Tuesday, January 31, 2023
First day on Kangaroo Island
Monday, January 30, 2023
South Australia Birding
We spent today (12 full hours) on a birding trip with a local guide. We visited bush land, wetlands and mountainsides on the outskirts of Adelaide. We saw 85 species of birds, as well as koala, and 2 types of kangaroo: Eastern Gray and Red. The Red Kangaroos are typically found in the central dry bush country. Where we saw them is on the very eastern edge of their range. Unlike the dry year being experienced in southern New Zealand, southern Australia has had a very wet spring and early summer. This has enabled many migratory bird species to delay their migration, as their winter homes are less inhospitable than usual. This was a disappointment to our guide, but of course we were happy with what we did get to see.
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Adelaide walkabout
Sunday, January 29
Saturday, January 28, 2023
On to Adelaide
Our luck with weather (at least the weather we experience) continues to hold: the overnight rain in Christchurch cleared by morning and the heat wave in Adelaide broke before we arrived. But torrential thunderstorms (nearly 10 inches of rain in 24 hours) closed the Auckland airport last night and diverted ALL international flights to Christchurch, a situation that continued through this morning. The Christchurch airport was a zoo. We were lucky to have our flight to Melbourne take off only an hour late and we made our connection to Adelaide. Some of our companions from the New Zealand trip are stuck in Christchurch till Monday!
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Last day in New Zealand (for now)
January 27
Arthur’s Pass
January 26
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Mountains and odd creatures
January 25
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Lake Moeraki
Monday, January 23, 2023
Up the southwest coast
Monday January 23
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Lake Wanaka
This morning we took a 20 minute skiff ride on Lake Wanaka to reach Mou Waho Island. The island is a predator free sanctuary for the Buff Weka, a different species of Weka than the one we saw on Stewart Island. The Buff Weka is smaller, paler and even less frightened of people. They have been extinct on the mainland of New Zealand for over one hundred years, and it has been a struggle to save them from the stoats that invaded previous sanctuaries. We saw several weka as we hiked up to a lake, where we were rewarded with tea and biscuits overlooking “an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island”. After tea we continued up to the summit for amazing views. The complete hike climbed 600 feet in 1.3 km — a little steep! The landscape around Lake Wanaka is quite dramatic and includes mountainsides used in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.
Milford Sound
Today we were up before dawn, driving two hours north along the west edge of the fiordland mountains to Milford. We were the first ship out on Milford Sound; the day was clear, the water was calm, and without other boats it was quiet. Our ship can hold over 100 passengers but our little group had it all to ourselves — it was wonderful, we could freely wander about the ship and have no fear of being photo bombed.
Friday, January 20, 2023
Travel day with takahe
Today was another travel day, flying from Stewart Island to Invercargill, then driving along the coastal road to Te Anau near the entrance to Fiordland National Park. Along the way we stopped in Riverton to visit the local museum, in Orepiki for lunch, at Lake Manipouri for a walk, and at the Lake Te Anau Bird Sanctuary to see Takahe. It rained all morning and cleared about lunchtime. The rain was a blessing as the south and Stewart island had been without serious rainfall for nearly a month.
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Stewart Island by sea and land
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Traveling south
Wednesday, January 18