Searching for sea birds 🐧
We left Aoraki/Mount Cook and drove back towards the east coast, our aim to be in Oamaru to spot the Little penguins just after sunset. We made a stop for lunch and had a good walk at Benmore Dam where the sun and blue skies had us back in t-shirts again.
We checked in to a campsite at Oamaru, getting a much needed shower, and then headed down to the harbour where once the sun is down there are so many little penguins, the smallest of the penguin species, just wandering about. The one below thought for a while about entering the rowing club before deciding against it.
Next morning we popped to the Moeraki Boulders. There seems to be a lot less of them than in 2017, I don't know if they're all buried beneath the sand? We recreated an old photo anyway. We then went on to Katiki Point to say hello to some fur seals but as we stepped out on to the path and looked out to sea we just caught a whales tail submerge back beneath the water. It was the quickest I've ever moved my binoculars in my life. We hung around for a bit but we got no other sightings.
We mooched around Dunedin for a little while, I needed more thick socks, and settled in at free camp next to a beach just south of the city. The place was full of campers by the evening which makes me feel like we're not crazy doing this in the winter.
We spent a day on the Otago Peninsula trying to increase our bird count. Our total species count for Australia was 111, so I think we're going to aim to match it. We headed straight to the far end and managed to tick off the northern royal albatross first so felt pretty good. The photo below was the best we could get! Stops at Papanui Inlet and Hoopers Inlet gave us nothing new but plenty of the favourites. We keep seeing Paradise Shelducks everywhere in pairs, so I've become quite fond of them. We then walked up to a lovely viewpoint at Sandymount to finish the day.
The next day we headed into the Catlins, stopping to do a couple of waterfall walks, very different to in Aus where we were going in our cossies. It was a lot wetter but we managed to avoid the worst of it. Our aim for the day was Curio Bay, to spot the Yellow- eyed penguin. We arrived set up camp then went for a look around. No sightings, so went back for a cuppa and then tried again. We found one quite a distance away but recognisable with the binos and Matts camera! We went to bed happy, but awaiting the gales that were forecast for the morning.
The next day was pretty much a write-off, there was rain and then hail, and amongst those were winds that almost knock you off your feet. We went into Invercargill and sat in a coffee shop and did some planning. We want to go to Stewart Island, and now would be the time if the weather wasn't so awful. So we're going to keep an eye on the forecast and head up to Milford Sound and then hopefully pop over Stewart Island after.
We ended the day at a free camp by Lake Monowai, just getting us into Fiordlands National Park. We did a walk to the lake lookout and the view just cleared in front of us, showing us more and more snowcapped mountains the longer we stood. We like the free DOC (Department of Conservation) camps. You always feel right in the middle of nature and at night it's just so dark.
Lots of love, Lisa and Matt 💕
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