Sorry for the delayed posting … once we got back to Canada it’s been non-stop action. haha. Picking up where I left off … we had just been enjoying ourselves in Hanmer Springs and needed to make our way south to the Central Otago Rail Trail (more on that in a later post). It was a long drive to get there so we decided to break it up over a couple of days. The first stop was actually a tiny bit further north to a seaside town named Kaikoura. As those of you who have been following know, we’ve been birding along the way … we decided we were going to do one more organized birding trip — this time something called a Pelagic Birding tour … you take a boat out on the ocean to see the different sea birds local to that area. We drove over on a Saturday and spent the afternoon walking along the beach enjoying the sights.
Here are a few pictures from that part of the journey. Yep, we saw some seals! :0)
Check out this little guy ….
… and then all the people who thought it was a good idea to get closer. haha. Guess they can’t read the signs that say stay back.
We also saw a few nice birds on shore before heading out the next day for our boat trip.
As far as I could tell, this is a variation on a Starling.
This was a Dunnock … kind of strange but a new bird for me.
This is a European Bird … a Chaffinch.
These birds are called “Shags.” We in the Canada / U.S.A. know them as Cormorants.
Then you have the Plovers hanging around …
We got up (relatively) early the next day for our adventure on the high seas. We were going out with Albatross Encounters! A nice business that really caters to your bird-watching desires.
Check out the pictures we’ve got from this trip! We had a nice fast boat …
We not only saw birds, we saw some other wildlife as well!
Here’s Deb checking out the momma seal … and her babies!
We also caught glimpses here and there of two kinds of dolphins. 
But the real stars of this trip were the birds! Here’s only a few of the highlight photos. Even as we were leaving shore we saw nice birds … the white-faced heron.
However, the most amazing birds were the Albatrosses … so large … and so close! haha.
They were right by the boat all the time. The Wandering Albatross below … Salvin’s Albatross above here.
They kept sneaking into my photos.
But we also saw several different kinds of birds because they were “chumming” for them.
It made it very easy to see them … here’s a Giant Petrel.
The Wandering Albatross up close and personal.
Oh, we also saw a few hundred seagulls. haha.
All in all a fantastic birding adventure … we made it back safely to shore and headed south on the island … down to Oamaru for the next leg of this adventure!
Stumbling Piper
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