Farewell Spit Eco Tours Blog

This Sperm whale, an older male stranded near the beginning of the Spit after swimming around in Golden Bay for a day or two.

His jaw was removed by local iwi and his body has been donated to science. He was towed away to be sunk and his remains monitored by scientists as they decompose.

Twenty one Pilot whales are now swimming safely away from Farewell Spit thanks to the effort of local Department of Conservation staff and volunteers. Some of the original number were stranded and could not be helped. However the use of a small boat to shepherd the whales out to sea as the tide fell was very effective. A small army of helpers was on hand to assist but the majority were not needed. This was the third whale stranding on the spit in just a few weeks. Three beaked whales on the ocean beach a Sperm whale in Puponga and now the pilot whales. The Farewell Spit whale trap is very effective this year.

 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.