New Zealand

South Island

The South - including Invercargill, Bluff, the Catlins and Dunedin

Sunset from Bluff Hill Overlook

The south was all about the wildlife: birds, seals, penguins and of course more waterfalls. We were lucky enough to see one Fiordland Yellow Crested Penguin in Milford Sound, but it was really far away. So our visit to the southernmost reaches of the South Island was all about finding Penguins! Were we successful in seeing penguins? Stay tuned...

Our first stop on the south coast was Cozy Nook and Monkey Island. Cozy Nook was this charming little cove with rocks and ocean waves and little else.

Cozy Nook

Monkey Island was a small little island just off the beach, that at low tide you can walk to and explore. We were there pretty much at high tide and didn't want to wait 4-5 hours for low tide. So we took a picture and moved on toward Bluff and Invercargil.

Monkey Island

The first evening we ate dinner and stayed in Bluff for sunset. John got some really pretty sunset photos from Bluff Lookout. Bluff actually had better views of the ocean and coastline. Invercargill was not our favorite, as it was your typical moderate sized industrial port city.

Sunset from Bluff Hill Overlook

Sterling Point Light Beacon Station

While exploring the area we stopped in Curio Bay to check out their petrified forest and hoped to see penguins, but alas there were no penguins in sight during our visit, but the petrified forest was pretty cool.

Petrified Forest

The petrified forest sits where an ancient forest once stood. This forest was in a valley near a river draining a nearby volcano. Volcanic debris flooded the valley and the covered the forest. The trees became fossilized and created this petrified forest.

Petrified Forest. Fallen Logs

Petrified Forest. Stumps.

This flooding by volcanic material happened multiple times over a period of 20,000 years. The evidence of this occurrence can be seen in bands in the adjacent cliff faces. John really liked all the cool patterns this made in the rock face adjacent to the main petrified forest.

Cool patterns in the rock face at petrified forest

We also encountered a sleeping sea lion on the beach.

Sea Lion sleeping on the beach at Curio Bay

Our exploration of the area would not be complete without visiting the local waterfalls! John even found New Zealand's Niagara Falls. It was underwhelming having seen the Niagara Falls between New York and Canada but would have formed a similar horseshoe shape with heavier flow.

Niagara Falls

Other waterfalls in the area.

McLean Falls

Koropuku Falls

While we were out driving we had been seeing these black and white birds all over, but we never found them in a location where we could stop to take a picture until the day we were out searching for waterfalls. Finally, he was able to capture the black and white birds which we discovered are magpies. It is a little bit of a creepy bird when you see it up close, but from a distance they are very interesting.

Magpie

Off the southern coast of the South Island is a small collection of islands, the largest of which is Stewart Island. Stewart Island is a protected bird sanctuary with a small village of about 350 people who live there full time. There are also several lodging types on Steward Island where people can visit and explore this collection of islands. We decided to visit Ulva Island, which is also a bird sanctuary, but has no full time inhabitants living on the island.

Rifleman. The smallest bird in New Zealand.

Rifleman

Fantail

Fantail birds are very tricky to photograph as they never stay put for more than a second or two. They are always flitting about.

Fantail

Tomtit

Brown Creeper

Juvenile Brown Creeper with parent

Juvenile Brown Creeper asking for food

Yellow Head

Yellow Head about to land

Shy Albatross (White-capped Mollyhawk)

Sleeping Sea Lion

After our time exploring Ulva Island and the southern coast, we moved a bit east to the Catlins. Again our focus was on waterfalls and wildlife.

Matai Falls

Horseshoe Falls

Purakaunui Falls was a gorgeous waterfall. We were blessed to see it after a night with rain, so they were flowing and so beautiful.

Purakaunui Falls

Purakaunui Stream

One of the most beautiful spots in the Catlins is Nugget Point. There is a lighthouse sitting high on the cliff with rocky islets (nuggets) in the water below. The rocky shoreline is also home to a colony of fur seals.

Nugget Point

Nugget Point as sunrise

Nugget Point at sunrise

Nugget Point at sunset

In the Catlins, there is a very cool beach and cave that is only accessible at low tide called Cathedral Cave. It is located at the northern edge of Waipati Beach. The caves sit on Maori land and there is a modest entrance fee used for preservation and operation of this gorgeous site. It is only open for a few hours each day when the tide is low, so if you want to see this yourself check out the daily opening times on their website.

Cathedral Cave

The limestone caves are actually two separate caves separated by about 120 feet. Over the centuries, the waves have continually enlarged the caves, eventually coming together forming a V. The entrances to the cave are impressive standing approximately 90 high.

Cathedral Cave

The cave is partially filled with sea water half of the time, and as such there are clams, barnacles and other sea creatures like this really cool snakeskin chitin found on the lower walls.

Snakeskin Chiton

White Faced Heron

Oyster Catcher

There are so many beaches in this area, most of which are empty of humans, where sea birds and sea lions are frequently spotted. They crawl up on to the beaches or rocks and sleep the days away. They can be frequently seen covering themselves in sand, this is to keep the annoying flies away.

Sea lion

Sea lions

Sea lion

What is the difference between the sea lion and the fur seal? The fur seal has a pointy nose while the sea lion has more of a pug nose. Another way to tell is by watching them move about on land. The sea lion is able to use its back flippers and walk kind of like feet, while the fur seals cannot walk this way and sort of hops and drags its back flipper.

Fur Seal

Pied Stilt

We did a short hike to Victory Beach to check out some cool basalt rock formations.

Cool basalt rock formations in the cliff face

Paradise duck

Victory Beach

Did we see penguins??? YESSSSSS, we did finally see blue penguins up close.

Where you might ask did we find the penguins? Along the southeastern coast of the South Island in the towns of Dunedin and Oamaru. Dunedin was a much bigger town than I expected. It is a college town and sits on a very large bay with the city stretched around it like a U. It is here that we finally got to see penguins!!!! The first night we drove to Oamaru to see their penguin colony. Unfortunately, the organization that protects this colony did not allow photography, but this little blue penguin decided to venture ashore down the road a bit, so John got out is long lens and shot a picture of him (in the dark) from a distance so as to not disturb him.

Blue Penguin in Oamaru

But the very next night we visited a blue penguin colony just outside Dunedin where photography was allowed, so we got some great video and pictures of these adorable penguins which are the smallest penguins in the world.

Penguins leave their nests on shore before sunrise and spend the whole day out fishing in the ocean. Then under the cover of darkness or near darkness they come back to their nests. They spend the day swimming and feeding alone, but as they get ready to come to shore they gather into clusters out in the water in what are called rafts and then they swim to the beach or rocks together (safety in numbers).

Raft of penguins arriving on the beach

Blue Penguin

In some of the photos, it is hard to see the blue color of the penguins back. We are taking these pictures and videos at dusk and in the dark so lighting is tricky. There are a few lights present on the beach that allow us to see the penguins, but are not disruptive to them and their nests. The back of the penguins are blue making it harder for their flying predators to see them in the blue ocean. Likewise, their bellies are white to camouflage them from the predators from below. The penguins are only about 12 inches tall.

Blue Penguins

Blue Penguin

While it may look like we are right on the beach with the penguins, we are not. We are on an enclosed platform raised up slightly above the beach and their nesting grounds. We are kept a safe distance from the penguins and their nests.

While in Dunedin, we also stopped at the Royal Albatross Center high up on the hill, with the Penguin colony down below on the beach. This nesting site is the only Royal Albatross nesting site in all of New Zealand.

Royal Albatross

The Royal Albatross are a threatened species and return to the place of their birth to mate and raise their chicks. Their nesting ground is up high on the hill which is necessary for these birds as they need a lot of wind to take off and fly due to their tremendous size. The Royal Albatross has a 10 foot wingspan and are just enormous birds to see up close.

Royal Albatross

The sanctuary was very excited this year as they hatched and raised 39 Royal Albatross chicks. That is a record number for this colony. Once they reach maturity, they then fly out to the open ocean where they feed. They do not touch foot on land for approximately 18 months until they return once again to this colony to find a mate and raise their chick.

Royal Albatross

Sunset over the harbor in Dunedin

And with that we move north and inland to visit Lake Tekapo and Mt. Cook.

Things in the southern most portion of New Zealand that we enjoyed most and would do again:

1. Blue Penguin visits at Oamaru and Dunedin

2. Royal Albatross Sanctuary

3. Cathedral Cave

4. Nugget Point

Additional Costs (in NZD, current exchange rate is $1 NZD = $0.57 USD):

Penguin Colony visits - $50 pp

Albatross Colony - $60 pp

Stewart Island Ferry - $120pp, round trip

Coming soon...

Mt. Cook/Aoraki National Park and Lake Tekapo

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