Month: February 2026

February 23, 2026

Today was mainly a driving day to get back to Christchurch near the airport, where we had to get ready to leave for our flight to Auckland the next morning. Our time on the South Island was coming to an end.

We woke up to clear blue skies in the morning: nice weather although it was still a bit windy and chilly. We checked out of the room and drove across the street to the Moeraki Centenary Park where there was a small beach and some nice views.

We drove to Oamaru and spent a couple of hours walking around the wharf area. We walked to the Oamaru Penguins observation area. This is another paid attraction to see the little blue penguins scamper up the beach after sunset. However, it is more of a grandstand experience than what we had in Dunedin, and no photography was allowed. During the day there were no penguins, but we did see fur seals sleeping on the rocks.

We walked down Holmes Wharf and had some nice views of the area.

We stopped at the New World supermarket in Oamaru to buy a few treats and items for dinner. Then we continued the long drive to Christchurch. We checked into our room at the North South Holiday Park that was just a few miles north of the Christchurch airport. We had the "Tourist Flat" cabin with a kitchenette.

We made spaghetti and a salad for dinner. One drawback of flying to the North Island vs. using the ferry was we had to either use up or throw away our perishables, and then we would have to restock again once we got off the plane. So we used as much as we could for our dinner that night and for breakfast the following morning. We ended up only having to give away a few condiments: we donated them to the shared kitchen used by the campers.

After dinner Heinrich drove to the gas station down the street to do the final fill up on the rental car. We cleaned out the car and repacked our suitcases for our plane flight, and then we went to bed early to get a good night's sleep.

February 22, 2026

We woke up to a partly cloudy but extremely windy day. It was time to check out of the beach house and move north to our next destination at Moeraki. On the way we made a side trip to Mount Cargill. We drove up the road to the summit where we had panoramic views of the entire city of Dunedin. Unfortunately it was so windy that we did not want to spent much time up there or take any of the trails that were in the area. The short walk to the summit from the car park was extremely uncomfortable with the wind. It felt like I was in Iceland!

We drove back down the mountain and continued further north after stopping for a gas fill-up. We stopped at the Puketaraki Lookout which had some nice but windy views. A sign at the lookout mentioned there were some blowholes close by on Huriawa Pa, and they might by really good today with all of the wind. It might be worth checking out on a future visit.

We continued the drive on to Shag Point. I was hoping to get out of the wind, but it just would not let up. The picnic area shortly before Shag Point was a little more sheltered, and we watched some fur seals. One seal was resting only a few feet from where we parked the car. Then we drove out to the point and watched more fur seals in the gusty wind.

We drove to an area just north of Shag Point that had a lookout onto a beach containing hundreds of mini Moeraki boulders. It was not low tide, so not a good time to walk down to the beach and the faint trail at that location was overgrown and looked hazardous. So we viewed the mini boulders from the top of the cliff.

We drove on to Moeraki and checked into our lodging at the Moeraki Village Holiday Park. We had a studio apartment with a kitchen and a nice ocean view.

The tide was too high to visit the Moeraki boulders, but it was the perfect time to drive to nearby Katiki Point, where we saw a group of yellow-eyed penguins in 2023. We waited for about two hours at the same spot where we had previously seen them, but we were not successful this time. However we did get to watch many fur seals.

We drove back to our room and cooked dinner: eggs and potatoes. We had a nice view of sunset colors from our room.

February 21, 2026

We wake up to a partly cloudy day, a bit chilly but not too windy. I walked down to the beach and was entertained by a sea lion at the far end. I watched him walk out to the water and swim away.

We had free time in the morning before our afternoon tour. We drove out to the end of the road on the Otago Peninsula to where we had watched the little penguins the week before. There were no signs of them today in broad daylight, but the views were pretty.

We walked down the road to a distant view of the penguin viewing platform. The previous week we saw people gathering at this point to try to see the penguins from afar. The viewing platform blocks seeing the small beach cove from here, altlhough I suppose it might be possible to see a few penguins coming into the beach area from farther away. More interesting to me was the view across the channel to the area we had visited in 2023: Aramoana, Heyward Point, and Spit Beach.

We drove back to the house for lunch. I walked back down to the beach, and now there were two sea lions resting at the same spot where I had seen the one earlier.

The entrance to the OPERA (Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance) was directly across the street from our beach house, and we had booked the 3 PM tour. This was a 1.5 hour tour through a preserve where yellow-eyed and little blue penguins were nesting, and it was also a rehabilitation center for sick, injured, or malnourished penguins.

There were 19 people in our tour group. The first part of the tour was a presentation and video about the preserve and the penguins that lived there. Then we split into two groups. Heinrich and I were in a group of 10. We boarded a bus that drove us through the preserve. Then we took a trail out to where penguins were nesting in the wild. We walked to hides where we were able to watch 4 yellow-eyed penguins. They were in the moulting stage where they were growing new feathers and unable to go into the ocean to feed. They were resigned to staying in their nesting area until the new feathers grew in. They were standing around and looking rather miserable.

We had about 5 to 10 minutes to view the moulting penguins, and then we had to leave for the next group to visit. We continued the walk down to a view of the beach area. We were given binoculars to see if we could find any yellow-eyed penguins in the area, but we didn't see any.

Further down the walk we passed some wooden enclosures where the little blue penguins were nesting. We saw one sitting inside.

We walked back to the bus and were driven back to the entrance. We walked to the penguin rehabilitation center. We were able to view about 25 penguins of different species. I got my very first close-up view of fiordland crested penguins.

I thought it was a good tour, but I wish I had more time to view the penguins. It seemed rushed.

After the tour we drove back to the beach house and had dinner. The new propane tank had been delivered, so we were able to use the grill for our steaks.

After dinner I walked down to the beach again, and now there were three sea lions onshore. I had some more fun viewing them. The calm weather had disappeared and now it was quite windy.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoyed the hot tub.

February 20, 2026

We got up very early since we had reservations for the 0800 ferry sailing back to Bluff. On the walk to the ferry terminal I took some final pictures of Stewart Island. The weather was nice with partly cloudy skies.

The ferry ride across Foveaux Strait was not quite as bouncy as on the way out, but there was still a fair amount of wind. The weather deteriorated and it was raining and windy at Bluff when we arrived. So we left the area quickly.

We drove back to Dunedin where I had reservations for two nights at an AirBnb house located on the Otago Peninsula. I had booked it months ago with the plan to go on the Blue Penguins Pukekura tour while we were there since it was only a few miles away at the end of the road. But when I went to reserve the tour, it was completely full for those nights. This was why we stayed in Dunedin earlier on February 13: it was the only date I was able to find that was still open for seeing the penguins. Now we were returning so that we could explore the other areas on the Otago Peninsula close to where we would be staying.

The weather rained off and on for the first couple of hours of the drive. But it improved as we drove further north. By the time we reached the town of Gore it was partly cloudy. We stopped at a bakery in Gore to buy a few treats and a couple of steak and cheese pies for lunch.

We ate our pies at a local park and then continued driving to the town of Balclutha. We stopped at the Arthur Strang Reserve at the edge of the Clutha River to eat our bakery treats.

We drove on into Dunedin where we stopped at the PAK 'n SAVE store at the edge of town to buy groceries for the new few days. Then we drove the rest of the way to the Otago Peninsula and our AirBnb rental.

The rental was a house with windows overlooking the Otago Harbour. At the rear of the house was a path that led directly to Te Rauone Beach. It was very peaceful and quiet with beautiful views. Best of all, the back yard contained a hot tub that we were free to use.

The AirBnb rental had advertised there was a propane grill that we could use, so at the PAK 'n SAVE grocery store we had purchased some steaks and pork chops to grill. But when we tried to start the grill we found out it was out of propane. I contacted the owner of the AirBnb and she said she would not be able get us a new tank until the following day. So we ended up using the electric fry pan for our pork chop dinner.

After dinner we enjoyed using the hot tub.

February 19, 2026

Today was a free day for us to explore Stewart Island since we had no paid tours planned. We considered renting bikes to tour the island but decided against it since some of the places that I wanted to visit were on hiking trails. The weather forecast looked decent until about 3 pm when a band of rain showers was expected.

We allowed ourselves to sleep in after the late return from the kiwi spotting tour last night. We walked over to the hotel restaurant and had a real sit down breakfast.

After breakfast we decided to take the walk to Ackers Point. This walk followed the southern coastline of Halfmoon Bay to a scenic lookout. The first part of the walk followed the road which had many scenic views of beaches and bays.

We passed Lonnekers Beach which was at low tide, so we walked across the beach.

Continuing up the road we passed Leask Bay which was a private area for the locals and their boats.

Past Leask Bay we climbed the road to a nice view of Halfmoon Bay. The photo below shows the beaches and coastline on the far side of the bay where I would take a hike later that afternoon.

The road ended at Ackers Stone House which we would explore later on our return. We took the hiking trail that climbed up to Ackers Point. The weather had been sunny for the start of our walk but then steadily got cloudier, and by the time we reached Ackers Point it was completely cloudy and appeared to be raining in the distance. We could see many of the islands in the Foveaux Strait.

On the return walk we stopped at Fisherman Point where we saw many sea birds doing their own fishing.

Back at the head of the trail we stopped to see Ackers Stone House, which is the oldest European building on Stewart Island and a New Zealand historic place. Lewis Acker was an American whaler who built the house around 1836 and raised nine children.

We walked back to our room and had lunch. Heinrich was done walking for the day, but I wanted to see more, so in the afternoon I decided to hike to Horseshoe Point which was southeast of Oban and had views of the Foveaux Strait and Horseshoe Bay.

I followed the same route I had taken on the first day past Bathing Beach, and I continued on Horseshoe Bay Road to Butterfield Beach.

Past Butterfield Beach I walked up Bragg Bay Road, which was a gravel road. I stopped to see the Moturau Moana Native Gardens. I climbed a short trail to a nice viewpoint of Halfmoon Bay.

Next I explored the paths through the gardens. The area is New Zealand's southernmost public garden and was gifted to the government by Noeline Baker in 1940.

I walked back to the gravel road. The Horseshoe Point track started at the end of the road at Bragg Bay.

The track climbed uphill past a small cemetery and then wound around many little coves, going up and down. It was slow going, and the weather had started to deteriorate with the predicted rain starting shortly before 3 pm. Fortunately I had my rain gear and it was only a light drizzle off and on.

The trail descended steeply with many steps down to Dead Man Beach, which was very pretty. It was raining a bit harder now.

The trail climbed uphill past the beach, but it was not nearly as steep on that side. I continued to climb gradually higher on the trail until finally I reached Horseshoe Point. By this time it was raining even harder, and I was very thankful for my rain gear. I did not stay very long at the point since it was raining, windy and generally miserable conditions. Timing is everything!

I continued on the trail, descending down gradually to Horseshoe Bay. It continued to rain steadily. Fortunately the downhill trail was much easier than going up. It ended at Horseshoe Point Raod, which was a dirt road that followed the shore of Horseshoe Bay. At the start of the dirt road was a funny sign.

Finally I reached the end of the dirt road where it intersected with the main Horseshoe Bay Road. I was able to follow the main road about 2 miles all the way back to town.

It continued to rain steadily as I walked along the main road, and finally the rain let up just as I approached town. The sun came out and there was a rainbow. By the time I reached town there were actually patches of blue in the sky.

I went back to the room and dried out. My boots and socks were soaked. After changing into dry clothes, I walked over to the hotel restaurant with Heinrich to eat dinner. It was a nice evening with partly cloudy skies.

After dark I ventured out one more time, hoping to spot a kiwi on my own. I had brought a small red flashlight which I soon discovered was not nearly bright enough to be of much use. I walked to Traill Park. I had been told this was a good place to look since it has a large grassy field that kiwis like for finding worms to eat. Apparently I wasn't the only person with this idea since I ran into a few others with red flashlights.

While I was in the park, I looked up and saw stars! It looked almost completely clear. Too bad there was no aurora. But the nice weather was short lived. 15 minutes later it started drizzling rain.

My search for kiwi was in vain, and I decided to head back to the room. I was looking for the Fuchsia Walk which should have brought me back close to the hotel. Somehow I got turned around and ended up on the Raroa Walk which headed in the opposite direction toward Golden Bay. I didn't realize my mistake until I got all of the way to the end of the trail and saw the signs to Golden Bay. I followed the main road back to the hotel, which was a 20-minute walk from there. Another late night out.

February 18, 2026

Our first full day on Stewart Island was packed with activities. It rained overnight and we woke up to an overcast morning. But the weather forecast looked good for it to clear in the afternoon.

We walked over to the local bakery and bought some treats. This was also one of the places where we could reserve a sea shuttle to take us to the nearby Ulva Island. We reserved the 10:30 am shuttle and scheduled a return time of 3 pm.

The shuttle left from the Golden Bay wharf which was about a 20-minute walk from our room. We had over an hour to spare, so we took the scenic route via a couple of trails (Fuchsia Walk and Raroa Reserve Track) through the forest to get there.

The sea shuttle met us promptly at 10:30 am. It was a quick 8-minute ride to Ulva Island. Our plan was to hike the entire network of trails on the island. Ulva is a predator-free island, so there is a large variety of birds and native plant life with minimal introduced species.

We decided to hike to Boulder Beach. The goal was to take our time and look for various birds. The trail was very easy: flat most of the way. I am not a big bird watcher, but I have to admit I really had fun walking the trails. And we saw and heard quite a variey of of birds. Our first sighting was a kaka. This is a parrot that is considered to be threatened in many areas but is common on Ulva, so we felt lucky to have such a good view.

We arrived at Boulder Beach and had a water and snack break. We saw several oystercatchers running around on the beach.

Next we took the trail to West End Beach. By the time we arrived, the weather had cleared and it turned into a beautiful afternoon.

On the right hand side of the beach was a little sea cave that I explored. It was really just a big overhang and not a cave, but it was interesting. On the way back from the cave I saw three weka birds: two adults and a young one.

We turned around and started walking to the other side of the island at Sydney Cove. This was yet another pretty forest walk. We saw a few more interesting birds along the way, and we heard the calls from the kaka birds, but we did not see them.

We had almost reached the cove when we saw a couple of people ahead of us, staring into the forest. They excitedly whispered to us: kiwi! And sure enough, a large adult kiwi was grazing just to the side of the trail. After a few minutes it crossed the trail and then was grazing for several minutes on the other side. It seemed entirely unfazed by our presence. We watched it for about 20 minutes before it finally disappeared into the woods. This was the icing on the cake for me, to see a kiwi in broad daylight.

We continued on the trail down to the beach at Sydney Cove. Then we followed the path across the beach to the next short trail up to Flagstaff Point which had nice views of the area.

From Flagstaff Point it was just a 5-minute walk back to Post Office Cove Wharf where we would meet the sea shuttle to return us to the main island. Since it was still a little early for the boat, I walked back to Sydney Cove and saw a sea lion swimming in the water close to shore.

The water taxi arrived shortly before 3 pm, and we took the quick jaunt back to the wharf at Golden Bay. The experience on Ulva Island greatly exceeded my expectations. Even before we found the kiwi, it was a really fun day walking around on the trails. The bird sounds were prolific, and the native forest was beautiful.

We took the 20-minute walk back to our room, and then we walked over to the hotel restaurant for an early dinner.

At 7:30 pm it was time for our next adventure: the Wild Kiwi Encounter tour with RealNZ. This was a 4 to 5-hour tour that started with a boat cruise around some of the outlying islands and ended with a walk on the trails in Glory Cove, the southernmost point we've ever been, to search for kiwi. During the boat cruise portion of the tour we would look for other wildlife: penguins, sea birds, fur seals, and sea lions.

The tour left from the ferry terminal and used the same boat that had ferried us over from Bluff. There were 19 total people on the tour plus 2 guides, so the boat was very uncrowded.

The boat passed an island where we were able to view a Fiordland crested penguin standing outside a little cave. The guide told us that the penguin was probably moulting. This is the stage during the year when the penguins shed their feathers and grow a new set, and during that time they are unable to go in the water since they lose their waterproofing. For a couple of weeks they must stay onshore. Although the penguin was a bit far away, I was able to get a photo. This was my very first sighting of this type of penguin.

Next we passed by Bench Island where we were hoping to see some of the yellow eyed penguins in the water or onshore, but we didn't see any. The boat continued on to an area where we were able to see a group of fur seals hunkering down on the rocks. They are hard to pick out in the next photo: look for the darker black objects on the left side that resemble rocks.

The boat circled back to Bench Island for a second attempt at the penguins. This time we found them: three hoiho were standing on the rocks near the shore. They didn't move around much and just stood there the entire time that we watched them.

Our next stop was a rocky island where hundreds of shag birds were resting.

Near our stop at Glory Cove was a beach where many sea lions were hanging out.

The boat docked at Glory Cove, and we got ready for the kiwi spotting portion of the tour. First we listened to a talk from the guide on what to expect. The rules for the hiking portion of the tour were much stricter than what we had encountered with Beaks and Feathers. We were to walk single file at all times and make as little noise as possible. We were not allowed to take our backpacks with us. We each received a flashlight that we used to point down at our feet at all times: enough light to see where we were going. We were split into two groups: Heinrich and I were in the first group of 10 with our guide. I was at the front of the line. Shortly after we got off the boat and started the walk uphill, the guide turned around and asked me what I was wearing. Apparently my rain pants were making too much noise, and she asked me to take them off. Fortunately I had two more layers underneath and it was not raining! She slung my rain pants over the railing and said I could pick them up when we returned to the boat.

We walked about 20 minutes when the guide spotted an adult kiwi close to the trail. It was a very good viewing with the kiwi not bothered by our presence, and everyone in the group was able to get a good view of it. We watched it for about 20 minutes, and it was still there when the guide said we had to move on.

After about another 10 minutes of walking, the guide spotted another kiwi. It was a juvenile and was very actively moving around. I was not able to get any good photos of it, but we watched it for about 5 minutes before it moved out of sight.

For the second half of the hike, the guide had us switch places so I was now at the very back of the line. But that turned out okay since we did not see any more kiwi. We returned to the boat, I retrieved my rain pants, and then we settled in for the half hour ride back to the ferry dock.

It was after midnight when we returned. I thought it was a good tour and interesting to compare it with the Beaks and Feathers kiwi experience where the spotting rules were more relaxed. I think that is due to so many kiwi on the Beaks and Feathers tour that we were almost guaranteed to see at least one, where with the RealNZ tour it required more luck to see at least one, and some of the tours might not get to see any.

February 17, 2026

Overnight we got a good night's sleep, meaning we didn't hear the penguins unfortunately. We woke up to unchanged weather conditions: raining and windy. We checked out of the house and drove to a viewpoint of Porpoise Bay for one final look around. Porpoise Bay is adjacent to Curio Bay, and it is actually the bay where our rental house was located. It's called Porpoise Bay because a pod of Hector's dolphins resides there. I had seen the dolphins frolicking in the bay on both of our previous visits in 2019 and 2023, but this time I didn't see any. I think the weather and waves were too rough to spot them, or maybe they went elsewhere in those conditions.

We drove to Bluff, where the ferry to Stewart Island was located. We made one brief stop along the drive: Niagara Falls. The below caption and video explain it all.

We arrived early for the ferry, so we did a quick drive up to Bluff Hill. In 2023 we had nice views at the top. This time it was completely fogged in and there was no view. We did get a view when we got beneath the fog layer on the way back down.

We drove to the overnight parking area for the ferry and found the parking lot to be completely full. Even worse, we just missed getting the last spot since a car just ahead of us grabbed it. We found another unsecured 24-hour parking area next to the ferry terminal. We weren't sure if we would be able to use that area for multiple days, so we asked inside at the check-in counter for the ferry. We were told we could use it: the other option was to wait until passengers from the incoming ferry returned and we could grab one of their spots. Since we did not want to wait that long, we decided to use the unsecured area. Then it was another 15 or 20 minutes of fumbling around as we had to download a parking app to our phone, establish a log in, and then pay for the parking using the app on the phone. Not a fun experience, but we got it done.

The ferry allowed one checked bag per person, so we each checked one suitcase, and then we had small carry-on bags to take with us onboard. Then we waited until the incoming ferry from Stewart Island arrived, and we got to say a brief hello to Graham who was on that ferry and on his way back north.

It was a one-hour sailing to Stewart Island, and the ride was a real rock and roll experience since there were lots of big waves with the weather. I didn't take any photos since it was all gray outside and we were just bouncing around in the water.

The ferry arrived at the town of Oban. It's the only town on the entire island, and it's very, very small with all of the amenities located within just a few blocks.

We checked into our room at the South Sea Hotel. We were in the annex building directly behind the main hotel building. Although we had a shared bathroom, it was never busy since only a couple of rooms used it.

In the afternoon I decided to go for a walk. The weather was still overcast, but it was not raining. I climbed up to the Halfmoon Bay Lookout for a view of the ferry area.

I continued on the trail to Bathing Beach. It was a fun walk through a rain forest. The start of the walk went through a tree tunnel. Overhead I got a great view of two kereru birds that flew to a branch close by.

The trail opened up to a nice view of BathingBeach below. It was low tide, so I descended the bluff to walk the beach.

Then I crossed the road and walked up a hill to a cemetery where there was a view of Bathing Beach from above.

I returned to the room, and then we walked down the street to the Kai Kart takeaway, where we ordered fish and chips for dinner. The half scoop of chips that we shared was huge!

The real fun began later that evening when we went on a kiwi spotting tour with Beaks and Feathers. This was a small group tour with only 10 people. The guide drove us in a van to a private strip of land next to the airport. It was a large grassy area where we could easily walk around. The guide used a bright red light to spot the kiwi, and then she dimmed down the light to give us all a chance to view the kiwi and take non-flash photos and videos.

The kiwi are not disturbed by the red light. In fact, they have very poor vision, but their hearing is excellent. We had to remain as quiet as possible to not disturb the kiwi. We were able to observe seven kiwi that night. It was drizzling rain for the first half of the tour, but then it cleared. The drizzle did not affect the kiwi sighting. The first kiwi that we saw was a juvenile, and he did not like our presence. He ran away after just a few seconds.

Most of the other kiwi that we observed were adults and more tolerant of our presence. I took many videos and photos. The two below are my favorite.

The tour lasted an hour and a half, and then we were driven back to our room. It was a late night, past midnight when we returned, but well worth it.

February 16, 2026

At about 3:30 am I finally heard what I was hoping to hear: the little blue penguins making noises under the house. There were several minutes of on and off squawking. The sounds were fainter than what I had heard while here in 2023 and appeared to be coming from a different location under the house. It was still fun to hear.

In the morning we woke up to cloudy skies, cold, wind, and rain. The bad weather continued all day long. We didn't have much planned for the day, so we spent it enjoying the wild and windy views of the ocean and waves from the house. We built a fire and relaxed.

In the evening I made spaghetti and salad for dinner.

After dinner we made one more attempt to see the yellow-eyed penguin at Curio Bay. The weather was still wet, cold, and windy. A few other hardy souls joined us on the viewing platform. We were there for about an hour but were unsuccessful in our attempts to see the penguin.

The penguin viewing area overlooks a petrified forest. Below are some of the views from that evening.

We returned to the house and enjoyed another fire to stay warm.

February 15, 2026

It was mostly cloudy when we checked out of the AirBnb in Dunedin to travel south to Curio Bay. We enjoyed our stay at the AirBnb: it had a wonderful view outside and was very quiet and private.

We stopped at a PAK 'n SAVE supermarket on the outskirts of Dunedin to stock up on groceries for the next few days and then filled up on gas. Then we drove south into the Catlins area. We had driven this route twice before so had already seen most of the major scenic areas. Today we made a few stops at places we had not been before.

Our first stop was Papatowai. I hiked a short nature trail: Shank's Bush. It was a short walk through the rain forest and viewed a small estuary.

At a second stop in Papatowai, I hiked to Picnic Point. This was another easy walk through an old growth rain forest that led to a small beach where the Tahakopa River empties into Tahakopa Bay. There were some nice views of the bay.

We drove on to stop at a couple of nice lookouts: Skeleton Point and Florence Hill, which was one of my favorites from the trip in 2019.

Our next stop was the Lake Wilkie Track. This was a stop that we had missed doing inn previous trips due to time constraints. It's a very short hike to a view of Lake Wilkie.

We arrived at Curio Bay and checked into our accommodation for the next two nights: the Cloud 9 vacation rental. We had stayed here before in 2019 and loved it. It has sweeping views of Porpoise Bay from the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. It is also the place where little blue penguins nest underneath the house, and we heard their loud calls in the middle of the night in 2023. We were hoping to hear them and possibly see them again.

We drove up the road to the visitor center to ask about penguin sightings. In 2019 we saw one hoiho penguin at Curio Bay: he put in a regular appearance almost daily just before dusk as he waddled in from the ocean, across the beach and to his nest in the bush. We did not see the penguin in 2023. This year there had been many sightings: the guest book inside our rental house mentioned sightings just a few days ago. The lady at the desk advised us to wait for the penguin between 7 and 8 pm.

We drove back to the house and fixed dinner: sweet and sour chicken and rice. , We enjoyed the views from the living room until it was time to drive back to try to see the penguin.

Our efforts to see the penguin were unsuccessful. We waited for two hours until 9pm, and the only sightings were a few birds. The weather had deteriorated, and it was cold, damp and windy.

We drove back to the house and started a fire. The heat from the stove kept us nice and warm. We waited for the little blue penguin to appear, but we did not see or hear anything before we went to bed for the night.

February 14, 2026

We spent a relaxing morning after being out very late the night before with the blue penguins tour. It was a lovely weather day with partly cloudy skies.

We had scheduled the late afternoon tour with Clearwater Wildlife Tours which departed from The Octagon. We drove downtown a few hours in advance to walk around and have an early dinner. Heinrich decided he wanted to try the New Zealand version of Mexican food, so we ate at Amigos. It was very good.

After dinner we walked around The Octagon and did some sightseeing.

The Clearwater Wildlife Tours van picked us up promptly at 4:30 pm. It was a small group tour with only 10 people. For the first part of the tour, we drove into the Otago Peninsula and stopped for some nice views.

For the next hour of the tour we drove around two wildlife refuges at Hoopers Inlet and Papanui Inlet and saw many different varieties of birds.

Next we drove to Cape Saunders. This area of the peninsula is on private land, so the only access is via the tours run by the owners. Our first stop was to view a very active fur seal colony. Many pups were swimming in the water. They were fun to watch.

Our next stop was where the fun really began. Penguin viewing time! We were lucky enough to spot eight yellow-eyed penguins (Hoiho) on the beach and near their nests.

We watched another adult penguin waddle up from the beach. The two juveniles got noisy wanting to be fed. And then the adult waddled over to one of the juveniles and fed it!

After that fun display, we walked down to the beach to view a group of sea lions. Some were resting and others were moving around and got a bit playful.

While we were on the beach we spotted three more Hoiho penguins standing in the bush, but they were too far away for me to get any good pictures.

On the drive back to Dunedin we made a final stop at a volcanic crater and had some nice views before sunset.