25/12-26/12 2015
Christmas day was a lazy day spent doing crosswords watching TV and towards the end of the day, packing. We had a dinner made up of all the things in the fridge that wouldn’t keep, then on a hot windy evening we walked down to the station and got the train to Broadmeadows, then the bus to the airport and arrived with too much time to spend, we sat around until we were able to check in which is now all automated at Jetstar, though there were plenty of staff to help with the unfamiliar procedures. Similarly customs is also automated, with face recognition cameras etc. Again there were staff there to help. The flight was relatively comfortable but with no sleep possible in the upright seats, and with a full plane, no place to lie down. Just as dawn was breaking we flew over the NZ Alps, with a full moon and no clouds the ice fields were a silvery sheen below us. An easy run through customs saw us quickly out the gate where Bev’s brother Bob was waiting for us. We drove around the earthquake devastated centre of Chistchurch where there is a lot of vacant land, a few new buildings and a few derelict ones where they’re still having problems with their insurance. The old cathedral is one that is still derelict now being used as a massive Feral Pigeon coup. Toured along the river once crowded with houses, now apart from the occasional house, a strange landscape of gardens gone awry. Went back to Bob’s house which at first glance looks okay, but was fundamentaly damaged in the earthquake and has been sold to a consortium of entrepreneurs who will either fix it or tear it down and start again. We had some breakfast and then had a sleep until 10.30. At 11.30 we had a sandwich then went to look at Lyttleton, an attractive town on the steep hillside of the old volcano, with an ugly noisy port to ruin the atmosphere. Went around to Allanvale to look at some mudflats at the head of the sound, then over Dylan pass with the derelict kiosk and back to the airport to meet Stuart and Jenny, got into their hire car that was too small for the four of us and all our luggage and headed north. Stopped at a bakery in Amberley and drove down to a very windy beach to eat lunch part two, then on to Kaikoura to Bob and Jans’ new house and our home for the next few weeks. The birds for the day are Northern Giant Petrel just south of Kaikoura, Black Shag Amberley beach, Black Swan Christchurch , White-faced Heron Christchurch, Canada Goose Christchurch, Paradise Shelduck Christchurch, Australasian Harrier highway to Kaikoura, Pukeko Allanvale mudflat, South Island Pied Oystercatcher Allanvale mudflat, Variable Oystercatcher south of Kaikoura, Pied Stilt Allanvale mudflat, Masked Lapwing Christchurch, Black-backed Gull abundant, Red-billed Gull Kaikoura, Black-billed Gull Allanvale mudflat, New Zealand Pigeon Allanvale, New Zealand Kingfisher Christchurch, Eurasian Skylark Kaikoura, Welcome Swallow Christchurch, Song Thrush Christchurch, Silvereye Christchurch, Yellowhammer Kaikoura, Chaffinch Amberley beach, Greenfinch Kaikoura, Goldfinch Kaikoura, House Sparrow abundant, Starling common, Australian Magpie along highway to Kaikoura.
Over the next few days around Kaikoura I added Salvins Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Fluttering Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Pied Shag, Little Pied Shag, Spotted Shag, White-fronted Tern, Dunnock and Bellbird.
31/12
Up at dawn and took the Saab up the coast, went for a short walk up a track to a waterfall on Ohau stream, but didn’t find anything at all, stopped at a small lake around Talmata and got Black-fronted Dotterel, Double-banded Dotterel, and a lot of Pied Stilts, lake Grassmere was a dud being managed for salt. At Seddon we bought some sandwiches and small cakes for lunch and a sausage roll which we took to a spot on the Awatere River to eat and got Black-fronted Tern. It was a pleasant drive up the valley which eventually ran out of trees and large shrubs and onto a semi alpine environment with very few birds. The Harrier was commonly seen, but Yellowhammer was easily the most common bird. The scenery gradually got more dramatic with steep sided valleys and lofty balded peaks all around. Near Jollies Pass we got some Redpoll and then a rapid descent down to the Acheron river and into the tourist trap at Hamner Springs and back to Kaikoura via Waiau, getting back at 16.30.
4/1
For 2 days it’s been rainy in Kaikoura, this morning the clouds cleared to reveal snow on the upper levels of the mountains. We set off for Christchurch at 11.30, dropped Lynne and Colin off at the airport then had a wander through Halsey park, we also checked out the bus terminal to see the best way to get to the airport and get a timetable, then had a look at the container shops which are still operating and still the most active part of the city, then back through Halsey park. There were lots of Mallards and a few NZ Scaups, lots of House Sparrows with a few Hedge Sparrows, then back to Bob’s old house for the night.
5/1
Dragged ourselves out of bed at 5.30 and headed up to Arthur’s pass, stopped at L Lyndon and got South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Black-winged Stilts and Double-banded Plover, over lake Pearson was a blanket of fog which was lifting from the lake. Our first walk was up the Hawdon valley amongst the Beech trees on the rat trap line, got quite a few Brown Creepers a few very confiding New Zealand Robins and a single very cute Rifleman. We walked for about an hour up the track then returned to the car. Had look around the Arthur’s pass info centre and decided on the Temple Basin walk. We had our lunch then made our way slowly up the track, there were lots of flowers, and the views gradually became more dramatic, we spent an hour or so in the basin sitting quietly, but the only bird up here is a Pipit. It was 17.30 before we left, picked up some food at the huge Pak & Save supermarket, and got a fuel voucher to use at the attendant bowser there, then back to Bob’s old house for a late dinner.
6/1
Left the house at 8.30 and headed for Fishermans Point on Lake Ellesmere, got some NZ Scaup and Pied Shags, then to the bird hide which was disappointing, it was a nice walk along the canal with some huge trout and a pair of Mute Swans, but the hide had reeds obscuring the view so I clambered onto the roof to see lots of Black-winged Stilts, some nesting Pied Shags and a NZ Shoveler. Got a young Royal Spoonbill begging from its parent which was ignoring it. At Lake rd South, Lower Selwyn huts was a short stroll out to the point but yielded nothing. Green Park Sands was by far the best spot for lunch, but the water level is low and the mud flats muddy. There was a bitter wind which made birding conditions less than ideal, there were a few Double-banded Plover and a lot of Black Swans, some Grey Teal and some nesting Black-backed Gulls. Back for a very late lunch. Much later we went with Matt and Lisa to buy some fish and chips and went down to the bay to eat them and got some Bar-tailed Godwits.
7/1
After breakky we got the bus to the city for $3.50ea and then the bus to the airport for $8.00. We saw people getting off the stop before the airport and found out that $4.50 of the fare was an airport tax that you didn’t pay if you’re prepared to walk about 1/2km. It was an uneventful flight back to Australia, and we reversed the bus and train trip back home.
If you would like to contribute the the well being of this world, our world, your world, an easy and effective way to do it is to join a quality environmental group. There are many spread across the world all plugging away trying to make the world a better place for wildlife. We belong to Birdlife Australia, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). You can donate your time and or money to these and many others knowing that the world will be a slightly better place because of your effort.