Penguins

After leaving Stewart Island, where we were largely thwarted in our attempt to see penguins, we headed up the east coast of the South Island to a place called Curio Bay.

Kilometer after kilometer of completely deserted sandy beaches.  We were told in the evenings we might see some penguins coming ashore.

We staked out a spot on a rocky shore and didn’t have to wait long.

Soon a female emerged from the ocean,  shook herself off…

…preened a bit…

…and oh-so-slowly made her way to the bushes at the end of the beach.

This was a Yellow-Eyed-Penguin, native to this part of the South Island.  It is one of many endangered penguin species, in this case because its natural range is so small.

When the mom reached the bushes, two penguin chicks emerged, screaming for food.

The mother proceeded to feed her young…

Fledgling Yellow-Eyed Penguins are not exactly adorable poster children.

The chicks squabbled over who would get fed first.  Sibling rivalry!

When the mom had emptied her stomach, she headed back to sea to find more food.  The chicks followed, demanding more right away.  

They did not go all the way to the water though.  It was as if there was an invisible fence, a line they knew not to cross.  The two chicks eventually lowered their heads and walked back to the safety of the bush.

It was an amazing performance.  The next evening we headed back to the same place and saw the same show repeated exactly as before.  The Department of Conservation had pegged yellow rope into the rocks, which people were told to stay behind.  Everyone did!  The mom and chicks came to within five feet of the rope at one point.  Cool……….

In our next blog post, you’ll see that penguins were not the only thing Curio Bay had to offer.