In Search of Giant Squid

To read the journals, simply click on the date listed below.

January:15-18-20-25-28-30
February:1-6-7-11-12-13-14-16-19-26-27-28
March:1-2-6-7-9-10-12-14-15

January 28, 1997 - Ingrid

I borrowed the motel bike and decided to explore. I followed the road that climbs up the hill and leads to the cliff that towers 100 ft above us directly behind our motel. The view of the bay and the mountains following the shoreline is breathtaking....

I drove past a fenced-in yard with 12-15 emus. It was in a residential area and I was quite surprised to see them there. It didn't look like a barnyard, but instead was a well manicured lawn that just happened to house all those birds. They were as curious about me as I was about them and came running to the 6 ft. high fence as soon as I stopped my bike. They seemed smaller than the ones we've seen in the wild, so I wonder whether they are domesticated. I intend to find out.



I had read about a limeestone cave called The Maori Leap Cave. lt's on the South Bay side of the peninsula, so I headed for that. A 40 min. tour started soon after I arrived. It was discovered in 1958 as bulldozers for a limestone quarry came upon it by accident. Geologists estimate it was cut off from the sea around 6000 years ago. Fossils inside the cave are aged at 6000 to 1 million years old. It's a young cave by some standards and about 300 feet long. The name Maori Leap comes from an old legend that the cliff under which this cave is tucked was a lovers' leap. I learned that Kaikoura sits on a major fault and experiences over 30 minor earthquake tremors a day and an average of 390 major tremors per year. It made me eager to get out of that cave.

Smithsonian Giant Squid Overview Page

gene carl feldman / gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov