In spite of a very unfavourable weather forecast the day dawned bright and sunny and we decided to visit the Otago Peninsula, just a short drive out of Dunedin. It was a beautiful drive, right along the water's edge for several miles with the sun sparkling on the water. The colours of the mountains all around and the bright yellow broom on the hillsides made us think even more of Scotland and we played our Scots CDs as we drove to accompany the mood.

We drove out to the end of the peninsula and stopped at the Royal Albatross Centre, the only mainland breeding colony in the world. We were lucky enough to get onto a tour which was just about to start and, after a short video, were taken straight up to the observatory to see the chicks which were about 8 months old and not far off being ready to fly. What they failed to mention was that the path to the observatory was practically vertical! Lucky we are both fit!! The sight of the chicks was well worth the strain on the heart. They were flapping and testing their wings which are so long they seem to fold up a bit like bi-fold doors! When they eventually do set sail and fly they will not return to land again for 3 to 5 years, absolutely amazing.

The sun was still shining and the sea reasonably calm so we decided to take a Monarch wildlife cruise and see what we could see from the water. While waiting for the boat we saw a big old sea lion sunning himself on the shore just by the jetty. Before we could grab the camera he heaved himself into the water and slipped away.

The boat trip was absolutely brilliant! The boat was small and agile and we had a great commentary all the way from the captain. We saw sea lions, baby fur seals and plenty of bird life nesting on the rocks. We went round the headland and were able to observe the albatross chicks we had seen earlier only this time from the sea side. Then the real high light of the trip. We headed out to sea in search of flying albatross. We didn't really expect to see one but suddenly there it was, coming in towards us. A northern royal albatross with a wingspan of about 3 metres, so close you could see it easily. It headed for the headland with the intention of going in to feed the chicks but the wind wasn't strong enough for it to catch an updraft so it headed back out past us again. It was in close view for more than 5 minutes. Such an amazing and unforgettable sight!!