November 25, 2022

November 25, 2022

Blue Penguins are plentiful in New Zealand but cumbersome to view. Since they are the world’s smallest penguin, they are the most vulnerable when they come ashore to their nests. That is probably why they wait until sunset to return. With their dark blue back they can easily hide in the shadows. To make spotting them easier and more comfortable for penguins and tourists, the town of Oamaru, New Zealand has built grandstands and lighting astride one large colony. Unfortunately they charge a princely sum for the convenience. Sunset is 9PM tonight.

At 8PM we went to the Blue Penguin Colony on the harbor front. We got the last two premium seats. This ticket price tier allows us to stroll the boardwalk through the colony. Blue Penguins dig holes in the shoreline dirt for nests. To expand the colony, Oamaru has built a couple hundred wooden box nests.

We have to be in our grandstand seats before dusk so not to scare the arriving penguins. Almost on clockwork the first ‘raft’ of a dozen penguins comes ashore at sunset and makes their way up the rocky slope. They wait in a group at the crest to see if the coast is clear. They then quickly waddle past us through a wooden gate into the nesting grounds. They are adorable creatures, about the size of a small rabbit.

For the next hour, these little Blues come ashore in groups. By the time we are ready to leave there are two hundred all over the nesting grounds. They make all kinds of sounds.The chicks sometimes sound like crying babies with a trill added. On the boardwalk out, the penguins are milling about right below our feet. If allowed, I could easily pick them up. Near the exit, two penguins sound like they are getting ready for a fight, but instead a male mounts his female.

On the drive home with our headlights, Aimee spots a couple penguins aside the harbor road. But when I stop and turn around, they pretty much disappeared into the dark. So glad we spent the money to see them under the spotlight.

This morning, we checked out of our Oamaru motel and continued our whirlwind tour of New Zealand. We would have liked to stay another day here. Oamaru is a pretty city, nicknamed the Whitestone City after the many civic buildings that were built out of this local limestone in a distinctly Palladian style (a connection to our recent visit to Vicenza, Italy). Oamaru got rich in the late 19th century servicing the export of frozen meat to England. The economy crashed when the UK joined the EU in 1973 and New Zealand lost its favored status.

A half hour south, we stopped at Moeraki Boulders Beach. It is low tide and we can see dozens of huge almost perfectly spherical stones lying on the sand. We even see a couple boulders in the process of being weathered out of the cliff face. How these strange geologic concretions formed is not understood. Some stones are perfectly smooth, but others look like cracked dinosaur eggs with a seam of calcite gluing them together. Apparently there used to be many more, but the smallest were hauled off years ago by souvenir hunters.

Continuing south, our next stop is the major city of Dun-edin. Its name is the Gaelic version of Edin-burgh. We have only time for a quick stop in the pretty central square. It is in the shape of an octagon. Because of the Scottish roots here, there is a nice statue of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. We left Dunedin on a four lane divided highway, the first we have seen. Unfortunately, it didn’t last more than a couple miles and it was back to two-lane country highway.

Cutting west across the southern end of the South Island, we stopped for an Indian lunch in Balclutha. It was surprisingly good, and the owner reminded us of  Babu from Seinfeld. Farther on, I smiled when we passed a giant Trout statue in Gore. They call themselves the Brown Trout capital.

Most of the land on the east coast was rolling farmland that could easily be Hobbit land in the Lord of the Rings. The closer we get to the Southern Alps, the farms become perfectly flat like in the Midwest. Most farmers are raising Cattle and Sheep to provide China with their increasing desire for meat. We were shocked to see some farms raising European Red Deer. It is partly for the European Venison market but also to fill the Chinese demand for Antler Velvet used in traditional medicine. When I pulled over to take a photo, the deer scattered but the cows all came close.

At the base of the Southern Alps, we stopped for the night in the town of Te Anau. After checking in, we drove a few miles to the Rainbow Reach Trailhead of the Kepler Track. Named after the great German astronomer, this is another Great Walk. This 37-mile trek opened in 1988 to relieve pressure on the other nearby Fiordland National Park Great Walks. We donned our rain gear even though the weather looks good. We are hoping that will keep the rain away.

The trail starts with a bridge over the rain-swollen Waiau River. It played the River Anduin in the Lord of the Rings movie. The trail goes through Temperate rainforest versus the Tropical rainforest of Abel Tasman. That means more trees, with moss and some small ferns, but no palms or fern trees. We hiked two hours across several swinging bridges almost to Lake Manapouri.

We saw several cool-looking Fantail birds flitting through the forest. Their tail feathers open and close to help them catch flying insects. While trying unsuccessfully to take photos of these fast-moving aerial artists, Aimee spotted two of their nests, both with chicks. 

Back in Te Anau we went straight to dinner at a restaurant recommended by our hotelier.