24^th March 2015 – Part 3 - Curio Bay and the Yellow Eyed Penguins

The Catlins are home to a couple of colonies of the rare yellow eyed penguin which is found only in New Zealand.  One of these colonies is at Curio Bay.  Again, we were lucky to be in the right place at the right time in that babies were born a couple of months before.  They still rely on their parents for food and stay at home in the nesting sites at base of the cliffs whilst Mum and Dad head off all day to catch fish 10 miles or so off shore.  It is one of nature’s miracles that the parents know exactly where to head back to when dusk approaches – not just the right little cove, but also the exact rock.

We spent nearly two hours waiting for the parents to return but the time passed pretty quickly as we watched the antics of the two youngsters awaiting there only feed of the day, though I’m not sure I’d be quite so enthusiastic about a meal of regurgitated fish.

                      Dusk and little tummies are beginning to rumble – time to venture out

                                                               Any sign of Mum, or even Dad?

                                               Nope, lets head back indoors for a while, then

                                                                But, time for a paddle and a drink

                                                         And here is Mum, or possibly Dad.

                                                                     Great; food at long last

                                         And you’re not having any of it, nasty Mr Gull