| I spent the whole of November, and the first few days of December, touring New Zealand. It will take a lot of time to properly sort through the 15000+ photos I took on the trip, but I will hopefully have a full trip report written by the end of December. In the meantime, here are just a few of my favourite images... |
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Salvin's Albatross (Thalassarche [cauta] salvini) - Kaikoura, New Zealand
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White-capped Albatross (Thalassarche [cauta] steadi) - Kaikoura, New Zealand
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Gibson's Albatross (Diomedea [exulans] gibsoni) - Kaikoura, New Zealand
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White-capped Albatross (Thalassarche [cauta] steadi) - Stewart Island, New Zealand
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| New Zealand is the best place in the world for viewing oceanic seabirds and the range of species you can see within a mile or two of the shore is staggering. On the 4 pelagic boat trips I took (one in the Hauraki Gulf off North Island and 3 from Kaikoura in the South Island) I saw a total of 30 species of oceanic seabirds (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels), including the recently re-discovered New Zealand Storm-petrel. |
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New Zealand Storm-petrel (Pealeornis maoriana) - Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
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| It is also a great place for whale-watching. |
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Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - Kaikoura, New Zealand
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| The native landbirds have suffered enormously since the arrival of humans and today many of them, such as the Stitchbird below, can only be seen on predator-free islands such as Tiritiri Matangi Island. |
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Stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) - Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand
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Takahe (Porphyrio mantelli) - Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand
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Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) - Kaiiwi Lakes, New Zealand
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| New Zealand also has some of the most spectacular scenery in the world... |
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Mitre Peak & Milford Sound, New Zealand
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Milford Sound, New Zealand
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| Many more of my pictures of New Zealand and its wildlife can be found here. |
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