After more than nine years living abroad it was nice to return to New Zealand to settle down, but not before doing some sightseeing. First port of call - Dunedin. No matter how long I've been away, I always feel like I'm returning home when I visit Dunedin. A diverse range of wildlife is just on the backdoor and I can't get enough of the wild beaches along the outer edge of the peninsula.
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A trip to South Africa isn't complete without a safari. It's one of those bucket list activities, to be travelling the African plains in search of some of Earth's largest mammals (as well as other animals and plants). These photos are from some of my encounters in Aquila private game reserve.
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This post is dedicated just to Southern right whale breaching behaviour. These are by far my best whale breaching moments that will stay with me forever. The size, power and beauty of these whales is incredible!
My last month in South Africa and the Southern right whale encounters just keep getting better. This was by far the month that I had the best encounters with these very social and inquisitive whales.
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Cape Agulhas is the southern most tip of the African continent. This is a place where two oceans meet (the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans) and this convergence can sometimes be seen in the mixing waters. Cape Agulhas also has the second oldest working lighthouse in South Africa. On my visit I climbed all 71 steps to the top where the views (and wind strength) are breath-taking.
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Brindle Southern right whales are a rare colour variant that are almost completely white with variable black spots. Despite being rare, I got to see a few brindle individuals in South Africa, including this breaching brindle calf. About 94% of brindle whales are males and this rare pigmentation pattern is created by a brindle male mating with a partial grey female.
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My time off the water is often still spent out searching for marine life. You never know what you will encounter along the shores, especially when in a new country where everything looks different to what you are used to!
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