Unlike Kaj who is here for the penguins, I am here to hunt seals. Not in a Canadian club baby seals kind of way, but to photograph them. We’ve had great success finding the New Zealand fur seal, but the elephant seal has proven elusive.

First attempt at seals was the appropriately named Shag Point, just north of Dunedin. It’s such an insignificant spot on the map that Wikipedia doesn’t yet have a listing for it! We saw 32 fur seals here, and we were quite chuffed at our first spotting attempt.

The seals seem like quite a lazy breed, and I could easily see why they might have once been almost hunted to extinction. They just lie about on the rocks soaking up the suns rays, completely undisturbed by our gawking and photographing. The seal pups have a lot more life though, and they’re always jumping and frolicking about on the rocks, in and out of the water, and often seem to annoy their mum with their incessant playfulness.

New Zealand strongly protect their seals, so we couldn’t get too close, but sometimes they hop close to you, which is quite a treat for a wildlife-loving photographer! Here’s a couple of lovely pics we took of the seals up close.

Yawning Seal

Whiskers Close Up

Lazy Seal in the Sunlight

We have now also seen seals at three other locations, but the sightings weren’t near as good as the first one at Shag Point. There were also loads of the gorgeous red footed seagulls at Shag Point, and after we went and had fish for lunch I saved my leftover fish to feed to the gulls. Despite trying really hard I was unable to hand feed them, but they certainly thought about taking it from my hand, as you can see from the pic below. It was a really windy day, and the gulls were such eloquent gliders.

Gliding Seagulls

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the single elephant seal we believe we saw off in the far distance in Porpoise Bay. There’s a strong chance it could actually have been a sea lion. He was more than 1km away and seemed to be terrorising a family, or vice versa. By the time we reached the beach he had started swimming away. We hope to have better luck over the next few days in Fiordland.

It’s really cold outside. Not just a little bit cold. It’s bitter, but without snow. I think the wind chill factor is -15C. But despite the icy outdoors, we’ve still managed to get sunburnt!

We spent 2 days in a little charming town called Oamaru. It is famous for its Blue Penguin Colony, and we were treated to 115 penguins on arriving to their slumber after a big day out on the ocean fishing for a sardine-like fish called sprat.

They’re quite funny to watch as they form group of 10 or so penguins out in the ocean called a raft, and they swim in together. The raft provides them safety from predators. As they arrive the waves knock them over, and knock them off rocks, and the sea shore momentarily becomes a mess of penguins. They quickly waddle out of the water, and then they sit as a group drying off. It is said that they are actually cooling down too, as the big swim home causes them to overheat.

Kaj and I also took a tour at the colony where we were able to walk all through the breeding boxes and little mummy penguins come out to get nasty at us. We saw 4 fluffy chicks too, without nasty mummies. Their parents would have been out at sea catching fish to bring home. Just like other birds they regurgitate their food to feed their young.

It’s hard to believe but we spent hours watching these penguins, and didn’t get home until midnight. There’s still light in the sky right up until 10pm though, and this is really when all the penguin action happens. Just as the last light is beginning to fade.

The next day we were checking out all the old buildings in Oamaru, and we found a little chick behind some crates at the back of the building. He was quite a cutie as you’ll see from the photo, and just starting to lose his baby down feathers so he looks like he’s wearing a luscious fur coat. We decided to come later that night to check that his parents come home from sea, and we found 3 other chicks in various places hidden around the building. These old buildings obviously provide a warm safe haven to raise young.

Oamaru also has a rare colony, and these penguins are much bigger, but shier too. We waiting in the very cold wind until they were waddling in and were treated to them calling and quacking at each other to check who had arrived.

From Oamaru we’re heading further south to Dunedin (Done-ee-din, not dunny-din as I originally though) and it’s likely to be even colder yet. The chill is still a novelty, although the novelty is likely to wear off soon.

Today is our only full day in Auckland, so we picked up some of those ‘Auckland in 24 hours‘ style publications and weeded out most of the options as self-promotion advertisements.

We’re staying on Auckland’s North Shore, which is an historic and architecturally quaint, in a gorgeous bed and breakfast Stafford Villa. Our hostess Chris is a superb decorator, and our room is just divine. It features lots of antique things, but doesn’t feel old and dusty as some heritage buildings can. We have a huge four poster bed which is every bit as romantic as it sounds.

Chris is also a great cook with similar food ethics to myself. As much as possible the produce is local and organic, and she only buys free range eggs and bacon, and looks for little local manufacturers. I absolutely love her attention to detail and all the effort she puts into her fare.

She spoiled us with a luscious breakfast unlike I’ve ever had in a bed and breakfast before! We had local strawberries and blueberries, kiwifruit, star anise cooked apricots, toasted granola, home made yoghurt and freshly baked muffins. If this isn’t enough, she then cooked us a full kiwi breakfast of free range bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs and baked tomato. Everything was served with decadent silverware. See the pic of our breakfast table!

We decided we would catch a ferry across the harbour to the CBD, and just walk around the city. It is incredibly humid here today, and people are blaming me for bringing it with us. The harbour ride was beautiful, but purchasing a local SIM proved to be a lot of drama. For future reference the Telecom NZ phone operators are as useless as the Telstra ones.

We are headed to a very popular restaurant The Engine Room this evening, who have a crummy website but amazing food. They’ve won lots of awards, and I’ve even heard of them from at home. The restaurant is always booked out completely, so it’s lucky we booked 4 months ago. In the last week The Engine Room staff have called 3 times to confirm our booking!

First day was fantastic, Kaj is pleased with the overall plans, which is a huge relief. Hope everything is smooth back home.

I’ve discovered a secret is hard to keep once you’ve told several hundred people. Even though they too know it’s a secret, it’s easier for them to slip up than it is for oneself.

For Kaj who rarely pays attention, he missed all 7 people who told him directly the secret holiday destination. I have allowed him to believe some red herrings, and I’ve even slipped a few deliberate ones myself.

Kaj became privvy to the destination on the plane en route to Auckland. I gave him the 32 page holiday itinerary which I’d meticulously planned over the last 6 months. He thought Auckland was just a stopover, and I’m delighted he’s pleased with my planning.

We’re mostly touring the South Island of New Zealand. Arriving in Auckland and staying for just 2 days, we will then fly to Christchurch and circumnavigate arriving back in Christchurch.

Why I’ve chosen New Zealand

First and foremost, it’s the weather. I yearn for a cold Christmas. Whilst New Zealand will be celebrating Summer, just like us, they celebrate it with blistering winds, single digit night time temperatures and glorious sub-twenty days. It will not be dissimilar to a Cairns winter, but it will certainly last for longer.

Because this is Nicky, you must know it’s mostly about the food. New Zealand is a haven for the foodie calorie unconscious, like myself, and I can’t wait to dig into the copious summerfruit, exquisite local produce and amazing lamb.

Wine needs a category of its own, wouldn’t you say? My two favourite varieties; Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are championed in New Zealand. We will go to the winemaking hubs of Marlborough and Central Otago and seek out the best.

We don’t take enough photos, and so I’ve asked the kind Kiwis to please put on some nice weather so we can photograph their spectacular scenery. This possibly means being a photographers widow, which I detest, but Kaj has promised to take photos of me too with his new flash.

And of course we don’t go anywhere without seeing wildlife in its most triumphant environment, in the wild. The assortment of critters will indeed be amazing, and they’ll be many we’ve not seen before.

Holiday Highlights

• Strawberry festival in Waitmate celebrating strawberries.
• Seeing the world’s tiniest penguin in the wild, the Blue Penguin.
• Drinking amazing Pinot Noir.
• Visiting Middle Earth: where Lord of the Rings was filmed.
• Watching the sun rise on the highest mountain over Auckland.
• Eating Bluff oysters, considered the best in the world.
• Seeing a glacier and touching snow.
• Swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura.
• Perhaps spotting the elusive kiwi. The bird.
• Hearing sea lions roar on the shore.
• Picking Sauvignon grapes in Marlborough.