Our first intended stopping point was The Nuggets but we couldn't resist the stop at Kaka Point to check out the views. It was so windy that I needed a very fast shutter speed to freeze the movement of the foreground grasses in the view over Molyneux Bay so I bumped the ISO up to 1600 for this shot.
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| Molyneux Bay from Kaka Point, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 @ 10mm, ISO 1600, f/8 1/3200 |
It was a little calmer around the corner.
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| The Nuggets from Kaka Point, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 @ 20mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
When we reached The Nuggets, it was raining heavily so we opted for a quick view from the lookout near the car park but declined the longer walk to the lighthouse. The tiny white dots in the vegetation on the right side of the large conical rock in the mid ground are Royal Spoonbill, the second place in New Zealand where we saw them precariously roosting on rugged oceanic coastlines (we saw them earlier in the week at Taiaroa Head), having never seen this in Australia.
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| View from Lookout at Nugget Point, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 @ 10mm, ISO 1600, f/8 1/3200 |
When we returned to Kaka Point, we found a flock of Black-backed Gulls (= Kelp Gulls) on the beach at Kaka Point with The Nuggets in the background just as the sun came out.
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| Black-backed Gull, Kaka Point Beach, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm, ISO 400, f/6.3 1/2000 |
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| Black-backed Gull, Kaka Point, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/6.3 1/2000 |
As the rain returned, we decided that the best place to be was the rainforest so we headed for Purakaunui Falls,
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| Purakaunui Falls, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 @ 10 mm, ISO 80 f/22 0.4 sec |
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| Rainforest floor at Purakaunui Falls, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 @ 20 mm, ISO 80, f/8 1/6 |
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| Path at Purakaunui Falls, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 1600, f2.8 1/500 |
As we walked through the rainforest to and from the falls, we saw several small dark birds with flashes of white and yellow but it was not until right at the end of the walk back near the car park that one of the Tomtits sat still long enough to be photographed.
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| Tomtit, Purakaunui Falls, Otago NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200 @ 200 mm, ISO 1600, f/2.8 1/1600 |
The other place I wanted to see was the Petrified Forest at Curio Bay. The rock platform on the beach has many petrified tree trunks exposed in the rocks at low tide.
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| Petrified Forest, Curio Bay, Southland, NZ Pentax K-5, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/1250 |
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| Petrified Forest, Curio Bay, Southland, NZ Pentax K-5, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/1000 |
While photographing the petrified logs in the rocks, I spotted a Variable Oystercatcher nearby.
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| Variable Oystercatcher, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @200mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/320 |
Not far away was its mate with two small chicks.
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| Variable Oystercatcher, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @200mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/500 |
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| Variable Oystercatcher, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @200mm, ISO 400, f/8 1/500 |
Neither of us has ever seen Oystercatchers with chicks before so we were enthralled watching these tiny, bobble-heads wandering around the rocky reef ably defended by their parents, so much so that neither of us noticed the Yellow-eyed Penguin scramble out of the water right beside me (we had to be alerted by another couple waving at us and pointing at the penguin).
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm @200mm, f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8 1/640 |
I took a few steps back to give the penguin more space and get a shot of it with wider surrounds.
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
Jo managed to capture me taking the shot above.
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| Curio Bay, Southland NZ (Photo courtesy Joanne Smissen) |
The penguin seemed unperturbed by us and the other ten or so people on the beach watching it at a respectful distance. It walked right by me less than ten metres away.
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
feet audibly plopping through the shallow puddles left by the receding tide.
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/1000 |
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
Occasionally stopping for a stretch, before heading into the dunes.
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| Yellow-eyed Penguin, Curio Bay, Southland NZ Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @70mm ISO 400, f/5.6 1/800 |
I have had some great wildlife experiences in my life but this one will be remembered as one of the special ones but it was time to head back to Dunedin as we had another experience booked and paid for at the Royal Albatross Centre.
Great stuff Ian, enjoyed it, tech details too were interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Duncan :-)
DeleteWonderful post andI especially loved seeing the Penguin.
ReplyDelete