We were awake before the 0315 alarm - not sure how - but we made a necessary cup of tea before getting ready for our 4am pick up to do a sunrise walk to see the very rare yellow eyed penguins. We met our fellow travel companions, Martin and Carolyn, from Manchester, who we're also staying at the bijou and uber comfortable Fletcher Lodge b&b, by the minibus and headed off to the Otago Peninsular with Richard our guide.
It took about 20 minutes to reach the beach area where Nature Guides Otago's hide is situated and a further 20 minutes to walk to it down a well made cliff path followed by trudging/ sliding down a soft sand dune and then walking along a harder beach. You could hear birds around us - sooty shearwaters going off fishing, oyster catchers and occasionally yelloweyed penguins. As we made our way across the sand we were on the look out for rare New Zealand ( hooker) sea lions who can be boisterous and are not to be toyed with - luckily none emerged from the dunes and we made it safely to the hide. We could see 2 penguins through the dawning light - one half way down the hillside and another at the top - they were calling to each other - eventually and unusually the lower one made his way back up to his mate and they stood preening for ages but made no attempt to go to sea - a day off for them as they have no chicks and there is no necessity to fish everyday - we did however see penguins who live mid beach and from the cliff where we had initially entered the beach come down the cliffs from their high resting points and head along the beautifully sun lit golden sands ( see photo for 4th Jan) and into the sea for a 20km swim and a days fishing. Like the squid boats we saw out at sea as we journeyed along the peninsular they are off looking for squid. These penguins are the third tallest after Emperor and King penguins and are coastal forest dwellers - and like most endangered species endangered because of habitat loss - which now they are better understood is being put back, but slowly. Refreshed by a cup of cinnamon tea and a nut bar we watched the penguins and the well camouflaged fur seals on the rocks below until about 6.45 when we made our way back and up the sand dune and path to the minibus, which was slightly more testing! Back to Fletcher Lodge for breakfast and a snooze before we were collected at 10.30 by Hildegard, the owner of the tour who then hosted us until the end of the day with a riveting wildlife extravaganza of the best the Otago Peninsular has to offer. The initial rain didn't bode well but after stopping at the map, at the beginning of the peninsular, for an orientation we took the high road and it began to brighten up.....and the day gave us all we could wish for including wind so we could see the albatross in their element.
As we headed to a sea-lion haul out we passed a field with several pukeko (blue moorhen type birds) strutting their stuff followed by shallow lagoons with pied stilt and chicks including a hybrid, who was the result of a black and pied stilts mating, teal, variable oyster catchers, a sacred kingfisher and a white faced heron.
On the beach there was a lack of sealions - we found one resting seal, plagued by flies, one relaxed oyster catcher probing the sand and emerging with lots of small worms and then in the distance we saw a sealion emerge from the sea and decided to go and see him - luckily we all saw him but where he went we don't know because we couldn't find his tracks - we did find another though but knew he wasn't the phantom one seen previously as there was no new tracks around him - he had been there sleeping for a while.
Next stop was in Portobello - Penguin cafe - to collect our rolls for lunch - which we ate on the tables outside before heading to the wharf for our one hour cruise with Monarch around the headline and hopefully spying the royal albatross. We we headed by a New Zealand navy ship so followed in her wake. While waiting for her to pass we could see a flock of bar tailed godwits on an exposed mudflat - these are one of the long distance travellers - here for the summer from Russia! Next we saw the nesting mounds of the Stewart island shag - with adults and chicks, there were also pied shags and cormorants nearby. Above the shags you could see a few pairs of Royal Albatross on their 12 month chick raising sabbatical which is the only time they come to land. At anyone time there is 1% of the population on the peninsular reproducing and rearing. Fur seals, young and old were basking on the rocks and swimming in the sea - some surrounded by black backed gulls and their black speckled chicks. As we rounded the point we could albatross enjoying the now fresh wind that gives them the lift to fly - they were gliding over the lighthouse into the coves and inches from the water - I am sure their wing tips touched the waves. Their wing span is huge particularly when compared with the gulls, cormorants and spoonbills we also saw flying. They are so effortless unlike the mad flapping and exhausting looking flying of the cormorant.....albatross are John's favourite bird and watching them I see why. One last new sighting was the spoonbills nesting site - these spoonbills are taller than the ones we are used to and have black bills - I had an even better look at them on the way back when we stopped at a small pond where half a dozen were feeding before flying off, no doubt back to the colony. The real finale of the day was a visit to the cliffs by the albatross centre and watching the albatross from the land - much easier for photos than grappling with the rocking boat (and holding on with a hand hampered by a broken finger!) These birds fly really fast so capturing good photos requires practice and patience - in the wholeday I took 1000 pictures 3/4 were of albatross and I suspect I have 10 reasonable ones - I need more practice - but it was fun!!
My last photos at the albatross centre were of the red billed gulls and chicks - endemic and endangered albeit not hard to see and they are breeding well in this colony. As we were getting back in the van and chatting one gull deposited it's parting gift on my jacket - which we quickly washed off with bottled water - no lasting stain - clearly a sign of good luck!
A great day - well worth all the forward planning and internet research - I would recommend it to anyone - we saw and learnt lots - and slept well afterwards.
On our return we quickly walked into the City for a few provisions as neither of us was very hungry, but we did have a nice large cup of coffee at one of the few bars which was open - and doing a roaring trade.