rriving
at Wellington take the inter-island ferry to Picton. From the ferry
you can see many smaller pelagic birds such as Cape Pigeons, along
with assorted petrels, prions and shearwaters. At Picton take the
trip to Moturoa Island which Is the only place that the attractive
South Island Saddleback can be seen. From there, weather permitting,
this trip continues on to White Rocks where there is a resident colony
of the rare King Shag. Dolphins and seals are also regularly seen
on this boat trip.
From Picton, take State Highway 1 (SH1) to Kaikoura. The last part
of this drive is along some beautiful coastal scenery. Here several
colonies of Fur Seals, Red-billed Gulls and assorted shags are easily
seen at several points along the coast. At Kaikoura Itself a number
of businesses offer ecotourist activities. These include whale,
dolphin and seabird watching, along with swimming with seals.
From Kaikoura it Is an easy day's drive down SHI and then SH75
to the township of Akaroa, another township with a number of businesses
dedicated to ecotourism. Boat trips around the harbour will enable
you to see a number of shore and seabirds. In addition there is
a very good chance of seeing our rare endemic dolphin - Hector's
Dolphin, and the local endemic penguin. the White-flippered Penguin.
From Akaroa it Is recommended that you rejoin SH1 and continue
on to Dunedin and the adjoining Taiaroa Heads. At Taiaroa Heads
Is the only mainland breeding colony of albatrosses, that of the
Northern Royal Albatross. Also here are the endangered Yellow-eyed
Penguins, numerous Stewart Island and Spotted Shags and the New
Zealand Fur Seal.
Continue south on SH1 and then SH92 to the Catlins, one of our
premier wildlife sites. Here one can see superb beech forests, penguins,
and often the rare New Zealand Sea Lion which hauls out here.
From the town of Bluff take the daily ferry to Stewart Island.
Here there are good bush walks and bush birds are found in numbers
unequalled on the mainland, even around the township. Also, this
Is one of the few places where you stand a good chance of seeing
Kiwi in the wild. Boat trips can be made to see Albatrosses, Mollymawks
and other pelagic birds and also these trips allow close approaches
to Fur Seal colonies.
From Stewart Island return north via Queenstown and Mt Cook on
SH6. SH8 and SH80. In Queenstown. there Is a good kiwihouse at the
Kiwi Birdlife Park, in case you didn't see Kiwi on Stewart Island,
and this is one of the few places where the world's rarest wader,
the Black Stilt is kept. At the town jetty our endemic gull, the
Black-billed Gull hangs out and here our sole diving duck the Black
Teal can also be seen.
At Mt Cook you should see the Kea, our mischievous mountain parrot
and in Spring and Summer superb alpine flowers abound.
