Clan Haley

Otago Peninsula

Our main plan today was to explore the Otago Peninsula. Before we set off along the headland we went to visit Baldwin Street, famous for being the steepest street in the world. The street is only 350m long and has an average gradient of 20%, but the top ~160m climbs over 40m with the steepest section having a 35% gradient. As we arrived someone was having their groceries delviered in a van parked half way up. We all braved the climb and made it to the top.

Next we made our way along to the end of the Otago Peninsula to Taiaroa Head where the Royal Albatross centre is located along with the only mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatross. We were booked on a tour which gave us a really good history of the headland both Maori and natural. After a short talk we were taken up to a viewing platform that overlooks the cliffs where we saw a few royal albotross sitting on nests. In addition to northern albotross we also saw some of Otago Shag and some Red beaked gulls. After lunch we also spotted a little owl and a swamp harrier.

After a short rest at a local play park we attended another tour at Ortago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance where we hoped to see some Yellow Eyed Penguins. These penguins are the rarest in the world and are very shy. We learnt about the massive population decline and the huge efforts being put in the save them. Our tour involved a guided walk through a private reserve where we saw New Zealand fur seals, an enourmous sea lion, the nest boxes of some Little penguins (some of which even had penguins in them) before we just spotted at the other end of the beach a single Yellow Eyed Penguin returning from a feed. They also had 2 yellow eyed penguins in a rehab centre which we got to visit.

All in all a fantastic day for bird and wildlife.