Seals at play

And here is the video of us in the Shotover jet boat.

A lot of driving to do today so getting underway by 8am was a good move. Several waterfalls had been noted when we looked at the map and passing by falls is not in my book. They just have to be viewed. So it was down numerous dirt and gravel tracks to view them.

That early we had the falls to ourselves but the light wasn’t very good. Only on the last fall did the sun come out and that caused one area to be over-bright.

Horseshoe falls from above

Horseshoe falls

Matai falls

Purakaunui Falls

Also along the Catlin coast was a place called Nugget Point and Roaring Bay. Here a bird hide overlooking the beach became a  great viewing platform to watch the seals at play. Had hoped to see the yellow-eyed penguins as this bay is also one of the preferred nesting sites. But what we hadn’t realised was they are best seen early morning or after 7pm at night. So once more we came away disappointed.

We wanted to make for Dunedin.  For wildlife viewing, it was the place to be especially the Albatross and blue penguins. Stopping at Balclutha for shops and lunch so it wasn’t until nearly 4 pm when we arrived at Dunedin. Then it was find an information centre to book a tour for tomorrow. So lucky that we got on the one we wanted. Only 10 people with a guide it involves viewing the Albatross nesting area, having exclusive access to a conservation site to see the fur seals and sea lions, and maybe see the Royal Spoonbill as well. Best of all we should finally see the rare yellow-eyed penguins. Takes roughly 7 hours and leaves from Portabello (we have secured a campervan site right by the pickup point) and includes a bus ride, 90-minute trek through fields and cliff edges and a stop at the Albatross centre.  Other marine life could also be seen so fingers crossed for a brilliant afternoon tomorrow.

Not sure what this bird of prey is.

Photo taken as we were driving so a bit blurred.