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The coast line around Kaikoura is very rugged and rocky and the sea floor drops several thousand meters within only a few kilometers off the shore. This is an ideal place to watch sperm whales very close to the coast since they feed mainly on deep water squid. It is one of the largest toothed whales and amongst the deepest diving cetaceans, grows up to 18 m long and may weigh 45 tons.
The whale rests at the surface for approximately 10 minutes to replenish the blood with oxygen. Then it dives down to 1000 m for between 20 and 50 minutes to feed. When waiting for a whale to emerge, we saw several Royal Albatros resting on the see surface. The bird may look small on the picture, but it has a wingspan of around 3 meters!
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