After Saturdays disappointment with the Great White Sharks, the previous day I had left and then returned to the town of Bluff to give it another attempt, thanks to the companies ‘no shark free return’ policy. Sadly the day did not start well, with heavy rain and winds making it difficult to sleep overnight in the tent, followed by the challenge of taking down a soggy tent at 06:00 in the morning, while the wind and rain continued to lash around you.
Then I discovered that no sharks had been seen on Sunday,
which meant Saturdays brief individuals were the last sharks seen by the
company. Not a good omen to begin the day with. Nevertheless the days clients
all boarded the vessel and set out across the Foveaux Strait. The crossing was
extremely rough, with strong winds and high waves making it quite unpleasant;
many people came down with seasickness. The increased winds meant many more
birds, but the bouncing boat made identifying them a nightmare. Of interest, I
was able to pick out a Cook’s Petrel and a nice surprise with a Grey-backed
Storm-Petrel, which got up off the sea in front of us clearly showing its grey
rump, before darting off over the waves.
Once we arrived in the area for the sharks, the island
offered some shelter and the sea was less dramatic. The rain finally had
stopped and we set about waiting for a shark. Fortunately, after delaying my itinerary
by a couple of days, we did not have to wait super long. Frustratingly the first
shark came during the training of the new divers, which meant I was the last
person in the cage to see it, having already done my diving instruction on Saturday.
It was a tense wait, hoping that the shark would linger, but it all worked out
nicely, as the animal was still around when I entered, finally easing all my
worries leading up to the event.
For the next two and a half hours, the boat was entertained by
no less than three different Great White Sharks. The largest, and first
individual, was a very impressive 3.4 metres long, with the other two being
slightly smaller, probably around 3.1 metres long. They were quite chilled out circling
the boat and swimming around the cage, only occasionally making a move for the
decoys that were there. In total I entered the cage three times to observe the
sharks, probably totally about 50 minutes cumulatively, before the cold
determined that our day on the sea would be concluded.
Whilst in the cage the sharks approached close multiple
times, allowing us to see all the detail on the animals as they passed. It was
incredible that you could watch a shark swim past you and out of sight, only
for another to then appear just a matter of seconds later beneath you, or
emerging from the gloom. After the disappointment of Saturday, to get to
witness three different animals for such prolonged periods was a real pleasure.
The journey back was even rougher than the journey going
out, with the sea hurling the boat around. It was impossible to try and do any
birding in these conditions, with a flyby adult Australasian Gannet being the
only thing of note that it was possible to identify without using binoculars. The
fact that the sharks performed so well in the morning, coupled with the
forecast of gale-force winds in the afternoon, meant that we returned to shore quite
quickly after lunch, and this gave me the time I needed to head back to Dunedin,
to stay a final night with Ben and Hannah.
Once on the road, I realised I would have a small amount of
time in Dunedin before dark, so I decided to drive out to the Otago Penninsula
and look at the North Royal Albatross colony there. The birds can be seen from
the car park, without entering the colony itself, so that is what I decided to
do. In the hour I spent there, I saw at least two birds regularly flying over
the colony, and sometimes even directly over the car park, in the early evening
gloom. It was a very pleasant final hour, with a nice bonus species of Northern
Giant Petrel sat on the sea, and of course a Royal Spoonbill flying south for
good measure.
Although an exhausting day, it was extremely productive and enjoyable, with the trips number one target finally seen at the second time of asking. What a brilliant day out, an excellent way to kick off the final week in New Zealand.
Bluff Shark Experience: Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Black-fronted Tern, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Grey-backed Storm Petrel, Cook's Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Common Diving Petrel, Australasian Gannet,
Taiaroa Head: Feral Pigeon, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Northern Royal Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Spotted Shag, Otago Shag, Royal Spoonbill, Welcome Swallow, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird,
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