Friday – Self drive on the Otago Peninsula…in search of more wildlife!

The alarm was on early this morning as we had a date!  That was a web date, with Ben’s family, so they could sing him Happy Birthday for tomorrow…it was lovely to see you all!! 

After breakfast we went for a walk along St Kilda beach, which is just over the back of our camp site.  It was a lovely morning, and the beach was our own.

Back at the camp site we packed up the van for our adventure back onto the Otago Peninsula…this time we would be going solo, minus the guide, but with a trusty map!

First stop was The Marine Studies Centre, where we visited their Aquarium, stopping outside for a play with their cool boards!

The entire centre is focused to the study of marine life from the local area; we got up close and personal with some of these species in the ‘touch pools’, where we met a biscuit seastar (below), and sea anemones. 

The most impressive display was possibly the giant replica of the colossal squid that was caught in 2003.

Next stop on the tour was Taiaroa Heads, where we took a walk along the cliff edge to see the where the spotted shags were nesting.

Then a short walk down to Pilots Beach, where a colony of blue penguins were hiding in their burrows.  Try as we might to see one we only caught glimpses of their heads as they looked out inquisitive of who we were.

Back on the road we drove to Allans Beach, where we had hoped to see hooker sea lions, however even after walking the full length of the beach we had not sighted a single one.

Our last stop of the day was at Sandfly Bay, where there was a DOC hide for viewing yellow eyed penguins.  We had got there at dusk, and made our way along the beach, as the hide was at the opposite end to where we had entered.  It was only then that we saw atleast 12 hooker sea lions all laid resting on the beach…walking this beach was going to be like a slow going obstacle course!

We got just over halfway, and realised we were not going to make it there before sunset…and the sea lions seemed to increase in number the further we went.  So, we decided to turn back…it was as we did so that Ben saw a lone yellow eyed penguin stumbling ashore just behind us.

Just before the huge climb back off the beach we were confronted by 4 juveniles, we chose an escape route through the dunes and climbed back to the van.

Thursday – A perfect day on the Otago Peninsula

We had booked a tour on the Otago Peninsula today, a place world renowned for it’s eco tourism and abundance of wildlife.  We were travelling with Elm Wildlife Tours, a company that runs small group tours that take you out to private conservation areas on the peninsula.

We waited outside our campsite for the bus,

and at 1:15pm we were away on route to our first stop the Royal Albatross Centre.  The centre, which is at the tip of the peninsula, at Taiaroa Head has the world’s only mainland breeding colony of the giant northern royal albatross.  We were apprehensive about seeing them in the air, as they need winds of up to 15-20 knots to be able to take off, and it was not a very windy day.  On arrival at the centre we were led up to the observatory that overlooks the nests, where 3 chicks sat.

As we took a closer look we could see that there was one parent home feeding a chick.  Our guide told us that it was rare to get a chance to see this, as most of the adults spend all of their lives at sea, returning to the nests for 10 minutes every 1-2 days to feed their young.  We then saw this parent take a run down the hillside and take off, seeing the 3 metre wingspan in action.

Once the chicks are left by their parents, in a couple of months time, they will attempt to fly and once airborne will stay at sea continuously for up to 5 years before returning to mate. 

After our fascinating tour we rejoined our Elm Wildlife guide and were driven to a private conservation area, along a beautiful beach.  A short steep hike down to the beach took us through blue penguin nesting areas.  These small creatures (the world’s smallest penguin) are rarely seen as they are normally resting in their burrows.

As we traversed the path down we could already see half a dozen hooker sea lion on the beach and in the dunes.  We felt a lot safer today though, knowing we were with an experienced guide!  As we got onto the beach we saw 3 giant 400kg males asleep on the sand, and 3 juveniles playing in the sea.

As we walked down the beach we got closer to these huge creatures than we ever imagined, as our guide told us the older larger sea lions would not chase us…they would rather save their energy!

We then climbed into the dunes and started our walk to the yellow eyed penguin hide, as we did so we stumbled upon another large old male asleep.  As Ben leant in for a photo the old ‘grandpa’ sea lion woke up and they spent a minute staring at each other…it was truly an amazing moment!

As we settled in the hide we saw 2 yellow eyed penguins stumble up the beach.  This species of penguin are the world’s rarest, and like the hooker sea lion are found only in NZ.  They are named Hoiho by the Maori, which means ‘noise shouter’, and mimics their loud and distinctive call…which we heard a lot of this evening.

You can see from the photos that they have a distinctive yellow eye band.

From where we were sat we also had a great view into the blue penguin nests that were situated on the hillside.  As we leant in for a closer look we got a great view of a little fella!

Walking back we had to take a route through the sand dunes, as we could not walk on the beach because the 3 juveniles were now staking a claim.  As we did so we had to pick our way around the sleeping old sea lions.

We looked down at the 3 young sea lions; the darker two males, and the lighter a female, and realised that we had front row seats for a territory war between the two males!

The larger of the two appeared to have won by the end of our visit.

We then walked back up the hill to the van and descended into another field to visit a breeding colony of NZ fur seal.  As we looked out over the rocks we realised it was scattered with hundreds of mums and pups.

It was a great sight, and we felt very privileged being able to get so close.

As we walked back to the van for our ride home we thought, what a perfect day!

Wednesday – Pounawea to Dunedin, the third and final day on the Southern Scenic Route

As the sun came up this morning we had the first proper look at the van in daylight (we arrived in the dark last night after our penguin spotting at dusk)…it had paid the price for our back country driving!

Our last stop on The Catlins section of the Southern Scenic Route was at Surat Bay, a place well known for seeing the rare hooker sea lion on the beach.  We set off on the well marked track through the sand dunes to the beach.

The path through the dunes was deserted, or so we thought!  As we pressed on further Ben, who was leading the way suddenly stopped, no more than an arms length away was a sleeping 400kg hooker sea lion.  We backed up slowly, and Ben then ventured back for a picture…or two.  The advice given is to stay as far back as possible, getting no nearer than 10 metres…so to find ourselves standing next to this giant was a shock!

It had never crossed our minds that these huge creatures would leave the beach!  As we thought through our next move (as the track was impassable) we watched in awe at the sleepy beauty.  When it heard Ben walking through the grass and looked up, our hearts stopped, and we were ready to run (as they chase you)…but it just went back to sleep!

We did the sensible thing and walked back to the start of the track…and then decided to take the beach route, after all, if they are all sleeping in the dunes, the beach should be empty?!

How wrong could we be…as Nicola, who was walking a few feet from the waters edge soon discovered we were not alone!  A large NZ fur seal snorted and reared out of the water, she ran, and Ben stopped for a photo!!  These smaller, more friendly looking creatures are also known to chase you!!

Walking back along the beach (yes we had given up on this route as well) we thought our adventure was over…until we saw another huge hooker sea lion asleep in the dunes next to the beach.  Talk about a fun packed morning…are you ready for this Tracy, better bring some running shoes ;-)!!

Back in the van we drove to Cannibal Bay, another location where hooker sea lions are often seen on the beach.  This place however, was safer as you had the whole beach to wander along rather than being confined to the dunes.  Needless to say we didn’t see any…only their tracks leading into the dunes.

After a coffee we jumped in the van and drove through to Dunedin, our stop for the next 4 nights. 

Tuesday – Invercargill to Pounawea…”taking it steady” on the Southern Scenic Route!

As one great man once said to us, “take it steady mate”, so that is just what we did today, on our second day driving on the Southern Scenic Route.  We got up early and started our drive, sharing the road with only a few herds of cattle.  After only 1 hour we entered the scenic region of The Catlins.

Famously rugged and dramatic, this part of the south eastern coastline was hopefully set to bewitch us for the day.

First stop was Waipapa Point Lighthouse, a small timber construction, built in 1884 after NZ’s worst civilian shipping disaster happened on this stretch of coastline. 

The weather today was changeable, and we were soon to realise that we would be trying to avoid getting caught in the heavy showers.  We set out along the barren coastline in search of sea lions, which are well known for hauling themselves out on the beach here.  Sadly we failed to spot any, instead we found two Paua shells (pictures will be added tomorrow once cleaned), they are a beautiful shell that house an edible sea snail.

Curio Bay’s petrified forest was next on the agenda; a well preserved Jurassic fossilised forest, only visible when the tide is out.  We had timed our visit to coincide with the tidal change and were able to walk over this 180 million year old kauri and matai forest that had been embedded on the coastal bedrock.  We had hoped to see some of the rare yellow eyed penguin here, however on reading the signs we found they would all be out at sea fishing.

We headed around the corner to Porpoise Bay, and at a windswept lookout we stopped for a moment to admire the scenery and indulge in a biscuit or two.

Back on the road we did the trio of waterfalls that The Catlins has to offer, and thanks to last nights heavy rain they were all in full force today.

First was McLean Falls.

Second Matai Falls.

And lastly, the most photographed of the three (or so our guidebook proclaims), Purakaunui Falls.

A 30 minute walk across a farmer’s field then took us to Jack’s Blowhole. 

Situated in the middle of a sheep paddock, this huge blowhole was no less than 200 metres from the sea, and connected by a subterranean cavern.  We stood in wonder as the incoming tide crashed in against the steep sheer walls.

Last stop of the day was at Nugget Point, where we walked out to a small lighthouse that was perched on a rocky cliff edge.  The sea winds battered us from both directions, and the sheer drops down either side of the path were dramatic.  We looked through binoculars trying to see the infamous inhabitants of this isolated outpost – fur seals, sea lions, elephant seals and yellow eyed penguins.

We saw several fur seals on the rocks below, but no other occupants were home!  We settled instead for a walk to the lighthouse lookout, and a view out to sea that took in the sea worn rocks that give this place it’s name – supposedly they look like gold nuggets.

On the road back down we stopped at Roaring Bay for one last attempt today of catching a glimpse at the yellow eyed penguin.  We wandered down to the hide, and on entering and glancing through the windows all we saw were sea gulls….BUT…hang on, what was that there in the gorse…could it be!?!?!?!?!?

YES!!!!!  A PENGUIN!!!!  If only Ben had recorded Nicola’s reaction – apparently it was hilarious to watch!