Travel

Nature & Wildlife Photo Opportunities in New Zealand (South Island)

by Donald Cohen | August 1, 2005

© Donald CohenIn early 2005 I was fortunate to be able to take a “trip of a lifetime” with my wife by spending some time on the South Island of New Zealand. We had always wanted to travel to that part of the world, with further research revealing that New Zealand would be just the right destination for us with its wildlife photo opportunities. Should you also be considering such a trip, I hope this information may help you in your endeavors.

We arrived with a flight into Christchurch after a little over 24 hours of total travel time from North Carolina. The next morning we headed in our rental car with an itinerary designed as a counter-clockwise loop of the island. Our first destination: the seaside town of Kaikoura.

Albatross © Donald Cohen

Antipodean Albatross, Kaikoura

We spent two nights in this wonderful little town on the South Island’s eastern coast. We saw a sperm whale with calf during a whale watching trip and a huge school of Dusky Dolphins displaying incredible acrobatics. An “Albatross Encounters” boat trip provided us with opportunities to see and photograph Salvin’s, Antipodean, and Wandering Albatrosses, as well as other seabirds such as Cape Pigeon and Northern Giant Petrel. Food was placed in the water just behind the boat so we were able to photograph the birds taking off and landing, plus do some close-ups while they were in the water. Highly recommended!

Walking out on the rocks along the coast, especially at low tide, provides a very up-close and personal experience with Fur Seals as they lay out on the rocks. There were also a number of nesting Red-billed Gulls and White-fronted Terns to photograph here as well.

On the advice of a local birder, we spent a gorgeous sundown at low tide at an area between the seal colony and town. Here we found White-faced Herons, Variable and Pied Oystercatchers, Little Shags, New Zealand Dotterel, and Spur-winged Plovers to photograph.

Leaving Kaikoura, we headed across the island via Arthur’s Pass, toward Greymouth on the island’s west coast, going through some spectacular scenery. A guided canoe trip out of Hokitika, although not productive in terms of wildlife photography, was enjoyable. Heading further down the coast toward the Fox Glacier area we stopped for a fantastic kayak trip where we saw a variety of ducks, godwits, and herons. The mountain backdrop was breathtaking!

Mountain range between Kaikoura and Greymouth © Donald Cohen

Roadside view between Kaikoura and Greymouth

Fox Glacier was our next destination. I had read about picturesque Lake Matheson for sunrise and sunset pictures, and on the spur of the moment headed there after dinner one evening. I arrived close to sunset only to discover that a fair amount of hiking was necessary to get to the various outlooks. Walking as quickly as I could, I did manage to get a few decent shots.

Weka, Ulva Island © Donald Cohen

Weka, Ulva Island

Originally we had planned to hike Fox Glacier but, instead, opted to take the “heli-hike,” a short helicopter ride that takes you further up the glacier. Despite the lack of wildlife this was one of the highlights of our trip, with scenery beyond compare. A dense fog rolled in towards the end of the hike, almost preventing the helicopter from returning, but finally lifted allowing them to fly in under the fog and retrieve us.

Leaving Fox Glacier we started the seven-hour drive to Te Anau, with an enjoyable stop in Queenstown for lunch. From there we took a couple of boat trips on the various sounds, including Milford Sound. With luck we saw one of the relatively rare Crested Fiordland Penguins. After some morning fog lifted, our Doubtful Sound cruise became more productive for photography with wonderful landscapes, Fur Seals, and even some Bottle-nosed Dolphins for subjects.

Stewart Island, off the southern coast, was the next destination and accessible by ferry from the town of Bluff. A boat trip and hike on Ulva Island was enjoyable, where we saw New Zealand Pigeons, New Zealand Robins, Weka, and Oystercatchers. A short hike on the Rakiura Track had some beautiful views of Lee Bay.

Another trip highlight was an evening that we spent “Kiwi spotting.” By boat we traveled to one of the nearby islands and quietly walked in a line with the other “Kiwi spotters” on the beach. A half-hour into it we found one of these birds foraging on the beach. Because these birds are so ‘skitterish’ we had to keep our distance but got reasonably close. Flash photography was not allowed. I had to be content with observing, not photographing—very frustrating for a photographer! Regardless, we returned around 1:00 a.m. very satisfied with the viewing experience.

Penguin © Donald Cohen

Yellow-eyed Penguin, Otaga Peninsula

We had planned a three-night stay on Stewart Island but did not find enough activities of interest to warrant that amount of time, so left a day early. We drove through the Catlins along the east coast, heading toward Kaka Point, visiting Nugget Point, Roaring Bay, and Surat Bay. This time was very productive; we were able to see and photograph the large Hooker Sea Lions from close distances, as they just lay around the beach where we walked. We also saw Fur Seals, Royal Spoonbills, Godwits, and Pied Stilts. While there, I spoke with local naturalist and photographer, Kath Widdowson, who has been very involved with conservation of the Yellow-eyed Penguin. We went to Thunder Bay to see and photograph the penguins, but the foggy conditions combined with a high shooting position made it impossible.

Determined to get at least some photos of Yellow-eyed Penguins we scheduled an afternoon/evening session with Elm Wildlife Tours out of Dunedin, our final stop in New Zealand. We enjoyed an hour or so ride up the Otaga Peninsula, where our tour started. Despite more fog and a lot more hiking than I had anticipated (while carrying about 35 pounds of gear!), this became another highlight of the trip. We were able to get quite close to several of the penguins, one of which waddled by within 15 feet or so of my wife as it came in from the ocean.

We had spent a total of about two weeks touring the South Island of New Zealand, and while this seems like a lot of time, we could have easily spent two months and not run out of places to see and things to do. While we were in the “neighborhood,” we included a 2-day stopover in Fiji, where we saw and photographed some beautiful birds: Fiji Parrotfinch, Red-vented Bulbul and Common Mynahs. But the heat and our relative exhaustion from the prior weeks prompted us to do little more than moving from one shady area to the next for most of the time in Fiji.

I had dreaded the long travel time to and from the South Pacific, but it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated; I would do it again. I hope this report will be of use to anybody considering a trip to this incredible part of the world. Feel free to contact me through my website if you have any questions about this area or our experiences there.

About the Author

Donald Cohen obtained his doctorate in medicine at State University of New York and has been practicing ophthalmology for twenty years in his clinic in Mooresville, North Carolina. His passion for photography goes back as far as thirty years; to see his images or find out about his 2006 Costa Rica workshop, please visit his website at www.dlcphotography.net.

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