Wild!

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We set off in a full minibus and Rebecca, our German guide introduces herself. She's completing her PhD in marine something or other at Otago University in Dunedin. She's assisted by New Zealander Donah who knows everything there is to know about the Royal Albatross.

As we're driving through the outskirts of Dunedin we find out a little bit about the town and its surrounds. Dunedin has a population of 126,000 people of which 26,000 are students at the university. The town was established in 1848 by the nephew of Robert Burns, Thomas, who was the spiritual leader of the region. The university was set up 21 years later and is the oldest in New Zealand. Most street names in Dunedin have Scottish origins because of the high proportion of Scottish people who first settled in the area. Dunedin itself is the Gaelic for Edinburgh.

As we start to drive along the peninsula we learn that the harbour was formed by a volcano splitting in two during an earthquake, the resulting split filling with water. It's very shallow however at only about 1.5m deep, and it's possible to walk out to the middle. If you try to go any further than half way though you'll fall into the dredged channel made for cargo ships and tour boats. This channel has to be dredged out a staggering 3 times a week and, get this, despite knowing that the lake and its sediment is contaminated with farm run-off, pesticides and the like, this chemical soup is taken off shore and just dumped in the ocean! The university is studying the effects on marine wildlife before working out a solution. I mentioned all the solutions to disposing dredged sediment we've been pioneering in the Broads National Park, but they'd not heard of them. Mind boggles that all this knowledge isn't shared and repeated studies, taking years, prevent action based on others' knowledge. Sighs at the insular nature of the world, countries, borders etc.

On the other side of the harbour we can see Mount Cargill, the highest point of the volcano. A Maori legend tells of a chief who loved to walk in the mountains. Unfortunately one time he was walking he got completely lost and lay down. His body became part of the mountain and that's what explains the mountain's shape.

In the harbour we can see two smallish islands. When the Europeans arrived they created a huge health problem for the Maoris already living in the area as they didn't have any resistance to diseases brought by the Europeans such as small pox and many died as a result. A deal was therefore struck that any further new arrivals had to spend 4-6 weeks in quarantine on one of the islands where a hospital and other buildings were built for them. The island is still called Quarantine Island to this day.

And so to the wildlife...

We first take a trip to Taiaroa Head where we hope to see the Royal Albatross who live and breed here. This is one of only two albatross reserves in the world on the mainland rather than out on islands only accessible by boat. It means that so much study has been undertaken on these magestic birds. It all started in the Otago region in the 1930s when a guy called Lawrence Richdale realised that these birds were extremely precious and needed protection. He physically protected them around the clock and educated people to stop them being harmed. He caught and banded every single bird in order to monitor them, not an easy task as they are massive birds and can inflict quite a lot of damage.

As we walk down to the viewing platform on a cliff looking out to sea I'm the first to spot one of the Royal Albatross skimming the waves. Donah explains that their massive wing span is twice her height, which is hard to believe, until one bird flies right over the top of us - it's ginormous!! We also learn that their wings have three joints instead the usual two that most birds have. This means that although they can just about flap their wings they much prefer to glide and can do this for hours at a time. The birds only have one chick every three years, but all that survive their first time out at sea choose to return to Taiaroa where they were born. One fascinating fact - the chicks are fed by both parents and reach a weight far greater than that of their parents. This is essential as once they leave their nesting area on land they are on their own! The extra body fat helps them through the learning to feed themselves period.

When we've had our fill of albatross watching we take a look around the visitor centre where there are displays and photos telling the history of the research that's gone on over the years.

Our next stop is at Cape Saunders where we hope to see Hooker Sea lions, Yellow-eyed Penguins and maybe Blue Penguins and New Zealand Fur Seals if we're lucky. This beach reserve was bought by Elm Conservation from a local farmer and a lot of work has gone into getting the habitat just right. We are split into two groups, ours accompanied by Rebecca, and we make our way down the slope to the beach. On the way we spot a little yelow-eyed penguin hopping and walking through the undergrowth then stopping to pose for photos on a little wooden plank bridge. He (or she - males and females look the same) is actually cooling down by lifting his wings up.

We carry on a little further and come to some wooden nesting burrows set into the hillside. Here we see a blue penguin chick shuffling about inside.

Finally we get down onto the sandy expanse of beach. After a few ground rules about what to do and not do when going close to the sea lions we approach some brown lumps further along the beach. These lumps are actually sleeping Hooker Sealions who every so often muster enough energy to have a stretch of their flippers or have a yawn.

We learn that this is the rarest species of sealion in the world and that they are endemic to New Zealand. They had been hunted to virtual extinction by Maori hunting but are now making a comeback. Unlike fur seals they love each other's company and we see three boys cuddling up together.

At the other end of the beach we clamber up some steps to a hide where we are able to watch some more of the comical yellow-eyed penguins. We learn that this particular species doesn't really like being sociable with other penguins other than their mating partner. We see one little chap coming out of the sea. He's really wary in case any sealions are about and keeps turning his head from side to side as if looking out for them. In fact it's all a show as they are virtually blind for the first few minutes out of the water, the light being to bright for them. He must get the jitters as after starting of on a characteristic penguin waddle, he suddenly breaks into a penguin version of running, sticking out his head and neck as if stretching for the finishing tape. Rebecca is amazed as she's never seen one running so fast before. He's making a really loud call to his mate who is on the hillside near to our hide. The penguins share this bit of hillside with some sheep and we witness a little encounter between a lamb and one of the penguins. They actually don't seem that interested in each other but it's funny for us to get a photo of them together. All too soon it's time to trudge back along the beach, past the sleeping Hooker Sealions and back up the steep slope. On the way we spot just one solitary New Zealand Fur Seal basking on the wet sand near the breaking waves.

The two groups swap over now and we go down to the other bay via a big slope and some step eventually reaching a look out point on the cliff side. Below us on the rocks and in the rock pools are loads of young sealion pups waiting for their mums to come back from fishing trips out at sea. They can be away for days at a time and some of the little ones are wailing with hunger. There's one larger pool where around 10-15 sealion youngsters are thrashing around playing with each other.

The sun is starting to set so its time for us to climb back up all the steps and the steep slope and say goodbye to these wonderful creatures. A tired but happy group of humanoids take a few sunset photos and then settle down for the drive back to hotel drop offs in Dunedin.

Wow another awesome day in this amazing country of contrasts.

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