Farewell Spit Eco Tours Blog

 As the Moon rose last night Collingwood residents were given a rare treat as a pod of more than fifty Dolphins cruised past the beachfront only a few hundred metres from the shore, they were big ones and there was some speculation as to whether or not they were Pilot Whales but a wee boat went out amongst them and the occupants confirmed that they were Dolphins, steaming along at high speed rounding up fish like it was going out of fashion. Dolphins are common in Golden Bay but don’t often come that close to shore near here.

Just through the gate and halfway between the high and low tide marks another Sunfish washed up, this is the second in a very short time and very accessable for the public as at he moment it is only a short walk from the end of the main road.

December the 29th is the date for this Summer’s Aorere Raft Race reporting time at Beardmore’s beach is Noon for a 1.00pm start.

On the same day there will be a Market in the main street of Collingwood from 10.00am till 2.00pm.

A thresher shark almost two metres long appeared on the hightide mark halfway along the ocean beach. These sharks are characterised by the long caudal fin which can be up to 50% of the length of the fish. The tail is used to round up it’s prey by slapping the water then to stun the animals it wishes to eat e.g. small fish and squid.

Last week there were many Lions mane jellyfish floating around in Golden Bay.

They were about the size of a dinner plate. On the ocean beach of the Spit today there were several much larger ones.

They were a browny red colour and the same diameter as a car wheel.

I couldn’t help thinking that if they were whales there would have been a small army there to save them, but then its hard to make eye contact with a jellyfish.

As the bus approached the lighthouse at he end of Farewell Spit this evening three Orca cruised past just metres from the shore.

We wonder are they the ones seen in Nelson haven yesterday?

A Sunfish or Mola Mola amost three metres in diameter washed up about 2 kilometers along the beach on the inter-tidal plain. Within a week or so we hope to have a photo of this one on the website. One of these shows up every two or three years.

Today a Southern Right whale was seen near Pohara and later on two more near Tukurua. We wonder,as one of these was larger than the other, are they the same ones that were here last year cruising the bay. Unfortunately the weather was too rough and windy for the D.o.C to launch their boat to take identification photos.

The squid whisperer strikes again!

Kersten Franke discovered his second giant squid on the ocean beach approx 6 km from the base of the Spit. He was driving an early morning tour and spotted it just after sunrise.

These ten legged monsters arrive on the beach every four or five years. This one was not quite as large as the last one which was even more rare because it had hooks on its tentacles not suckers.

The Department of Conservation collect them, freeze them and send them off to a scientist to study in Auckland.

This photo of a deceased giant sqid was taken in July. The squid was washed up 6 kilometres along the Ocean Beach.

This is only the 5th time in the past 20 years that such an occurance has happened. View TV 3 News story here and listen to RadioLIVES’s Marcus Lush interview