New Zealand - Whangateau to Waipu Cove
Whangateau
to Waipu Cove
Day 4 - December 15th 2008
The original plan was to spend the day at Whangateau and check out the Goat Island Marine Reserve which was just a short distance away. Weather determined that for us with cloudy skies, cold winds and a chance for rain, which made the idea of snorkeling less than inviting (sigh). So instead we headed north from Whangateau and stopped at a lovely nature reserve at Pakiri Beach for lunch. At Pakiri Beach we enjoyed multiple sightings of endangered New Zealand Dotterills, Eastern Rosellas, Kingfishers, Pukekos, Australasian Harriers, Caspian Terns, Paradise Shelducks and Spur-winged Plovers. The bird sightings have been amazing since of course each bird is totally new to us, making each sighting very exciting!
After a few hours of driving we ended up at an awesome facility in Waipu Cove called “Waipu Cove Cottages & Camping” which next to the Waipu Cove Wildlife Refuge and a gorgeous beach! Yippie! The owners, Sharlene & Paul were very nice and told us to take one of their dinghies (row boat) to check out the Shag tree, and so we did! The Shags (we call Cormorants back home) were beautiful to see and we got close enough to see many nests in the trees with many chicks. It’s the summer breeding season down here now so we came at a great time for birding!
The Waipu Cover Shag tree!
a closer look at the Shags (although not the best quality ;)
Chris did all the hard work to get us there! ^*^
After we checked out the Shag tree we then hiked a mile and a half up through the sand dunes hoping to see another local bird, the endangered Fairy Tern. The Fairy Tern is critically endangered, there are between 30 & 38 left in the world, only found in the North Island of NZ and after a long hike searching for the birds, we were pleasantly surprised to see a Department of Conservation volunteer birder, Anya, keeping a close eye on a nesting Fairy Tern and keeping immaculate notes. Unfortunately, when we did walk up to the area, the female Fairy Tern had flown over to us, little did we know, to guard her nest from our intrusion (eek!). Thankfully our disturbance was minimal & thanks to Anya’s help we were able to watch a female Fairy Tern that had just laid an egg, and also view her male partner continually flying to her dropping off food, while she incubated the newly laid egg!!
We spent another lovely night at Waipu Cove Cottages & Camping. We also learned a valuable lesson about the giant hole in the ozone above New Zealand! Chris & I both got super burnt walking around on the beach without sun screen on a cloudy day. We certainly won’t be making that mistake again!
Well, my internet time is running short yet again! Next update will include the Waipu Cave Glow worms, Maitai Cove and many more!!
Thanks for reading!
Jenn
Day 4 - December 15th 2008
The original plan was to spend the day at Whangateau and check out the Goat Island Marine Reserve which was just a short distance away. Weather determined that for us with cloudy skies, cold winds and a chance for rain, which made the idea of snorkeling less than inviting (sigh). So instead we headed north from Whangateau and stopped at a lovely nature reserve at Pakiri Beach for lunch. At Pakiri Beach we enjoyed multiple sightings of endangered New Zealand Dotterills, Eastern Rosellas, Kingfishers, Pukekos, Australasian Harriers, Caspian Terns, Paradise Shelducks and Spur-winged Plovers. The bird sightings have been amazing since of course each bird is totally new to us, making each sighting very exciting!
After a few hours of driving we ended up at an awesome facility in Waipu Cove called “Waipu Cove Cottages & Camping” which next to the Waipu Cove Wildlife Refuge and a gorgeous beach! Yippie! The owners, Sharlene & Paul were very nice and told us to take one of their dinghies (row boat) to check out the Shag tree, and so we did! The Shags (we call Cormorants back home) were beautiful to see and we got close enough to see many nests in the trees with many chicks. It’s the summer breeding season down here now so we came at a great time for birding!
The Waipu Cover Shag tree!
a closer look at the Shags (although not the best quality ;)
Chris did all the hard work to get us there! ^*^
After we checked out the Shag tree we then hiked a mile and a half up through the sand dunes hoping to see another local bird, the endangered Fairy Tern. The Fairy Tern is critically endangered, there are between 30 & 38 left in the world, only found in the North Island of NZ and after a long hike searching for the birds, we were pleasantly surprised to see a Department of Conservation volunteer birder, Anya, keeping a close eye on a nesting Fairy Tern and keeping immaculate notes. Unfortunately, when we did walk up to the area, the female Fairy Tern had flown over to us, little did we know, to guard her nest from our intrusion (eek!). Thankfully our disturbance was minimal & thanks to Anya’s help we were able to watch a female Fairy Tern that had just laid an egg, and also view her male partner continually flying to her dropping off food, while she incubated the newly laid egg!!
We spent another lovely night at Waipu Cove Cottages & Camping. We also learned a valuable lesson about the giant hole in the ozone above New Zealand! Chris & I both got super burnt walking around on the beach without sun screen on a cloudy day. We certainly won’t be making that mistake again!
Well, my internet time is running short yet again! Next update will include the Waipu Cave Glow worms, Maitai Cove and many more!!
Thanks for reading!
Jenn