New Zealand South Island 2019

New Zealand South Island 2019

Route Travelled

Day 1 11/2/2019

Drove down to Cairns, stopping at Palm Cove, for a coffee as we had plenty of time to kill. Then checked out Centennial Lakes for Spotted Whistling Duck which were reported here the day before but were not here today. Checked in at the airport and bought some lunch before boarding the 737 for the flight to Melbourne. The flight was uneventful and full. Arrived at Melbourne and had to rush around to transfer from domestic to the international terminal as we did not have much time between flights. The flight to Christchurch was also full and left late due to problems loading the over supply of hand luggage into the overhead lockers. Had a nice meal on this flight. Arrived in Christchurch after 12.00am (NZ time – 3hrs ahead of Julatten time). Went through the usual queues to clear customs and immigration. Eventually found the pick up point for the hotel courtesy bus and were lucky it was just about to leave and had room for us. Arrived at the hotel around 1.30am.

Day 2 12/2/2019

Up and off by 8.45 to catch the courtesy bus from the hotel to the airport where we were fortunate to meet the Britz courtesy bus, this saved us a phone call. 

Home for the next 3 weeks

Filled out the paperwork and got on the road to the nearest shopping centre where we could get some breakfast, coffee and a croissant each. Then it was off to Countdown supermarket (Woolworth's equivalent). From here we headed off to Travis Wetland to get familiar with a few waterbirds.

Nothing new here but good to identify a few unfamiliar birds, New Zealand Scaup, Paradise Duck and Canada Goose! Plenty of introduced species, House Sparrow Common Starling and Mallard. Familiar Australian species were Masked Lapwing, Black Swan, White-faced Heron, Grey Teal, Australasian Shoveller, Silvereye and Welcome Swallow.

Mallard

Travis Wetlands -43.4871785 172.69907 12-2-2019

Travis Wetland

Canada Goose  4 
Black Swan  4 
Paradise Shelduck 40 
Australasian Shoveler 1 
Mallard   16 
Grey Teal  25 
New Zealand Scaup 5 
Australian Swamphen 6 
Pied Stilt  2 
Masked Lapwing 2 
Kelp Gull  1 
White-faced Heron 1 
Royal Spoonbill  2 
Swamp Harrier  1 
Welcome Swallow 2 
Silvereye  18 
Common Starling 6 
House Sparrow  50

From here we travelled down to South Brighton where we had a site booked for the night at the holiday park. Late afternoon we headed down to the Brighton Estuary where we had lots of Black Swan, Red-billed Gull, South Island Pied Oystercatcher and Bar-tailed Godwit along with many introduced species, European Goldfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Common Starling and Common Chaffinch. three New Zealand (Sacred) Kingfisher were diving down onto the mudflats and posing for photos.

New Zealand (Sacred) Kingfisher

Avon-Heathcote Estuary--Ebbtide Street area -43.5381682 172.7374619 12-2-2019
Black Swan 286

Pied Stilt 2

South Island Pied Oystercatcher 50

Bar-tailed Godwit 150

Red-billed Gull 300

Kelp Gull 3

Caspian Tern 2

Little Pied Cormorant 2

Little Black Cormorant 1

White-faced Heron 1

Sacred Kingfisher 3

Welcome Swallow 7

Silvereye 15

Common Blackbird 3

Common Starling 12

Common Chaffinch 3

European Greenfinch 8

European Goldfinch 2

House Sparrow 14

Avon-Heathcote Estuary

Christchurch--South Brighton Holiday Park -43.53468 172.73578 12-2-2019

New Zealand Pigeon 3

Welcome Swallow 38

Common Blackbird 12

Common Chaffinch 2

House Sparrow 13

Day 3 13/2/2019

Up before 6.00 am for a coffee and then a walk down to the estuary where we were yesterday. A few different birds were around as this time we had the scope and could see more. Plenty of Canada Goose and Mallard.

Avon-Heathcote Estuary--Ebbtide Street area -43.5381682 172.7374619 13-2-2019

Canada Goose
White-faced Heron
Black Swan
Paradise Shelduck
Mallard

White-faced Heron

Mallard x Pacific B. Duck
Grey Teal
New Zealand Pigeon 1
Pied Stilt
S.I. Pied Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red-billed Gull
Kelp Gull
White-faced Heron 5
Royal Spoonbill
Sacred Kingfisher 1
Welcome Swallow
Silvereye
Common Blackbird
Common Starling
House Sparrow

From South Brighton we headed onto the road north out of Christchurch. The countryside looked quite brown and in need of some rain, the distant mountains looked good. 

Road North

Continued on for a coffee break at St. Annes Lagoon Reserve about 4km north of Cheviot. 

St Anns (Mata Kopae) Lagoon (Cheviot)

Sat on a bench overlooking the water but needed the scope to see the birds that were at the furthest end to us. Plenty of Paradise Shelduck (124), lots of Mallard + hybrids and one Australian Magpie.

St Anns (Mata Kopae) Lagoon (Cheviot) -42.7797321 173.2680631 13-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck - female

Paradise Shelduck 124
Mallard 31
Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 13
Grey Teal 6
New Zealand Scaup 6
Australian Swamphen 4
Masked Lapwing 2
Australian Magpie 1
Welcome Swallow 24
Common Blackbird 2
House Sparrow 6

Left here and the road started to climb and become more bendy. Found a place to pull off at Conway Flat Roadside Stop beside the Conway River. Had a look around and found some Grey Gerygone, first for the trip.

Conway Flat Roadside Stop -42.5997397 173.4184925 13-02-2019

Grey Gerygone 4

New Zealand Fantail 1

Common Blackbird 1

House Sparrow 7

Back onto the road and a slow journey into Kaikoura due to multiple roadworks with stop go signs. The road followed the coast line and was badly damaged by the 2016 earthquake. Amazing how quickly the railway and road were made serviceable to get transport moving again. Got to Kaikoura and found the lookout, where we had lunch overlooking the town.

Kaikoura Lookout -42.4179184 173.6921335 13-02-2019

Kaikoura Lookout

Red-billed Gull 1
Kelp Gull 1
Welcome Swallow 43
Silvereye 3
Common Starling 1
European Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 1

After lunch checked in for our boat trip tomorrow, which was to be a 6.00 am start but as we were the only two on the boat it was decided we would go on the 9.00 am one instead. Booked into the Top Ten Holiday Park. Late afternoon we went for a walk down to the beach to check out mainly Red-billed Gull.

Kaikoura--beach adjacent Railway Station -42.3961374 173.6820298 2019
Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 2
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)2
Red-billed Gull 25
Kelp Gull 1
Common Starling 1
House Sparrow 5

Day 4 14/2/2019

Woke up to a heavy sea fog and got organised for the pelagic trip.

Kaikoura--Top 10 Holiday Park -42.3951606 173.6793852 14-02-2019

Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 2
Red-billed Gull 8
Common Blackbird 1
House Sparrow 2

Pipipi (Brown Creeper)

Headed off to the tour desk, where we were told the 9.00am trip was cancelled due to the sea fog. We booked on the 1.00pm trip and make the most of the time before going to the Kowhai woodland to look for Pipipi (Brown Creeper). Drove down Kowhai Ford Road and ended up at the river, which was turned into a rock quarry with a bulldozer and several trucks in the river bed. Back tracked a bit to a small track, which followed the edge of the riparian vegetation and a farm field. The track was weedy but we did find a pair of Pipipi (Brown Creeper). 

Kaikoura--Kowhai Ford Road -42.3883183 173.6186604 14-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck 4
Red-billed Gull 5
Kelp Gull 2
Caspian Tern 1
Grey Gerygone 2
Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 2
Australian Magpie 2
New Zealand Fantail 11
Silvereye 2
Common Starling 6
European Goldfinch 2

We then headed off to Mt. Fyffe Forest Walk, where we had a coffee before heading up a hill and into a vegetated section. Not much going on in here, mainly introduced species plus a couple of Grey Gerygone heard, but there was an amazing view to the coast.

Kaikoura--Mt Fyffe track -42.3268239 173.5880613 14-02-2019

White-faced Heron 1

Grey Gerygone 2

Australian Magpie 2

Silvereye 6

Song Thrush 1

Common Blackbird 4

European Goldfinch 6

House Sparrow 3

It was now time to go back to the Encounter Cafe for lunch, had a very nice cup of Coffee to go with a pannini. Manage a survey whilst eating lunch!

Kaikoura--Esplanade & Encounter Cafe -42.4085338 173.6856025 14-02-2019

Red-billed Gull 8
Little Pied Cormorant 1
House Sparrow 11

Northern Giant Petrel

The 1.00 pm trip was going out so we jumped on the bus, which took us to the boat ramp. Once on the boat we headed out the short distance to the edge of the continental shelf (about 2 km). Here we found Southern Royal and Salvin’s Albatross, Northern Giant, White-chinned and Cape Petrel (Pigeon). Stopped for a while before moving on to another spot, where we added Gibson’s and Shy (NZ White-capped) Albatross, plus Westland, and White-chinned Petrel, Hutton’s and Buller’s Shearwater. Excellent birding. On the way back we saw Reef Egret, hundreds of Red-Billed and Kelp Gull along with 3 White-fronted Tern and a couple of Australian Gannet. All in all a great trip with lots of information to ID the birds as well as interesting facts about them. Albatross taxonomy is a minefield! Especially for us who don't normally encounter them, let us know if any ID's are incorrect.

Kaikoura--Albatross Encounter pelagic -42.4908336 173.7178802 14-02-2019
Red-billed Gull 200 

White-fronted Tern 3
Southern Royal Albatross 1

Cape Petrel (Pigeon)

Shy (White-capped) Albatross 1
Salvin's Albatross 2
Wandering Albatross (Gibson's) 6
Northern Giant-Petrel 3
Cape Petrel (Pigeon) 26
Fairy Prion 1
White-chinned Petrel 3
Westland Petrel 8
Buller's Shearwater 1
Hutton's Shearwater 1
Australasian Gannet 2
Spotted Shag 1
Pied Cormorant 1

Kelp Gull 100

Shy (White-capped) Albatross

Wandering Albatross (Gibson's)

Northern Giant Petrel

White-chinned Petrel

Back to the van to head out of town, north. Decided to go to Blenheim (about 125 km). The road had plenty of road works, mainly along the coast, (result of two earthquakes), which slowed us down. Once it went inland it was a bit quicker with fewer roadworks and some good stretches of new road. The countryside was quite brown, hilly and very windy blowing the van around. Arrived in Blenheim and fuelled up before booking into the Top 10 Holiday Park. 

Day 5 15/2/2019

Another early awake, up for a coffee and shower before getting on the road and heading north to Havelock.

Blenheim Top 10 Holiday Park -41.5016051 173.962356 15-02-2019

Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 3
Australasian Swamphen 4
Song Thrush 3
Common Blackbird 8
Common Starling 3
House Sparrow 50

Winding road with a few showers along the way over the mountains. North-West of Blenhiem we were amazed to see the only Black Kite in New Zealand! We knew one had been seen west of Blenhiem for several years but we were not expecting to see it. It flew across in front of the camper and into some pine trees - how lucky was that. Black Kite does not get a second look back home in Australia. 

State Hwy. 6, north\west Renwick -41.4720052 173.8052316 15-02-2019
Black Kite 1

Black kite

Had a look at Havelock Harbour where we though we could have our breakfast but everywhere was paid parking so we decided to head off. Found a small rest area on the edge of town alongside the water for breakfast. Lindsay cooked up bacon and eggs, yum.

Havelock Rest Area -41.2753466 173.7637437 15-02-2019

Black Swan 2

Kelp Gull - Immature

Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 29
Grey Teal 2
Aust. Swamphen 4
Pied Stilt 2
South Is. Pied Oystercatcher 21
Variable Oystercatcher 8
Red-billed Gull 19
Kelp Gull 23
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Great Cormorant 2
White-faced Heron 6
Common Starling 3
House Sparrow 7

Mallard 9

Then headed off with a few more rain showers, winding road through the mountains to Pilourus Bridge and stopped at Totara Flats rest area. Continued onto Graham Stream Picnic Area for a mid morning coffee. Not many birds here just a mob of House Sparrow, a few Silvereye and 3 NZ Fantail.

Graham Stream Rest Area -41.1853214 173.4870471 15-02-2019
New Zealand Fantail 3
Silvereye 6
House Sparrow 23

Next stop was Nelson to get some bread at the bakery, which did not sell loaves (Should have remembered from our last visit in 2008, bakeries don't sell bread - at least the ones we visited). Lindsay managed to get the last two rolls they had and a couple of cakes for afternoon tea. From here we went to Sandspit Scenic Reserve at Motueka for lunch. The tide was way out so not good for birds. Had our lunch and walked up to the spit to see a few birds. The wind got up and was quite strong so we headed off again.

Motueka Sandspit -41.1147644 173.0309772 15-02-2019

White-faced Heron 1
Pied Stilt 2
South Island Pied Oystercatcher 15
Masked Lapwing 4
Red-billed Gull 17
Kelp Gull 3
Swamp Harrier 1
Silvereye 5
Common Blackbird 3
House Sparrow 24

South Island Pied Oystercatcher

This time we hit a big range with winding roads and steep climbs, plus roadworks for repairing a few land slips. After climbing up to great heights we started to go down towards Takaka, when we reached the bottom of the valley we found a roadside stop at Uruwhenua Reserve. Here we had a Weka foraging around the area, tick! Not much else here, Sparrow, Song Thrush, Blackbird and a Swamp Harrier over the river.

Weka

Uruwhenua Reserve -40.988062 172.8206706 15-02-2019

Weka 1
Swamp Harrier 1
Song Thrush 1
Common Blackbird 1
House Sparrow 2

The bridge next to the reserve was aptly named Lindsay's Bridge. Next place of interest was Takaka, small busy town. Then onto our destination at  Collingwood. Stopped in the town to confirm tomorrows trip to Farewell Spit. Also to get some bread and milk before booking into the Collingwood Holiday Park. Great location along the ocean but very dated facilities (1950’s retro look). Did a bird count, mainly oystercatchers, Royal Spoonbill, plus a few gulls and Bar-tailed Godwit.

Royal Spoonbill

Collingwood Estuary -40.6780344 172.678127315-02-2019

Kelp Gull

South Island Pied Oystercatcher 127
Variable Oystercatcher 75
Masked Lapwing 1
Bar-tailed Godwit 8
Red-billed Gull 67
Kelp Gull 6
Caspian Tern 12
Great Cormorant (Black Shag) 5
Little Black Cormorant 4
White-faced Heron 1
Royal Spoonbill 32

Collingwood Holiday Park -40.6757724
172.6816624 15-02-2019
Tui 2
Common Blackbird 3
House Sparrow 50
Welcome Swallow 15

Collingwood Holiday Park

Day 6 16/2/2019

Had plenty of time to have breakfast and a survey of the estuary again before we had to be at the tour office.

Collingwood Estuary -40.6780344 172.6781273 16-02-2019
Mallard x Pacific Black Duck

South Island Pied Oystercatcher

Variable Oystercatcher

Black-billed Gull

Red-billed Gull

Kelp Gull

Caspian Tern

Australasian Gannet

Little Pied Cormorant

Black Shag (Great Cormorant)

White-faced Heron

Royal Spoonbill

New Zealand Fantail

Welcome Swallow

House Sparrow

Australasian Gannet

Walked down to the tour office to catch the 10.00 am bus for a Farewell Spit tour. The bus went to the Farewell Spit visitor centre, which is the furthest you can go without being on a tour. Along the way we passed the Pakawau Roost, which was empty apart from a lone White Heron (Great Egret). 

Great Egret (White Heron)

Pakawau Roost -40.5939529 172.6906452 16-02-2019
Great Egret (White Heron) 1

Farewell Spit--Visitor Centre & Triangle Flat -40.5198674 172.7418137 16-02-2019
Black Swan

Mallard x Pacific Black Duck
Pied Stilt
South Island Pied Oystercatcher
Variable Oystercatcher
Bar-tailed Godwit
White-faced Heron

We then went through the gate and onto the beach for a drive until we reached the track to the opposite side of the spit. Passed through the beach vegetation and onto the sandy beach, where we got bogged trying to get to the wet hard sand closer to the tide line. It took about 30 minutes to get going again with the help of two other buses, which were also on the spit.

Tour Bus

Farewell Spit Lighthouse

After this we drove towards the end of the spit and the lighthouse. Along the way we saw New Zealand Fur Seal, two Mallard X ducks, Black Swan, lots of South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, White-fronted Tern, Red-billed and Kelp Gull but nothing much more than this.

New Zealand Fur Seal

Got to the lighthouse about 12.30 pm, where coffee and a muffin was awaiting. We had our sandwiches as well so we had a good lunch. By this time the wind had got up and was blowing a gale. The lighthouse only had a few Australia Gannet, Paradise Shelduck and a harrier flying over.

Farewell Spit - Lighthouse and surrounding area -40.5461633 173.0087001 16-02-2019
Paradise Shelduck 9
Australasian Gannet 7
Swamp Harrier 1

We left the lighthouse about 1.40 pm to go back down the beach, saw more White-fronted Tern and Australian Gannet before we arrived at the end of the spit beach. Stopped along the way for some people to climb a sand dune. At the end of the northern spit beach we all got out to check out a few rocks in the cliff face. I went off to photograph some Variable and South Island Pied Oystercatcher.

South Island Pied Oystercatcher

From here we went to the northern most point of the south Island at Farewell Spit. Climbed up a steep path to get a view of the other end of the sand spit where we had just been at the lighthouse. Only two of us climbed to the top (Keith and another guy), spectacular view looking back. It was then back to Collingwood, where we arrived about 4.30 pm.

Day 7 17/2/2019

Left at 7.15. to drive to Takaka, where we arrived just as the fuel station opened at 8.00am. Topped up and headed out of town to Uruwhenua Reserve for breakfast. This time we had 3 Weka for company. Explored the reserve a bit more and found a New Zealand Bellbird and a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo to add to our trip list.

Uruwhenua Reserve -40.988062 172.8206706 17-02-2019

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo 1

Weka 3
New Zealand Bellbird 2
Grey Gerygone 2
New Zealand Fantail 1
Song Thrush 2
Common Chaffinch 8
European Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 50

Left the reserve and climbed up and over the range to Motueka. From here we took a short cut, avoiding Nelson. This took us past lots of apple orchards and hop vines ending up at Kohatu to rejoin Highway 6. We stopped here for a coffee before continuing to Hope Saddle Lookout - another great viewing point.

Kohatu Rest Area -41.4516609 172.835883 17-02-2019

Welcome Swallow 5
Silvereye 20
Common Blackbird 1
House Sparrow 20

Lunch was at Longford Roadside Stop, nothing special a few old benches and tables alongside the busy, noisy road but it served the purpose of a lunch stop. After lunch we stopped at Murchison for another toilet break then continued on to the Lyell Campsite. This is a DOC site and a start of a mountain bike track. We took a short walk along the track and added South Island New Zealand Robin to the trip list.

South Island New Zealand Robin

Buller Gorge--Lyell Camping Ground -41.7963293 172.0492851 17-02-2019Tui 1
New Zealand Robin 1
Common Blackbird 1
House Sparrow 4

Thought about stopping here for the night but as it was only 2.25 pm and the sandflies were biting well decided to continue on along the Greymouth road. Got to Reefton and checked out the Reefton Motor Park and decided to stop here for the night. Usual old fashioned motor park but clean and adequate – parked on nice grassy site. Went for a walk downtown and explored the old buildings.

Reefton

Reefton (general) -42.1206938 171.8679821 17-02-2019

Common Blackbird 6

House Sparrow 5

Day 8 18/2/2019

Headed out of town for a DOC site about 10 km away at Slab Hut Creek Campground. Nice sites for overnight camping but we were only here for breakfast. Went for a short walk and found Tomtit on a rock in the creek and a pair of South Island NZ Robin foraging around the camp ground. Took a few photos of them before heading off for a walk, nothing much around, Silvereye, Common Chaffinch and New Zealand Bellbird. Had a nice cooked breakfast before continuing down to Greymouth.

Slab Hut Creek Camping Area -42.156532 171.7926121 18-02-2019

New Zealand Bellbird 2

Tomtit 1

New Zealand Robin 2

Silvereye 50

Song Thrush 3

Common Blackbird 2

Common Chaffinch 30

New Zealand Bellbird

First stop was Nelson’s Quay, where there were a few Mallard and New Zealand Scaup at Range Creek Lagoon just before the end of the road.

Range Creek Lagoon (Cobden) -42.4394683 171.2008524 18-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck 2
Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 7
New Zealand Scaup 7
Australian Swamphen 1

At the Grey River mouth there were only a few gulls.

Cobdon (Grey river mouth) -42.4396108 171.1909389 18-02-2019
Red-billed Gull 17
Kelp Gull 2

From here we headed along the coast south to Hokitika, where there is a water treatment plant with dump points beside the road. Pulled up here to check out the waterfowl on the two ponds. Mainly Black Swan, Mallard, Paradise Duck and New Zealand Scaup. There were also 11 Australian Shoveller, two Grey Teal and an Australian Swamphen.

New Zealand Scaup

Hokitika WTP -42.6972432 170.986076 18-02-2019

Black Swan 85
Paradise Shelduck 65
Australasian Shoveler 11
Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 56
Grey Teal 2
New Zealand Scaup 103
Australian Swamphen 1
Masked Lapwing 2
Kelp Gull 7
Great Cormorant 2
Eurasian Skylark 3

Kelp Gull 

Drove into town and out to Sunset Point, where we added Banded Dotterel to our trip list.

(Double) Banded Plover

Hokitika--Sunset Point -42.7209436 170.9532309 18-02-2019
Masked Lapwing 1
(Double) Banded Plover 1
Red-billed Gull 49
Kelp Gull 22
White-fronted Tern 70
Black Shag (Great Cormorant) 2

Drove back through town and onto the main road south (HWY 6) and continued on 10 km to the DOC campsite at Lake Mahinapua Conservation Reserve. This was more like our style of campsite with lovely forest and a couple of short walks. Went for a walk along the 10 min Bellbird Walk, which took us more like 20 mins. Quiet as usual with few birds calling but near the end we came across adult and juvenile Weka. 

Lake Mahinapua Walk

Back to the van before walking over to Lake Mahinapua but no birds on it. By now it was time to return to the van for an afternoon coffee with cheese and biscuits and we enjoyed the antics of the many Wekas around the camp site.

Lake Mahinapua picnic area -42.7913466 170.9071398 18-02-2019

New Zealand Pigeon 2

Weka 9

New Zealand Bellbird 4

Grey Warbler (Gerygone) 2

Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 2

New Zealand Fantail 2

Tomtit 1

Silvereye 3

Common Blackbird 1

European Greenfinch 1

Day 9 19/2/2019

Had some rain in the night and showers were still around in the morning which prevented us from going for a walk So tidied up and had breakfast. Did a quick survey before heading off to check out the canopy boardwalk and cafe which was about 8 km away.

Lake Mahinapua

Lake Mahinapua picnic area -42.7913466 170.9071398 19-02-2019New Zealand Pigeon
Weka 8
Kelp Gull 1
Great Egret (White Heron) 1
Grey Gerygone 2
New Zealand Fantail 1
Silvereye 4
Common Blackbird 1

We arrived just after 8.30 am but the cafe did not open until 9.00 am so we gave iit away and went back onto the highway. Continued along the road with more showers and some heavy rain interspersed with a few sunny periods. Had a toilet stop at Hari Hari (the place where the first flight across the Tasman landed.) Continued on and had a coffee break at Whataroa Recreational Area. Next stop was Okarito, where we checked with the boat tour only to find it was not running due to the bad weather and very high tide. So we organised to go on the 9.00 am trip tomorrow if the weather wass OK. Booked into the community camp ground and had lunch. A pair of Paradise Shelduck were foraging on the grass airstrip at the back of the camp ground.

Paradise Shelduck - male and female

Okarito (township area) -43.2233163 170.1622581 19-02-2019
Paradise Shelduck 2
New Zealand Pigeon 1
Variable Oystercatcher 4
House Sparrow 4

Still a few showers around. Decided to take a chance and go for a walk in the forest back along the road to the highway at the Pakihi Walk. This walk led up a steep track to a lookout and gave us good views and photo opportunities for New Zealand Fantail, Silvereye and Pipipi (Brown Creeper).

New Zealand Fantail

Okarito--Pakihi Walk (Big Swamp) -43.2478286 170.2065468 19-02-2019
New Zealand Pigeon 5
Tui 1
New Zealand Bellbird 4
Grey Gerygone 1
Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 4
New Zealand Fantail 2
Tomtit 3
New Zealand Robin (South Island) 4
Silvereye 13
Common Blackbird 1

Came back down a walked another short track where we had more photo opportunities for robin, tomtit and creeper. Drizzle started so we headed back to the van and took off for Franz Joseph. More rain on our way back to Okarito, which cleared when we got back. Then went for a very steep walk up the Trigg Track to look for Fernbird but no luck. Did find a party of Pipipi (Brown Creeper) and more robins, bellbirds and tomtits. 

South Island New Zealand Robin

Back down from the hill for dinner. 

Okarito Trig Track -43.2283196 170.15625 19-02-2019
New Zealand Pigeon 15
Tui 4
New Zealand Bellbird 2
Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 8
New Zealand Fantail 1
New Zealand Robin (South Island)1
House Sparrow 7

New Zealand Bellbird

Day 10 20/2/2019

Had a lie in until 6.40 am! Up for a slow start as we did not have to be at the boat ramp until 8.45 am for the 9.00 am trip around the Okarito Wetlands Lagoon. The weather looked good and it stayed dry during the 1 hour. 50 minute trip. We were joined by two other birders, Cynthia and Robert, from the UK. Anyway we set off at 9.00 am and slowly made our way around the large lagoon saw White Heron (Great Egret), Royal Spoonbill, both Variable and South Island Oystercatcher, 1500 Black Swan, a few cormorants and Paradise Duck. The only other waders we saw were Bar-tailed Godwit and (Double) Banded Plover. Did see a New Zealand Kingfisher (Sacred Kingfisher). Stopped in a backwater for morning coffee and cake. Did not see any birds to add to our trip list but did get useful information about the lagoon and some of its plants. A bit disappointing with the bird species. 

Double-banded Plover

Little (Shag) Pied Cormorant - immature

Okarito Lagoon (General) -43.1948771 170.2032681 20-02-2019

Canada Goose 30

Black Swan 1500
Paradise Shelduck 6
New Zealand Pigeon 1

Pied Stilt 6

South Island Pied Oystercatcher 34

Variable Oystercatcher 42

Double-banded Plover 6

Bar-tailed Godwit 8

Black-billed Gull 50

Kelp Gull 8

Caspian Tern 9

Little Pied Cormorant 5

Great Egret 2

White-faced Heron 8

Royal Spoonbill 26

Sacred Kingfisher 1

Tui 10

Silvereye 8

Okarito Lagoon

Back on shore we took one last look at the boardwalk for Fernbird but no luck. Did see a White Heron (Great Egret) coming into land.

White Heron (Great Egret)

Headed back to the main road and continued south. Past Franz Joseph the road was very windy and steep in places as it wound through the rocky gullies in between the mountains and the fast flowing rivers and creeks. Stopped at Lake Paringa for lunch in the showers. Beyond the mountains we stopped at Knights Point for a view of the cliffs along with the tourist hoards. The road went down to the ocean, where we stopped at Ship Creek and had a quick look along the beach, 2 Variable Oystercatcher avoiding the tourists. Continued heading south to Haast Village and backtrack 3 km to the fuel station we had missed at the corner of the turn off to Haast Beach. Fuelled up and returned to the village for an afternoon coffee in the van. Then back onto the windy road of the Haast Pass and through some more spectacular valleys through towering mountains and along huge rivers.

Haast Pass

Stopped at Cameron Creek and went for a walk through the forest, only new bird was a brief glimpse of a calling Yellow-crowned Parakeet.

Cameron Creek View

Cameron Creek Walk

Haast Pass--Cameron Creek Walk -44.1559192 169.3021651 20-02-2019

Yellow-crowned Parakeet 1

Tui 1

Grey Warbler (Gerygone) 4

Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 2

New Zealand Fantail 1

Silvereye 7

Common Chaffinch 20

Grey Warbler (Gerygone)

Back on the road south we came to Lake Wanaka, where the road follows the shoreline before crossing “the neck” and then followed the shoreline of Lake Hawea. 

Lake Wanaka

Lake Wanaka

At the southern end of the lake we turned into the Lake Hawea Holiday Park for a nights stay.The park was in a lovely situation by the lake with large shady sites. Plugged everything in to charge and had showers. Only get 30 mins internet and no mobile phone reception. Internet was useless, only allowed one log in as we discovered, so only got about 5 minutes!

Day 11 21/2/2019

Only saw 2 Paradise Shelduck on the lake and 9 House Sparrow in the Holiday Park, not a birding highlight. Left about 8.30 for Wanaka 12 km away. Stopped on the waterfront for a while, checking out the Black-billed Gull, Mallard X and New Zealand Scaup. Took a few photos of the scaup and gulls. 

Black-billed Gull

Looked for  a cafe  along the waterfront with spare seats (large number of tourists here). eventually found one and had a coffee and almond cake. 

New Zealand Scaup

Wanaka--Lake foreshore 

-44.6942465 169.1340709 21-02-2019    

Muscovy Duck (Domestic)7

Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 49
New Zealand Scaup 42
Black-billed Gull 100
Kelp Gull 1
Little Pied Cormorant 1
House Sparrow 5

Next stop was Lake Hayes before Queenstown. Found the Recreational Reserve and a nice spot beside the lake for lunch. The lake had two new trip birds on it, European Coot and Great-crested Grebe. Annoyed by feral goose and mallard -x whilst trying to eat lunch. 

Lake Hayes Picnic

Lake Hayes -44.9897217 168.8094807 21-02-2019
Greylag Goose 6
Black Swan 1
Paradise Shelduck 2
Muscovy Duck (Domestic)7
Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 36
Great Crested Grebe 20
Eurasian Coot 26
House Sparrow 2

Great crested Grebe

From here we drove into the sprawling metropolis of Queenstown. Drove into the main town for a look but did not stay. Accommodation places everywhere with more being built along with more houses. Stopped of at the Z service station to fuel up and get our 6c discount from the supermarket docket. Then onto the Invercargill road following the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu before we arrived at Kingston and booked into the Kingston Holiday Park for the night.


Went for a walk down the road to Lake Wakatipu and checked out the quirky architecture including one house, which has a fence made out of Traction Engine Wheels!

Lake Wakatipu

Day 12 22/2/2019

Before breakfast we went for a walk to the lake where a mystery raptor a flew over, which we later decided it was a Swamp Harrier. Just after that we heard a call, which sounded like a falcon, sure enough it was a New Zealand Falcon. No camera so quickly headed back to the van to grab the camera and went chasing the falcon. It was hanging around some pine trees in the Kingston Cemetery, flying and perching on the top of the pine trees. Spent some time photographing.

New Zealand Falcon

Decided to have a celebratory breakfast in the corner cafe, Eggs Benedict and coffee, yum. As the cafe was next to the cemetery we could watch the falcon, who was joined by a second falcon. They were flying around for over 30 minutes before flying off towards the mountains. Great start to the morning.

New Zealand Falcon

Kingston -45.3332024 168.7157536 22-02-2019
New Zealand Falcon 2
Swamp Harrier 1
Australian Magpie 1
New Zealand Fantail 1
Silvereye 5
Common Starling 13
European Goldfinch 13
House Sparrow 28
Grey Warbler (Gerygone) 2

Back to the van to head off on the road towards Te Anau, spectacular views of the mountains all the way. Stopped off at the Te Anau Wildlife Centre run by DOC for a while. Nothing new in the park but interesting. 

Te Anau Owl!

Te Anau Wildlife Centre -45.4334435 167.71386 22-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck 4

Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 6
Little (Shag) Pied Cormorant 1
Tui 1

Grey Warbler (Gerygone) 2

New Zealand Fantail 2

Common Starling 7

Common Chaffinch 2

House Sparrow 20

White-faced Heron 1

Common Starling

Drove into town and had a look around and bought some bread and munch bars. Headed out of town and stopped at Henry Creek campsite (Lake Te Anau) for lunch. 

Lake Te Anau

It was blowing a gale so we ate inside the van and then continued on towards Milford Sound. No birds here. Stopped off at a few DOC campsites including Totara Campsite to check them out. More stunning scenery again.

On Way To Milford Sound

Fiordland National Park--Totara Campsite -45.0750511 167.9868901 22-02-2019

New Zealand Bellbird 2
Grey Warbler (Gerygone) 2
Tomtit 1
New Zealand Robin (South Island) 1
Common Chaffinch 50

We had booked into Knob’s Flat Campground for a night but decided to stay two nights, which made it easier after our planned Milford Sound trip the next day. Went for a short walk and saw a few birds including South Island Robin and Tomtit.

Day 13 23/2/2019

Down to 8ºC overnight in the van, 2 blankets and a doona! Up at 6.30am and off to the car park at the tunnel entrance to Milford Sound. Spectacular mountains, some with snow on them, towered up either side of the road. Found the car park then spent time looking for Rock Wren without any luck.

Homer Tunnel and Rock Wren Habitat

Drove through the 1200m Homer Tunnel and then down the steep winding road to Milford Sound. Upon arrival we were directed into one of the car parks, where we had porridge for breakfast before catching the bus to the boat terminal. Checked in, had a coffee, took a few photos.

Deepwater Basin Wharf

Deepwater Basin Wharf

Deepwater Basin Wharf

Surveyed the adjacent wetland beside the Deepwater Basin Wharf while we were waiting to get on the boat. Nothing new here, one Great Egret (White Heron), White-faced Heron, Variable Oystercatcher, Little Pied Cormorant (Little Shag), Paradise Duck, Kelp Gull and Red-billed Gull.

Variable Oystercatcher

Milford Sound--Deepwater Basin Wharf -44.6766976 167.9188486 23-02-2019
Paradise Shelduck 13
Mallard x Pacific Black Duck 5
Variable Oystercatcher 7
Black-billed Gull 21
Kelp Gull 1
Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 2
Black Shag (Great Cormorant) 1
White Heron (Great Egret) 1
White-faced Heron 1

Black-billed Gull

Boarded our boat at 10.20 and headed off into the Sound for more spectacular views of the mountains, lots of waterfalls but not many birds. Took far too many photos! Had a good time and met another fellow birder. Fantastic iconic part of New Zealand.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound - too many cameras!

Milford Sound

Milford Sound--by boat -44.6361155 167.8930011 23-02-2019
Black-billed Gull 40
Red-billed Gull 22
Kelp Gull 12
Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 1

Glacier alongside Homer Tunnel

Kea

Finished up on the boat about 12.30 and were greeted by the bus loads of mainly Chinese tourists milling around in the departure lounge. Got the shuttle bus back to the van and headed out and up the hill, through the tunnel again and back to the car park. Saw 2 birders looking at the rocks so headed off to see what they were looking at. One of the birders was Geoff who we had met on the boat trip, the other was an American called John. Well they had just seen the Rock Wren but the two they saw had disappeared, typical. After searching for a while, the wind and rain drove us back to the van for lunch. Then we had two more attempts at the wren, interspersed by a hot coffee to keep warm, but still no joy – major dip. Did see a Kea though.Drove back to the camp site at Knobs’s Flat stopping off at Monkey Creek to look for Blue Duck but none around. Our camp site was unoccupied so we set up camp in the same site as before. Went for a walk down to the creek through the forest but no new birds here so we returned for dinner.

Knobbs Flat

New Zealand Falcon

Fiordland NP--Knobs Flat Conservation Info Centre -44.9776862 168.0176067 23-02-2019

New Zealand Falcon 1
Tui 1
Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 4
New Zealand Fantail 4
Tomtit 1
New Zealand Robin (South Island) 2

Tui

Day 14 24/2/2019

Had a lie in before packing up and deciding to go back to Homer tunnel car park for a last attempt at Rock Wren. Stopped along the way at Monkey Creek and found two Blue Duck, a species we had previously seen on the north Island, it was still good to see them again.

Blue Duck Habitat

Fiordland NP--Monkey Creek -44.8003676 168.0215979 24-2-2019
Blue Duck 2
Great Cormorant 2

Blue Duck

Arrived at the car park by 9.00 am and set about finding the wrens, which was not pleasant due to bitingly cold winds and a temperature of 6º c. With the wind chill factor it must have been nearer 0º c! We had plenty of layers on to keep warm but that did not help in finding the wrens. Back to the van for breakfast, porridge again to warm us up before heading off for a second attempt at the wrens. A few more Kea were around, one taking advantage of human rubbish rather than the rocks. Still no joy so we reluctantly gave up on the biggest dip of the trip.

Fiordland NP--east Homer Tunnel -44.7642 167.9869 24-2-2019
Kea 3

Kea

Drove back to Cascade Campground and did the Nature Trail walk. This started of slowly as it was very quiet with only the friendly SI Robin and Tomtit showing. Further around in the forest adjacent to Lake Gunn we hit a bird wave, Riflemen, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, lots of Bellbird, Pipipi (Brown Creeper), a flock of Chaffinch, NZ Pigeon, Tui and a few New Zealand Fantail. That cheered us up a bit. 

Lake Gunn Walk

When we finished the track and reach the road we found another small party of Riflemen.

Fiordland NP--Lake Gunn Nature Walk -44.891831 168.083344 24-02-2019

New Zealand Pigeon 1
Yellow-crowned Parakeet 8
Rifleman 9
Tui 2

New Zealand Bellbird 19

Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 3

New Zealand Fantail 3

Tomtit 4

New Zealand Robin (South Island)10

Common Blackbird 2

Common Chaffinch 20

Rifleman

It was well past lunchtime so we headed off to Totara campsite and had lunch. From here we headed back to Te-Aura to fuel up and visit the excellent Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre, where Lindsay bought a T-Shirt and we collected some more brochures. The weather was turning from sunny to cloud and light showers. Headed off to Manapouri, where we found the Motor and Caravan Park on the road out of town. It is very well set up with hedge dividers between each site and all new facilities, the best so far. The wind continued so we did the washing and had showers in the individual bathrooms with shower, toilet and wash basin, all fairly new.

Day 15 25/2/2019

It certainly was a cold night with 5ºC in the van and 1ºC outside in the morning! Had a lie in until after 7.00 am and reluctantly got out of the nice warm bed. Tidied up and took some pictures of the distant snow capped Hunter Mountains with the morning red sun hitting the peaks. More stunning views. 

Hunter Mountains

Had scrambled egg for breakfast to warm us up. Had a Dunnock hoping around the camp ground, a new trip tick before we got on the road.

Manapouri Motorhome and Caravan Park -45.5615551 167.6319051 25-02-2019

Australian Magpie 3
Welcome Swallow 100+
Song Thrush 1
Common Blackbird 1
Dunnock 1

Hunter Mountains

Pukeko (Australasian Swamphen)

First stop was Rokatu Wetlands, this was another managed wetland set up by volunteers. We went for a walk to a shelter overlooking the wetland and the Waiau River. This wetland has been re-created by the Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Enhancement Trust and is 120 hectares. Pukeko on a post was new for us! Finished off with a morning coffee.

Rakatu Wetlands Lookout -45.666 167.6527 
25-02-2019

Canada Goose 45

Black Swan 2

Paradise Shelduck 18

Australasian Shoveler 7

Mallard 6

Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 47 Grey Teal 14

New Zealand Scaup 23

Pukeko (Australasian Swamphen) 4

Masked Lapwing 4

Kelp Gull 1

Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 16

Black Shag (Great Cormorant) 2

Silvereye 12

Common Blackbird 2

Common Chaffinch 30

Lesser Redpoll 1

European Goldfinch 20

Rakatu Wetlands

Cliften Suspension Bridge

Next stop was the Cliften Suspension Bridge, which dates from 1898. It crosses the Waiau River and is now a pedestrian bridge. This was the only place we saw feral chicken, our last visit to the north island found them in most roadside stops.

Feral Chicken  (Rooster)

Continued on to Tuatapere, where we did not stop, and on to McCrackens Rest overlooking the ocean. This was a lunch stop and an opportunity to watch thousands of Sooty Shearwater pass by. 

McCracken's Rest -46.2281249 167.6691341 25-02-2019

Kelp Gull 12

Sooty Shearwater 2000

Left here heading to our overnight destination at Riverton, where we booked into the Riverton Holiday Park. Picked our site before heading into town for a coffee. The town looked dead as we walked past many shops closed or for sale. Found one out of three cafes that was open and had a cappuccino and cake. Checked out the Jacobs River Estuary, which had hundreds of Variable and Pied Oystercatcher on it.

Riverton--Jacobs River Estuary -46.3434911 168.0050755 25-02-2019

Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 19
South Island Pied Oystercatcher 212
Variable Oystercatcher 179
Masked Lapwing 3
Red-billed Gull 41
White-faced Heron 1
Common Chaffinch 4

We continued on to Howell’s Point, where we had Spotted and Forveaux Shag (split from Stewart Island Shag). Took too many photos of them!

Riverton--Rocks Highway (Howells Point) -46.3837898 168.0353404 25-02-2019

South Island Pied Oystercatcher 14

Variable Oystercatcher 33

Ruddy Turnstone 3

Red-billed Gull 56

Kelp Gull 4
Sooty Shearwater 2000

Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 8
Spotted Shag 43
Pied Shag (Cormorant) 5
Stewart Island (Forveaux) Shag 18
Common Starling 13

House Sparrow 5

Next stop was Mores Scenic Reserve, a remnant piece of forest saved from logging which has been preserved.

Mores Scenic Reserve

Volunteers worked tirelessly to remove predators like Australian Magpie (over 6000 trapped!) to allow the native birds to return. The forest is stunning, birds we saw were plenty of NZ Bellbird, Pipipi (Brown Creeper), a New Zealand Fantail, Swamp Harrier and two Common Chaffinch. The walk to the lookout was well worth the effort with views over the town and surrounding areas.

Riverton

Mores Scenic Reserve, Lookout walk -46.3697778 167.9974365 25-02-2019

New Zealand Pigeon 2
Swamp Harrier 1
New Zealand Bellbird 12
Pipipi (Brown Creeper)12
New Zealand Fantail 1
Common Starling 2
Common Chaffinch 2

Day 16 26/2/2019

Headed to Invergargill, where we found a supermarket to get a few items for our trip to Stewart Island. Headed for the ferry terminal at the Bluff but as we were early we stopped at Greenpoint Domain. Here we had a walk along the edge of the estuary for about 500m, interesting views over the mudflats, which had wrecked boats and industrial iron work scattered over it. Some birds were using it to perch on.

Greenpoint Domain

Little (Shag) Pied Cormorant 

Greenpoint Domain -46.5729933 168.3023286 26-02-2019Black Swan 6
South Island Pied Oystercatcher 1
Variable Oystercatcher 2
Black-billed Gull 10
Red-billed Gull 7
Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 1
Spotted Shag 8
Stewart Island (Forveaux) Shag 6
White-faced Heron 1
Royal Spoonbill 10
Sacred Kingfisher 1
Australian Magpie 2
Silvereye 7
Common Starling 14
Common Chaffinch 6


Then into Bluff, where we drove up to a headland at the end of the main road. Still with time to spare we drove around looking at the interesting architecture, good, sad and very strange! It was lunch time by now so we drove around looking for the Lighthouse Cafe, which had good reviews on Tripadvisor. Found the cafe, they had excellent coffee to go with our BLT (Bacon,Lettuce and Tomato roll). The ferry car park, where we left our van,was conveniently situated almost opposite the cafe. Booked in at the ferry terminal a short walk from the car park. The ferry ride over to Stewart Island can be quite dramatic at times but was not too bad, with a few big swells and a rocking boat but nothing dramatic, we both survived it.

Stewart Island - Bluff Ferry

Oban Jetty

The terminal at Oban was only a 10 minute walk to the backpackers, where we booked in for 3 nights. Had a small room but was adequate for us. The toilet and tiny showers were not far away and the kitchen was big and well stocked. Once we had got organised we headed back into town and the Ruggedy Range tour office for the two trips we had pre-booked. Confirmed our trip to Ulva Island tomorrow and Patterson Inlet wildlife trip the day after with Furhana, our tour guide for the Ulva Island trip. Next stop was the well stocked supermarket for milk and a few snacks. Checked out Halfmoon Bay from the beach overlooking the ferry terminal.

Oban Halfmoon Bay

Stewart Island--Oban & Halfmoon Bay -46.8984722 168.1286287 26-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck 4

Red-billed Gull 25
Kelp Gull 4
Buller's Albatross 3
Wandering Albatross (New Zealand White-capped) 6
Sooty Shearwater 5
Tui 2
Australasian Pipit 1
House Sparrow 7

Early evening we went down to the South Sea Hotel and on the way had a NZ Pipit (same Latin name as Australian Pipit) hop across the road and onto the grassed school ground, first one we had found in New .Zealand. At the hotel we had Blue Cod, a fish our Kiwi friends said we must try and it was very good. We also met up with people, from a Coates Birding Tour, who had just booked into the Hotel and spoke to a couple of them.

Day 17 27/2/2019

Rained during the night and the early morning but luckily had stopped before we walked to the Golden Bay Jetty to catch the ferry at 8.00 am. Whilst waiting for the boat there was a Red-crowned Parakeet in a tree beside the jetty.

Red-crowned Parakeet.

Ulva Island Ruggedy Range Boat

New Zealand Pigeon

Yellowhead

Bellbird

Only a short 10 minute ride to Ulva Island, where 11 of us spent 4 hours tramping around the paths, being led by our guide, Furhana who was excellent. Highlights were Southern Brown Kiwi, Yellowhead, Stewart Island Saddleback, New Zealand (Stewart Island) Kaka and a Bullers Albatross offshore. Had a few brief showers during the walk but as we were under the rainforest canopy most of the time it did not effect us much.

Rakiura NP--Ulva Island -46.9317443 168.1316757 27-02-2019

Weka 1

Southern Brown Kiwi (Stewart Island) 2

New Zealand Pigeon 12

Variable Oystercatcher 8

Red-billed Gull 8

Kelp Gull 2

White-fronted Tern 6

Stewart Island (Forveaux) Shag 3

New Zealand Kaka 7

Red-crowned Parakeet 4

Yellow-crowned Parakeet 2

Tui 8

New Zealand Bellbird 19

Yellowhead 12

Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 6

South Island Saddleback 10

New Zealand Fantail 1

New Zealand Robin (Stewart Island) 13

Our arrival back on Stewart Island coincided with a heavy rain shower so we sheltered in the small hut at the jetty until it passed. Returned to the backpackers for lunch before finding the French Crepe Cafe for an afternoon coffee and cake. Then took a walk up Miro Cres to a place recommended for smoked Salmon and bought a small pack from the fridge and paid into the honesty box. From here we walked around the bay to Elgin Terrace, where we saw Buller’s and White-headed Albatross in between showers and sleet! Good views of Half Moon Bay from the road.

Halfmoon Bay

Elgin Terrace -46.8965075 168.152833 27-02-2019

Paradise Shelduck 1

Mallard 5

Variable Oystercatcher 2

Black-billed Gull 7

Buller's Albatross 6

Shy (White-headed) Albatross 9

Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 7

White-faced Heron 2

New Zealand Kaka 4

Tui 2

House Sparrow 13

Shy (White-capped) Albatross

In the evening we returned to South Sea Hotel where we had Blue Cod (again!) Burgers and too many chips! It was very good. 

Gull in Boat

On the way back to the backpackers saw a Red-backed Gull swimming in a flooded dingy on the beach but no camera! Went back to the room to grab a camera and race back to the boat but by this time the bird had moved onto the back seat, another bird was on an outboard motor for a few photos.

Gull on Motor

Day 18 28/2/2019

Little (Blue) Penguin

Little (Blue) Penguin

Little Shag (Pied Cormorant)

Awoke to a cool but dry day and a slow start as we did not have to be at the Golden Bay jetty until 8.30 am. Boarded the boat with a Canadian couple, who were on the Ulva Island trip with us. Headed out into the Patterson Inlet, whilst watching a rainbow form into a complete semi-circle. It was a good 2 ½ hrs with a few new lifers and trip ticks, highlights were Fiordland Penguin, Little Blue Penguin, Northern Giant Petrel, Brown Skua plus Bullers and White-headed Albatross. There was also a feeding frenzy of hundreds of Sooty Shearwater. A great trip.

Buller's Albatross

Shy (White-capped) Albatross

Halfmoon Bay semi pelagic Paterson Islet -46.8895684 168.1549924 28-002-2019

Brown Skua 2
Shy (White-capped) Albatross 16
Red-billed Gull 150
Kelp Gull 9
White-fronted Tern 26
Little Penguin 20
Fiordland Penguin 2
Buller's Albatross 8
Northern Giant-Petrel 1
Sooty Shearwater 400
Little Shag (Pied Cormorant) 2
Spotted Shag 6
Stewart Island (Forveaux) Shag 12

Lunch today was the smoked salmon, we purchased yesterday, with fresh bread and cherry tomatoes – yum. In the afternoon we went for a walk down towards Golden Bay Jetty and along a nearby cliff top walk before coming back and walking up to the lookout – just like walking up hills! Met a few birders on the walk but saw few birds. 

Stewart Island Boathouses

Stewart Island--Golden Bay -46.9039234 168.1211239 28-02-2019

New Zealand Fantail

Kelp Gull 2
New Zealand Kaka 1
Red-crowned Parakeet 1

Tui 7

New Zealand Fantail 1

Back to the hotel for dinner in the evening, this time we shared a large blue cheese pizza, very nice. 

Day 19 1/3/2019

Awoke in plenty of time to finish packing up and have breakfast before heading to the jetty to catch the 8.00 am ferry to Bluff. The ferry ride was pretty good with only a few big waves and swells. Could see a few birds out the window this time, hundreds of Sooty Shearwater, a few Bullers and Shy (White-capped) Albatross. Arrived at Bluff in the rain and collected our luggage, before paying the parking fee, $40.00 for 3 days. Then the rain came down heavier than before so we quickly managed to get into the van and head back towards Invercargill. We stopped along the way at the Greenpoint Domain to tidy up our gear and have a coffee and muesli bar to keep us going.

Greenpoint Domain -46.5729933 168.3023286 01-03-2019
Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 4
Variable Oystercatcher 3
Kelp Gull 5
Stewart Island (Forveaux) Shag 1
White-faced Heron 1
Royal Spoonbill 2
Common Blackbird 1

Arrived in Invercargill where it was still raining and very windy. Took the Dunedin road and turned off towards the Catlins. The road wound its way up and over the hills, very scenic. Stopped at Papatowia, a DOC camp ground, for lunch. Continued along the road and turned off for Nugget Point. Parked up along with a crowd of other tourists and did the 900 m walk to the lighthouse viewing area. Very spectacular rock formations arising out of the ocean, where New Zealand Fur Seal were lounging around.

Nugget Point

New Zealand Fur Seal

Nugget Point -46.4475565 169.8165321 01-03-2019
Red-billed Gull 14
Kelp Gull 3
Sooty Shearwater 80
Stewart Island (Otago) Shag 40 estimate

From here we headed to Dunedin along a good hilly road with lots of traffic heading into town. When we reached the outskirts of Dunedin Lindsay rang around the camp grounds to get a powered site but they were all booked out. So we continued into town looking for a fuel station as we were running low but this proved difficult as there were none along the highway. We found a couple of fuel stations on Wiki Camps but this proved difficult as there was a one way system and lots more traffic. Eventually got to a BP fuel station. Lindsay found a freedom camp site at Warrington to the north so we headed out on Highway 1 to find it. We arrived to find a well organised campsite with room for us so we set up among the cars, tents and campervans, mainly all backpackers. Anyway it was fine for us. 

Day 20 2/3/2019

Had a lie in as nobody else was getting up. It was cold overnight and got down to 8ºC in the van. Eventually got up and tidied up before breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast. Left about 9.00 am and drove around to the adjacent playground toilet block. Walked down to the beach for a look at the birds.

Kelp Gull

Warrington Spit -45.7288 170.6002 02-03-2019

Variable Oystercatcher 3

Red-billed Gull 33

Kelp Gull 6

White-fronted Tern 20

Welcome Swallow 3

Silvereye 1

Song Thrush1

Common Starling 4

House Sparrow 13

From here we went back to the main road turning south for a few kilometers to the turn off for Orokonui Ecosanctuary. The road rose quite steeply into the hills for about 8 km before we arrived at the sanctuary. We were the first to arrive at the car park. Paid our entry fee and walked a few of the tracks for about 1½ hrs in some good native New Zealand forest, lots of Tui, New Zealand Bellbird along with other birds such as Common Redpoll, Kaka, Tomtit, New Zealand Robin (South Island) and Pipipi (Brown Gerygone). There were plenty of bird feeders and the whole sanctuary is fully fenced to keep out the introduced predators, which was highlighted by a display of Otago Skink. These skinks are now rare due to introduced predators and habitat loss. Finished off at the impressive visitor centre cafe with a very nice cappuccino. 

Otago Skink

Orokonui Ecosanctuary -45.7767314 170.6053859 02-03-2019
New Zealand Pigeon 7
New Zealand Kaka 2
Rifleman 3
Tui 10
New Zealand Bellbird 34
Grey Gerygone 3
Pipipi (Brown Creeper) 3
New Zealand Fantail 1
Tomtit (New Zealand) 6
New Zealand Robin (S. I.) 3
Silvereye 11
Common Blackbird 6
Lesser Redpoll 8
House Sparrow 8

Tomtit - male

Tomtit - immature male

House Sparrow

Then back to the main highway 1 to head north before we turned off for Shag Rock. Stopped at a picnic area just before the rocks for lunch. Then down to the rocks where we actually met a local birdo who was also an occasional bird guide. Had a chat with him as we watched Juvenile Australian Gannet and Spotted Shag as well as counting the White-fronted Tern on the rocks below, which were shared with a few NZ Fur Seal. Went a bit further around the point and found Otago Shag, lifer and trip tick.

Australasian Gannet

Shag Point -45.4767853 170.8257347 02-03-2019

Red-billed Gull 2
Kelp Gull 5
White-fronted Tern 372
Australasian Gannet 5
Spotted Shag 13
Stewart Island (Otago) Shag 12
Tui 1
Welcome Swallow 2
Silvereye 2
House Sparrow 1

Back to the main highway heading to Oamaru. Reached the town and were surprised at how large it was and also impressed by the architecture. Lots of tourists around as we made our way down to the old wharf were the shags and gulls hang out. Plenty of Spotted Shag (250+), Stewart Island (Otago) Shag (100+), 150+ White-fronted Tern plus Red-billed Gull.

Oamaru--Harbour -45.1080629 170.9776905 02-03-2019

Red-billed Gull 80

Kelp Gull 2

White-fronted Tern 150 estimate

Little Pied Cormorant 8

Spotted Shag 250

Stewart Island (Otago) Shag 100 estimate

Welcome Swallow 2

House Sparrow 2

Spotted Shag

     Stewart Island (Otago) Shag

Steampunk HQ

Left Oamaru and headed inland along the Waitaki Valley and stopped at Duntroon as we saw a row of vintage cars at the side if the road. Plenty of people around who were here for the re-opening of the Duntroon Hotel. The vintage cars were parked alongside the hotel and were mainly fords, Prefect, Consul, Zepher, Zodiac plus a couple of American cars.

50's and 60's Vintage Cars

50's and 60's Vintage Cars

Californian Quail

While we were looking at these 3 adult Californian Quail plus 6 chicks crossed the road, trip tick.

Duntroon -44.8579013 170.6904905 02-03-2019
California Quail 9

Continue on to Kurkow our overnight stop in the Holiday Park. Booked in and found a site down by the river.

Kurow Holiday Park -44.7264809 170.4677358 02-03-2019

Mallard 3
Welcome Swallow 2
Dunnock 2
House Sparrow 3

Day 21 3/3/2019

Left the Kurow Holiday Park in the sun with stunning views but soon started to disappear into the low cloud with no views. Headed into Twizzle and found a cafe open. Had a big breakfast – very naughty! Washed this down with a very nice coffee and were set for the day. Outside the cafe was an excellent pair of Black Stilt sculptures.

Black Stilt Sculptures

First we went looking at a site for Black Stilt along the canal, where there were a few wetlands on the opposite side of the canal road. Looked at one but no Black Stilt, the second one looked empty but a Black Stilt appeared and disappeared just as quick, a 10 sec look enough to identify – great. This location was labeled as Lake Merino (Waterwheel Wetland).

Black Swan

Waterwheel Wetland--eastern end -44.2045433 170.0902435 03-03-2019
Black Swan 20
Australian Magpie 2
Eurasian Skylark 7
Welcome Swallow 3
Australian Magpie 2
Eurasian Skylark 7
Welcome Swallow 3
Paradise Shelduck 52
Black Stilt 1
Great Cormorant 1
Swamp Harrier 1
Australian Magpie 2
Eurasian Skylark 7
Welcome Swallow 3

A few hundred meters further along we came to Lake Poaka, where there is free camping. It is a large area with toilet facilities and sites strung out along the edge of the lake. Stopped here to do some birding, most exciting find was a group of about 20 Fairy Martin flying high above the lake twittering as they flew. A Kelp Gull swooped down and grabbed a fish besides us before carrying it away to the far side of the shore to devour it.

Lake Poaka -44.2054043 170.1000738 03-03-2019
Paradise Shelduck 6
Mallard 16
Grey Teal 22
New Zealand Scaup 15
Kelp Gull 1
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Grey Gerygone 5
Welcome Swallow 30
Fairy Martin 20
Common Blackbird 1
Dunnock 1
Common Chaffinch 2

Lake Poaka

Left the lake and headed for Lake Tekapo getting views of the Mt. Cook Range along the way.

Mt. Cook Range

We were heading for Lake Murray, which is another site for Black Stilt.  Arrived and scanned the lake but no Black Stilt to  be seen so we had lunch whilst still looking. Finished lunch and a Black Stilt came into view for photos and a Lindsay video. Wrybill Tours then turned up with leader Brent Stevenson and parked up for their lunch. Another Black Stilt then came into view, two-wow.

Black Stilt

Tekapo--Lake Murray -43.9042469 170.4703876 03-03-2019

Canada Goose 13

Black Swan 37

Paradise Shelduck 60

Australasian Shoveler 6

Mallard 37

Black Stilt 2

Grey Teal 32

New Zealand Scaup 36

White-faced Heron 1

Masked Lapwing 2

Black-fronted Tern 3

Swamp Harrier 1

Lake Murray

Had a chat with Brent who told us where to look for Chucker up on the hill by the Observatory. We were going up the observatory road anyway so off we went. There is an $8.00 fee to go up the road, which is narrow and steep. Got to the top and set about looking for the introduced Chucker but no luck so we had a good cup of coffee at the cafe overlooking the turquoise blue Lake Tekapo.  Water from glaciers in the headwaters of the lake grind rock into a fine dust as they travel down to the lake. This fine dust is then suspended in the waters of the lake causing the bright turquoise blue colour.

Tekapo

From the observatory we went back through Lake Tekapo and followed the Christchurch road towards Geraldine. Stopped at Burkes Pass where an antique shop complete with a quirky garage was set up with vintage pumps and signs plus lots of other transport memorabilia.

Burke's Pass Memorabilia Shop

Lindsay went off to check out the church. Continued on to Geraldine where we booked into Grumpy’s Retreat and had a powered site for the night. The rest of the time was spent getting organised for tomorrow. Caught up with eBird surveys. Not so early night 10.00pm.

Day 22 4/3/2019

Our last day with the campervan so we packed everything up  before breakfast – eggs, ham and tomato, last cooked breakfast for awhile! Managed some birding in the fog before joining the main Christchurch Highway and a stream of traffic.

Grumpy's Retreat "n" Holiday Park -44.04645 171.2630796 04-03-2019

Song Thrush 1
Common Blackbird 2
Common Starling 8
Dunnock 1
House Sparrow 6

Stopped off at Rolleston Reserve for a loo stop and a coffee.

Rolleston Reserve -43.5949391 172.3818831 04-03-2019
Welcome Swallow 1
Common Starling 1
House Sparrow 2

Common Starling

Continued onto Christchurch and found a place to park near the Botanic Gardens. Had a walk around the gardens and ended up at the cafe for lunch. Had a nice lunch Chicken Roll and a wrap with coffee.

Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Christchurch--Botanic Gardens -43.5296646 172.6198483 04-03-2019
Canada Goose 8
Mallard x Pacific Bl. Duck 36
New Zealand Scaup 2
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)1
Red-billed Gull 37
Kelp Gull 2
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Song Thrush 5
Common Blackbird 6
House Sparrow 31

After this we headed to our overnight hotel to drop off our luggage. Then off to Britz to return the campervan, no problems there. Caught the courtesy bus to the airport where we caught the hotel courtesy bus. In the evening we walked down to a Thai restaurant 20 minutes away. Had a very nice meal in a surprisingly good venue. Walked back and organised the cases and our clothes for tomorrows early start at 4.15 am.

Day 23 5/3/2019

Woke up at 3.00 am, far too early. Got up at 4.15, had a coffee and got the cases ready for the taxi who arrived at 4.45 am to take us to the airport. The fare was only $20.00, was expecting more. Joined the queue to check in before realising the shorter queue was for online check ins, this save us lots of time. Had another coffee to wake up and sat down to do some internet. Got engrossed in reading online magazine and failed to hear the boarding call. Next we know is our names being read out to get to the boarding gate pronto! No problem as we joined the back of the queue to board the plane, we were the last two to get on. Changed at Brisbane onto Cairns flight getting there nearly 30 minutes late. End of holiday.

Coming into Cairns