Banks Peninsula - Part 2

Banks Peninsula

Akaroa Harbor (large harbor on left) with Lake Ellesmere (in background left)

Pohatu Bay Penguins

We had a great time on the 3½ hour evening Pohatu Bay penguin eco-tour with one other couple.  The trip in the 4-wheel drive jeep was a bit hairy up to the top of the mountains, than down the windy side of the very steep hill all the way to Pohatu Bay. 

Looking back at Akaroa during drive to Pohatu Bay 

This family owns a 1,400 acre sheep and cattle farm. They are the only inhabitants of that small bay. The bays of Banks Peninsula had been favorite nesting sites for white-flippered penguins for ages, but the family noticed that the penguin population was steadily declining. Through their efforts, they were able to create a marine reserve where no fishing or hunting for shellfish may be done.  

The white-flippered penguins come ashore to nest on the hills where the farmers graze their animals.  We saw hundreds of nesting sites - some of them man-made and others natural. They monitor the nests and keep logs of each nesting site.  The end of January is late in the nesting season.  We saw abandoned chicks that were being fed and cared for (with thawed sardines from the states).  They carried 3 chicks down to a small lagoon to practice swimming.  It was amazing to watch.  

Abandoned chicks

To be released the following day

Practice swim

After that we walked along the rugged hillside, high above the rocky shore, to a series of blinds to watch the raft of penguins resting in the bay, swim to shore, then jump up on the rocks at dusk.  The family refers to this gathering as “penguin happy hour”, which actually lasts from 7 to 12 midnight, after which the penguins climb the cliffs to their nests.  The nesting season is nearly over and now the adult penguins are coming ashore to molt (notice the adult have a browner color instead of the brighter blue of new feathers).  They will stay in a nest and not feed for a a couple weeks until they have their new feathers.

Molting penguins waiting for dark when they will climb to their nest

Lake Ellesmere

On the way back from Christchurch today we stopped for tea and later a short walk at Lake Ellesmere to see the black swans again.  We were excited to see a pair of royal spoonbills at fairly close range.  They feed by sweeping their partly open bills from side to side trapping fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and marine insects, with the water being filtered out through the serrated edges of their bills.

Check out that bill

Pair of royal spoonbills with a white-faced heron

A few of the swans at Lake Ellesmere

Figaro and Friends

One of the highlights of staying in this cottage is the two donkeys that live in a paddock beside the house.  We enjoy sharing apples and carrots with them.

Figaro (25 years old) and friends
(Sylvester is in the background far right)