November 17th, 2019
Near Dunedin there happens to be a spot that is the only “human-inhabited
mainland colony of breeding Northern Royal Albatross” in the world. Wha-aat?!?
I had to check out the Royal Albatross Centre although reading online my chances of seeing them
weren’t super great as it was near the end of the couple of months when they stop
in at this location. Plus, looking on
Wikipedia there are but 60 pairs of breeding couples that return to this area
but who knows if their stats are right.
The drive to the centre was enjoyable enough. I had kinda just passed through Dunedin the
day before and the way to the centre took me along the other side of the bay
with a great view looking back at the city.
I stopped at a little pull-in spot to take a few pics and noticed a food
truck, well really a trailer, but also a little floating raft some 50-60 yards
out with a golf flag and a few target holes.
Hmm…what’s this about. On the
side of the food truck was a sign with the instructions/rules explaining the
dealio. For $1.50 a ball, 18 for $15 or
kinda stupidly 25 for $25 (why does the $/ball rate go up again?!?) you can swing
at the targets. The two bigger targets
on either side were about 30 centimetres in diameter and if you hit one of
those, you get the big prize of a $50 certificate at some establishment…big whoop. The middle target is the size of a regular
golf hole and will net you $10,000. Now
that’s a bit better…but good luck.
The tee offs and the target:
They had a TV monitor zoomed in on the raft.
Continuing along the seaside the road climbed up a windy
road to a rocky promontory where the centre was located. I parked Betty 2.0 and walked towards the
cliff edge where a bunch of seagulls were squawking away. Some resting, some soaring, some trying to
get it on with the lady gulls. I spotted
one bird who fully enjoyed trying to hover in one spot for as long as he could,
just a few feet above the ground. “Hello
Jonathan Livingston Seagull!”. Far down
below in the was a seal rolling around in the water, also enjoying life.
Loved this sign on the way to the Albatross Centre:
A great view while driving up the hillside:
The adult seagulls near the cliff:
Some "action":
Johnathan Livingstone Seagull testing his wings.
A seal enjoying the water below.
Walking back towards the wildlife center there was an area
of small shrubs set back from the windy cliff which logically was the
nursery. Seagull parents were tending to
their young by fending back any bird who came too close, regurgitating what
they could from their stomachs and making sure their babies didn’t wander far
from them. It seemed to be a trend that
most parents had 2 offspring and that the parents were taking turns heading out
to hunt for food for the little ones. I felt
like I was in a David Attenborough BBC documentary…super cool.
The nursery:
Feed me!
Do me!
In order to see where the albatross nest, you had to pay $52
to go on an hour tour but you weren’t guaranteed that you would actually see
one, and if you did, they would have been just sitting in their nest. Huh? I
opted to not bother. If I was going to
see an albatross, I wanted to see it soaring.
I wasn’t disappointed though as the seagulls had been more than
entertaining and enthralling.
I hopped back in Betty 2.0 and drove to a nearby
beach called Okia Reserve where sea lions often clamber up onto the sand to
rest during the day. The first kilometer
of the hike was along a farmer’s road with sheep in fields on one side. Then it turned to rolling dunes covered small
bushes that were reclaiming the area that had once been razed by ranchers. Arriving at this pristine, fine sand covered
beach, I saw one light brown blob about 100 meters away that I figured must be
a sea lion, so I slowly and quietly ventured that way, keeping my
distance. Yup, this guy was enjoying a nap
but occasionally stirred, either repositioning himself or once in a while barking
out a bit, not sure why.
A couple of slightly curious and cute sheep:
First glimpses of the beach:
Pristine...
Nice flowers at the edge.
Sleepy Sea Lion
I laid back on the sandy slope of the dune and laid my head down for a few minutes then looked back at the water and what, hold on, is that…could it be? A soaring bird with a monster wingspan was “surfing” just above the waves, getting a free ride from the air being pushed along by the water. I quickly grabbed my phone and videoed what I could. I’m quite certain it was an albatross and he was headed in the direction of the cliff at the centre, one bay over. Super cool. I’ll put up the video but I think you’ll have a hard time making it out…just trust me on this one!
Some rain in the distance.
The last and random stop of the day was a "shoe fence".
Another good day! I think you need to bring Betty back home I like her.
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