't find the coastline of much interest. Coming from NZ, I've lived with Kiwi coastlines all my life. The sky was a bit dreary and overcast so the mountains didn't look very impressive anyway - very little snow on them, rather hazy overall.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it. The boat option may have been more impressive getting closer to a whale but there are no garantees of seeing one and the swells along the coast could make for a long, seasick time.