South Pacific Helicopters — Local services in Kaikōura

We wanted to whale watch in Kaikoura. So far, so good.

But which means of transport would be best?

Our propensity to seasickness, especially after two hours on the water meant a boat wasn’t attractive.

And the angle of viewing at water level would probably give a partial view of a whale at best.

So for us an aerial approach would be better than waterborne.

That meant a choice between a fixed wing aeroplane and a helicopter.

Given the relatively short time a whale is on the surface to breathe, and the difficulty of spotting and then reaching them in time, speed and manoeuvrability are key.

While a plane is quicker in a straight line, and could reach a distant location where a boat has reported whale activity, a helicopter will get there not long after.

Much more importantly a helicopter can turn very fast and hover over the spot to get the shot.

The plane keeps going and has a much slower turning circle. By the time the plane has returned the whale may well have dived.

Getting a good quality video or photos of the whale is really important to us.

So visibility and the ability to shoot through an open window to avoid glare and scratches on glass are vital.

Depending on the particular model, both plane and helicopter may have openable windows.

But an additional factor is how many window seats there are and which of them has an openable window.

It’s not much good being a passenger sitting in the middle of a three-seat row…and generally a whale watch plane carries more passengers than a helicopter.

Taking all these factors into account, and mindful there are absolutely no guarantees of seeing a whale, we chose to pay the premium.

We booked a 45 minutes Whale Watch Safari with South Pacific Helicopters at NZ$650 or £330 each, making a total of NZ$1,300 or £660. This included a courtesy car to collect and return us to our hotel.

There were just the two of us, plus Daniel the captain and co-pilot Keighley. So my partner sat in the front alongside Dan.

This meant a wonderful panoramic view. But through fixed glass which is not so great for photos (everything has a trade-off!)

I was behind by the openable window on the left hand side. So I was able to use my mobile camera with an unobstructed view.

Keighley (ex 737 pilot) at the other window spotted the Blue Whale after about twenty minutes of searching.

Dan turned on a dime and we had a perfect view of this huge rarity as the helicopter hovered above. And I’ve got the video and stills to show our grandchildren!

We had seen dozens of dolphins the previous day with Encounter, so our brief to Dan had been to focus on whales. But once we’d seen our Blue it was lovely to have aerial views of dolphins too.

Dan also landed us on top of a hill which gave us a panoramic view of Kaikoura and the mountains beyond.

Yes, it was expensive, but it was value-for-money for a...

My husband (an amateur photographer) and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience with South Pacific's Helicopters. It's very obvious that their chief concern is for your safety and understanding of how everything works. The staff was helpful in not only ensuring your safety, but also in meeting your expectations. It was a beautiful day where you could see forever. Soon into our flight over 200 dolphins were spotted. The water was so clear you could even see the dolphins beneath the surface. Dan, our pilot, easily spotted different kind of whales, and also took us to a place where we could see a panaromic view of the mountains and the ocean. Also, impressive was the contact that was continuously made with other helicopters sharing location of things they had seen. It was a wonderful experience and another view of the beauty of New Zealand. We would highly recommend booking a flight with...

Our whale watch tour was cancelled the day before due to rough sea conditions and seeing a Sperm whale was on our bucket list. We found South Pacific Helicopter 1 hr whale watching tour and said what the heck we are here and we definitely want to see these giant whales. I am prone to ait sickness but did fine on this tour and we were rewarded with seeing a Sperm whale on the surface for longer than usual. Daniel our pilot was informative and an excellent pilot. After the whale we went into the Kaikoura mountain range for some beautiful scenery rarely seen. The entire trip was spectacular and well worth the cost. Having previously seen whales from boats, the aerial views give you an entirely different perspective. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I highly...