Page 29 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

water Capt. Cook was so pleased to find. The falls and their setting

are really quite beautiful. Ship’s Cove is maintained now by DOC
and it is doing an excellent job considering this is a very much

visited site.

Chapter 7. Kaikoura

In truth, this small former whaling station town should not be

covered in this journal because of the antithetical standards of
ecotravel here. Because the Maoris have had the concession to
operate tourist facilities here for many years, many of the

regulations promulgated by DOC do not obtain here. In particular,
the ban against chumming to attract birds is totally ignored.

Nonetheless, the Maoris have shown great interest in preserving
the wonderful landscape and wildlife here.

The town is backed against a snow-covered range of low

mountains that provide drama to the scene. Beneath the water is
an even more astounding wilderness, the Abyssal Plain that
begins dropping away just feet from the harbor. The Plain drops

even further into the Hikurangi Trench and thence into the
Kermadec Trench, at least 1000 ft. below the sea surface. There,

the Pacific and Australian plates collide and create volcanic
eruptions and mudslides and enormous surges in the sea bottom.

Because the sea is warm in the deep area and it mixes with the
colder waters higher in the column, there is a constant upwelling

of plankton and deep sea creatures such as squid and tiny
invertebrates that create great banquets for the whales and other
sea mammals.

29