New Zealand 2023: Portobello to Invercargill

After a cold night we got up around 7am and quickly headed for the more comfortable temperature of the kitchen and eating building. By the time we had breakfast the outside temperature was much more agreeable and we packed up and headed for the northern tip of the Otago Peninsula where the only mainland royal albatross colony is located. There is no public access to the colony other than through the Royal Albatross Centre, operated by a conservation trust, that monitors the colony and ensures the eggs have the best chance of hatching and the chicks have the best chance of making it to adulthood. We booked the 10:30am tour and were given an introduction about the albatross, watched a short film and then walked up the hill to the observatory from which you can watch albatrosses (from behind glass) sitting on their nests and now and again fly over. There was one nest in particular where the parent would now and again move and uncover the very white and fluffy chick it was sitting on. Binoculars were provided and everybody had lots of time to watch and take pictures or shoot videos. The tour was an hour altogether and definitely worthwhile. The royal albatross, with its impressive wingspan of three metres and e.g. its ability to fly incredible distances without touching land, is a fascinating bird.

Our next stop was New Zealand's only castle, Larnach Castle, which also located on the Otago Peninsula, a short and very scenic drive from the Royal Albatross Centre. We just paid for access to the very nice gardens and strolled through them, while viewing the castle from the outside. Larnach Castle a large mansion built in 1871 which fell into disrepair until it was purchased by a family in 1967 and restored.

The Catlins area a good hour south of Dunedin was our next destination for the day. It is a very scenic coastal area with lots of natural features worth seeing and opportunities to see wildlife. We stopped at and walked to the Nugget Point lighthouse and after that stopped at nearby Roaring Bay where we walked to a hideout overlooking the beach. There we waited for 20 minutes or so hoping to see yellow-eyed penguins come ashore for the night but even though they may come ashore as early as 4pm and we were there at at time, it likely was a little early for them to come home and we did not see any. As we had limited time we only stopped at a number of the things to see, including at the Purakaunui Falls which were nice although they would have been even nicer with more water flowing down them. Curio Bay was our stop after that. There is a petrified forest which can be seen at low tide and there is a yellow-eyed penguin colony so penguins come ashore for the night here as well. There is a DOC campground there as well with quite a few people staying in it. The tide was still low enough for us to see the petrified forest which was nice. Although by now it was close to 6:30pm and there were quite a few people patiently waiting for penguins to arrive, no penguins arrived during the 20 minutes or so we were there. The Waipapa lighthouse was our final stop in the Catlins. The Waipapa lighthouse was built following New Zealand's worst civilian shipwreck in which 131 of 151 passengers and crew died when the SS Tararua ran aground on the Waipapa Reef in 1881. We walked to it and and also to some of the bent trees in the area, trees that have grown almost sideways as a result of the wind.

We ended up at a holiday park on the edge of Invercargill for the night where we pulled in just after 8:30pm and pitched our tent to the occasional sound of a nearby sheep bleating - very New Zealand.

LINKS TO VIDEOS:

Albatross with sanctuary worker

Albatross flying over

Albatross on nest with chick

Albatross on nest with chick (2)

Shags on rocks