We drove out to the Otago Peninsula today from Dunedin, which is another great place for wildlife. We greedily signed up for two tours, one to see Royal albatrosses (it's tempting to call them albatrossi!) and the other for yellow-eyed penguins. It's the time of year for the albatross chicks to be left alone on the nest so both adults can go gathering food for it to grow even fatter! So unfortunately no adults; they can go off for several days at a time. We did see 5 two month olds though, and a fluffier baby I've never seen!
The penguin tour was really good. We visited an " intensively managed" colony; they are rare and endangered. Saw the "hospital" and then went out to the cliffs and through man-made tunnels to spy on them. They are a penguin that likes it's own space so relatively easy to find in their territories. The best and very lucky bit was the last part of the tour which showed us how a group of 5 were being "soft released"- spending time very near the beach in a pen to get used to the sights and sounds of the ocean. The guide thought the pen door was due to be opened tomorrow, but as we watched they waddled out! We stood with a great view of them hesitatingly moving towards the sea, going back and forth a few times and after about 20 mins plunging in! All in spite of a seal appearing from the sea and scaring them for a while. What timing eh?
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