Humpback whales sighted off Akaora give visiting travel agents unexpected bonus
Tuesday 7 June 2011, 5:23PM
By enthuse
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Two humpback whales sighted off Akaroa today provided an unexpected bonus for visiting American travels agents.
The whales provided a spectacular show for the visiting travel agents on board a Black Cat Cruises trip and are the latest sightings in a busy migration period as whales make their annual trek north from the Southern Ocean.
Humpback whales are well known for their spectacular breaching and beautiful, complex songs. Southern Ocean humpbacks migrate thousands of kilometres between low-latitude winter breeding and calving grounds in Antarctica and the sub-tropical coastal waters of western and eastern Australia and Fiji.
This route takes them right past Akaroa and the coast of Canterbury, Black Cat Cruises Skipper Hamish Crosbie said. “”And right now is the perfect time to see them.”
“It was just amazing today as one of the whales fully breached right out of the water,” he said.
Black Cat Cruises had 16 travel agents on board and Crosbie said the whale sighting gave them “much more than they bargained for or expected to see.”
“We also lots of Hector dolphins too so it really was a special trip out today and great showcase for what we have off the coast of Canterbury they’ll all be able to tell their clients back home about.”