Whale Watching in Kaikoura, New Zealand
by Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Title
Whale Watching in Kaikoura, New Zealand
Artist
Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Posting this image today in sympathy with the devastating earthquake in Kaikoura, New Zealand where I went whale watching in 2013 on a three month trip to beautiful New Zealand.The Kaikoura Peninsula is located in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island. It protrudes five kilometres into the Pacific Ocean. The town of Kaikoura is located on the north shore of the peninsula. The peninsula has been settled by Maori for approximately 1000 years, and by Europeans since the 1800s, when whaling operations began off the Kaikoura Coast. Since the end of whaling in 1922 whales have been allowed to thrive and the region is now a popular whale watching destination.
The Kaikoura Peninsula is made up of limestone and mudstone which have been deposited, uplifted and deformed throughout the Quaternary. The peninsula is situated in a tectonically active region bounded by the Marlborough Fault System.
The Kaikoura Canyon is a submarine canyon situated 500 metres off the coast to the south-east of the peninsula. It is 60 km long, up to 1200 m deep, and is generally U-shaped. It is an active canyon that merges into a deep-ocean channel system that meanders for hundreds of kilometres across the deep ocean floor.
The peninsula has been inhabited by Māori for the best part of 1000 years. They used it as a base for hunting moa, and also harvested the plentiful crayfish which are found along the shore. In legend, it was from this peninsula that legendary hero Māui is reputed to have dredged up the giant fish that became the North Island.
During the 19th century, European whaling stations were established in the area. In more recent times, the whales that visit the coast off the peninsula have been allowed to thrive, and whale-watching makes the area a popular ecotourism destination. Whales frequent these coastal waters because squid and other deep-sea creatures are brought from the deep Hikurangi Trench to the surface by the combination currents and steeply sloping seafloor.
FEATURED 11/14/16 in "Photographers From Around The World"
FEATURED 11/19/16 in "Pleasing The Eye"
FEATURED 12/10/16 in "New FAA Uploads"
FEATURED 12/26/16 in "Premium FAA Artists"
FEATURED 6/23/17 in "Lady Photographers"
FEATURED 8/30/20 in "500 Views Share Group"
FEATURED 9/2/20 in "No Place Like Home"
FEATURED 9/9/20 in "Wildlife One A Day"
FEATURED 10/30/20 in "500 Views on One Image"
Uploaded
November 14th, 2016
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Viewed 1,269 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/18/2024 at 3:52 PM
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Comments (10)
Jenny Revitz Soper
BRAVO! Your artwork has earned a FEATURE on the homepage of the FAA Artist Group No Place Like Home, 9/02/2020! You may also post it in the Group's Features discussion thread and any other thread that fits! l/f
Robyn King
Congratulations your beautiful artwork is being featured in 500 Views Share Group & Shared:-)
John Hughes
Wonderful image, it is so exciting to see these magnificent animals, I was fortunate to travel to Alaska and able to get some photos myself, great work.
Venetia Featherstone-Witty replied:
Thank you John - so glad you had the experience in Alaska which is on my bucket list!
Ralph Klein
Congratulations your image is featured in the Group "Photographers from around the world" Now you can participate in the discussion. Every day we look for the image of the day. You can find it under the discussion picture of the day. Then you stand with your picture directly on the start of our group.
Venetia Featherstone-Witty replied:
Thank you Ralph for the feature in "Photographers From Around The World"
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