9' of Awesome

First stop, sea lion beach...

At first there were none, and we had limited time before our next tour, so we were giving up hope and turning back, when all of a sudden we see...

He proceeds up the beach...

To his friend, they say some words like, 'hey wake up!" and "my nose is taller than yours!"

Then they headed back to the water together. How cute!

Then we went to see some Royal Albatross. New Zealand has the only mainland breeding ground for Royal Albatross, and it was amazing to see them and watch them. There were some nests close to the viewing platform (enclosed in glass that had a coating on it so the birds couldn't see us and weren't disturbed). The chicks take up to a year before they're grown and head out on their own, they then spend 3-4 YEARS at sea, basically circumnavigating Antarctic. AND they have a 9' wingspan!

After spending so many years at sea, they return to the Otago Peninsula to find a mate. At this point they're considered "teenagers" and they need to learn how to fly over land now, the air currents are different and you can see them wobble as they fly over the shoreline.

They need wind to take off, so they'll walk to the edge of the cliff before taking off. This couple greeted each other, fixed the nest, then the one that had been out fishing took over the nest watch and the other one headed out to the sea.

What an opportunity to see these birds (and the rare sea lions)! I love New Zealand!