05 Mar 2025

Absorbed in the wildlife of Dunedin

At sunrise this morning, we entered the picturesque Otago Harbour, heading for the port of Dunedin. Dunedin is sometimes billed the ‘Wildlife Capital of New Zealand’, and indeed, to our port side at the entrance, in the growing light, we passed by the Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross colony – the large white seabirds easily visible in the distance, standing in the soft morning light, with their smaller, pullet-sized downy chicks. Downslope from the albatrosses, we could make out a cluster of Otago Shags grouped in tight formation beside their distinctive ‘chimney pot’ nests, seemingly constructed of mud. The small bay of Pilots Beach, just around the corner from the albatross colony, was home to another breeding community – this time of Little Penguins. We also observed Royal Spoonbills, Spotted Shags, gulls, terns and oystercatchers (all of which also breed in the harbour) feeding on the sandbars as we journeyed up the harbour.

Later, many of us returned along the harbour shoreline by bus to the Royal Albatross Centre for a closer view of the nesting Royal Albatross colony. Along the way, we stopped at the Otago University Marine Studies Centre, which confronted us with how incredibly biodiverse the harbour was. Marine ‘touch tanks’ were filled with an abundance of marine life, such as starfish, sea cucumbers, sea horses, crayfish and an array of other amazing creatures from a variety of harbour habitats – mud flats, sandy shores, exposed rocky cliffs, sea caves, even sea grass meadows. We learned this was also a harbour visited by New Zealand Fur Seals & Sea Lions, the occasional Leopard Seal and Elephant Seal, along with dolphins, and even Southern Right Whales (the harbour entrance was once their breeding ground before early whaling began here). The occasional Right whale still drops by to check things out!

At the end of our day ashore, we swapped stories with those onboard who had ventured further inland – to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a forested bird sanctuary containing rare Kākā, Takahe, Bellbirds, Green Geckos and Giant Skinks. As we listened and compared notes, we couldn’t help but conclude we had all enjoyed fabulous experiences. It was a thrill to experience the vast biodiversity, both below and above water, that Dunedin has to offer.

Images © Heritage Expeditions