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Published: April 4th 2009
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Yellow eyed penguin
The rarest penguin in the world. Sorry but I couldn't resist the title. Read on and you will soon realise that I haven't actually been on some wild night out but have instead been viewing some of New Zealand's spectacular wild life. (But then I am sure some might say the same thing if I had been on a wild night out anyway. I think I'll stop there or I'll get myself into some slanderous trouble. Moving on. )
Our main reason for visiting Dunedin was to see the rare and endangered yellow eyed penguins which we were led to believe could only be seen on an organised tour; no doubt the penguins pop up along the coast here and there but Elm wildlife tours guaranteed us a sighting and they weren't wrong.
We got picked up from our hostel at 3pm and and drove along the main Otago peninsular viewing the many sea birds along the shore. The most obvious were oyster catchers and paradise shell ducks and my favorite, the little Shags (a type of cormorant) who were drying their wings along the harbour. We were destined for the headland and the Royal Albatross centre where surprisingly there is a Albatross conservation area.
Some of our tour group had paid a bit extra to see the Albatross nesting sites but for those of us who didn't there was still a chance to see the Albatross in flight and despite our tour guides concerns that the wind wasn't strong enough we did get see a couple of Albatross gliding to and fro on the currents. Occasionally they had to flap their wings which made them look less graceful but they were still an impressive sight but mostly because of their size. Here's the stats: the Royal albatross is the largest of the worlds sea birds and can measure 1.2 metres from beak to tail and has a wingspan of up to 3.3 metres, pretty big eh? Now imagine if Albatross adapted to urban life like common gulls have, picnics in the park would certainly be a little different.
Our next destination was on the other side of the peninsular and to the protected yellow eyed penguin conservation area. The short drive across took us through farmland where amongst the sheep we saw several Australasian harriers perched on posts keenly watching for rodents and small birds. We also saw a Pukeko which is one
Hooker's sea lion
The rarest sea lion in the world of New Zealands native birds. It certainly has a unique look, similar to a moor hen but somewhat more peculiar, sadly it ducked into the marsh before I could get a photo but at least we saw one. Most of the birds that we have seen up till now have been introduced from Europe and Australia and like most alien introductions have been detrimental to the native species. Our guide was very keen to point this out and explained that the main reasons that the albatross and yellow eyed penguins were endangered was due to the introduction of creatures like cats, possums and stoats who are known to take chicks and eggs. These days feral cats, possums, stoats and other such nasty's are on the most wanted lists and farmers are expected to shoot to kill. You don't need to go far to find a T-shirt that says 'Possums. New Zealand's little speed bumps!'.
When we reached the beach we were stopped in our tracks by our guide because two Yellow eyed penguins were walking up the path towards us, in order to allow them complete freedom and without distressing them we had to climb the hill to the
adjacent path. They were incredibly cute waddling through grass occasionally stopping to check us out and to cool down, apparently they can overheat very quickly once out of the water. When we reached the beach we saw three pairs of Hookers sea lions who were completely unfazed by our presence and let us walk past them without so much as the blink of an eye. I have to say I was quite glad that they weren't bothered. Hooker's sea lions weigh up to 400kg and are huge, they certainly look like they have the potential to cause some harm but according to our guide are very unlikely to and are apparently amongst the most inquisitive of the seal / sea lion family.
At the observatory on the beach we sat and watched the penguins come home to bed, we must of seen at least a dozen glide onto the shore and stroll up the beach to their nests. When they surf onto the sand on their bellies you can immediately tell that they are truly at home in the sea because from the moment they stood up their movements became awkward and cumbersome. But then I suppose that there
'funny' walk is what makes them so appealing and it is funny too. As they clambered up the beach to-ing and fro-ing they would wiggle their tails, stop for a moment and outstretch one wing, then the other and then begin their waddle again. Me and Helen could have happily sat and watched them climb up the beach all night but sadly we had to go. On our way back we tramped across the farmland to get a quick look at the fur seal colony who were in full force and as if on cue began their pirouettes and swirls in the rock pools for us. There were mostly pups in the colony and they all seemed eager to please but again we could only watch them for a short while as the sun was beginning to set. By the time we got back to the van it was dark and it was pretty obvious that a few of us hadn't been able to avoid all the sheep poo so the drive back was a little pungent but apart from that our wildlife experience with Elm tours was spot on and is something I would highly recommend.
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