Mammalian Predators

At Zealandia, there is a predator-proof fence, designed to keep mammalian predators out. These include obvious targets like mustelids (weasels, stoats and ferrets), cats, rats and mice; and also less obvious introduced mammals such as hedgehogs, rabbits and hares, which may not be thought of as dangerous to native fauna, but may destroy eggs, or, crucially, out-compete natives for food resources.

But there is another class of mammalian predator which has been seen more and more frequently around Wellington…and this is one that we’re more than happy to welcome. They’re aquatic predators, and fall into two groups: cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and pinnipeds (seals and sealions).

Fur seal

In recent times we’ve had the visit by Matariki, the Wellington whale – a Southern Right whale who delighted us all in July last year. A pod of bottlenose dolphins was seen in Evans Bay in January. And this month, three orca, believed to be a mother, juvenile and baby came into the harbour near Eastbourne, then crossed over and were spotted very close to the shore at Karaka Bay and Scorching Bay.

Orca came in close to the shore

Orca have a distinctive dorsal fin

Whilst fur seals colonise the Red Rocks each year between May and October, some individuals have been spotted away from their colony. In particular, one individual has been sunning itself on the rocks of Karaka Bay and Breaker Bay since May this year. More recently, a leopard seal was seen in Oriental Bay, and a juvenile individual has been relaxing on the sands at Owhiro Bay for the last two days.  

Don't get too close to those teeth

Leopard seals are apex predators.

Whale Watching

On Sunday we were up early again, as we had to check out of the motel, get ourselves breakfasted and over to the Whale Watch centre an hour earlier than yesterday. This was achieved with the minimum of fuss and in fact we had plenty of time to spare. We confirmed that the trip was running and were then given a short safety briefing before being bussed around to the marina to board our vessel. On the ride out our guide gave us some information about what we were likely to see, and whilst he was talking we saw a small pod of dusky dolphins leaping out of the water. Later we found a larger pod, and the captain stopped the boat so that we could get some pictures:

After about 10 minutes, we moved on, as the captain had information about where a whale was, and when it was likely to surface. The main attraction is sperm whales, some of which live off the coast of New Zealand. They’re not migratory, and you’re pretty well guaranteed a sighting of one as the captain and crew can locate them by sound, and know roughly how long they stay down for before resurfacing. The whales we were looking for were all males, as the smaller females stay in more tropical seas nearer the equator.

Sure enough, a whale duly surfaced. The crew were able to identify it by various markings on its dorsal fin and flukes as Tutu, who’s been living in these waters for around 15 years.

Unfortunately, the movement of the boat was by this time causing me major problems, so I wasn’t able to capture any pictures of the final dive when the whale shows its flukes; nor, indeed, any of the even larger pod of dusky dolphins we saw on the way back, many of which were leaping clear of the water and doing all kinds of acrobatics. Nicola took these:

When we arrived back on dry land, I handed over driving duties to Nicola. I had intended for us to lunch at Nin’s Bin, a  famous crayfish stop, but was still feeling queasy so Nicola and Julian dined on the remains of yesterday’s lunch whilst I had a bit of water. We then  drove on north via Lake Grasmere near Seddon, which was very windy indeed. We didn’t stay long! We completed the final leg into Blenheim, and searched for somewhere to get a cup of tea. Eventually (most of the cafes were closed on a Sunday afternoon) we ended up in the Corner Stone pub, where we spent a restful afternoon drinking tea and cake and watching tennis and cricket – the Black Caps taking on India in their first ODI of the series.

Eventually we drove off to Blenheim airport to take our Sounds Air flight back to Wellington. The wind in Wellington had picked up again and we had a slightly bumpy approach into the landing, which didn’t do my recovering stomach much good. Fortunately we only had to take a taxi home and we were back in good time.

The Island

It was a warm sunny day, so we decided to take the ferry over to Matiu/Somes island for a picnic and see if we could spot any wildlife there. As a predator-free island, it is home to tuatara, weta and also has a thriving population of kakariki. We climbed up to the gun emplacements at the top of the island and organised our picnic there.

Afterwards we went for a walk around the island tracks, spotting some kakariki, but they didn't land so I was unable to snap them. No sign of any tuatara, and the weta are nocturnal, so I had to make do with seagulls and skinks instead.

The following week, I was back on the island, this time with work colleagues: my employer gives us one day per year to take as volunteer leave, and we had decided to use this to help out the DoC work on the island. There are no permanent staff on the island - they rely entirely on volunteer groups and individuals to get everything done, with one island ranger, Jo, who organises the volunteers. On arrival, we were given two tasks for the morning: transporting a load of gravel from the dock up to the Visitor Centre, where it was to be used for a new building project, and sorting the chopped-down branches from some recent tree clearing into sizes suitable for logs or woodchippings, removing shoots and twigs so that they would go into the machine. It was again a hot day, and by the time lunchtime came round we were ready for a rest and sit in the shade.

After lunch, we had a gentler time of it, clearing overhanging and encroaching foliage from the Western track. As we went along, our DoC organiser pointed out a tuatara on the slopes down from the track. Unfortunately I'd forgotten the ABC rule (Always Bring Camera) so was unable to get a picture of it. As we were clearing the pathway, Jo was also checking the bait boxes for signs of mice and rats, to ensure the island stays pest-free. Inside one box, she found a baby Giant Cook Strait weta - about an inch long. In the next box, there was a fully-grown individual of the same species. These grow to about 2 inches long, and are big, fat creatures. I held this one in my hand, and you can feel the weight of them - an unusual experience when holding an insect! She was carefully replaced in the box.

Whilst we were working, Andy had commented that there were a bunch of people in the water swimming on the far coast - we thought no more of it. But when we came to another gap in the trees, we saw that they weren't people, but dolphins...and a lot of them! There were around 100 dolphins in the pod, swimming into Wellington Harbour.

We finished up our work and waited around for the ferry back to Queen's Wharf. Whilst aboard the ferry, the captain announced that he was going to take a detour into Oriental Bay, because this was where the dolphins now were. Fortunately one of our gang had a proper camera with him and was able to get some decent shots of the dolphins, whilst my cameraphone pictures were a bit rubbish.

photo: Angus Veitch

photo: Angus Veitch

photo: Angus Veitch

photo: Angus Veitch

The Hole In The Rock

After lunch at the Café Over The Bay, we headed down to Paihia Wharf. We’d booked tickets for the afternoon to go on a tour to the Hole In The Rock. The ship was called The Dolphin Seeker, and, er, that’s what we did.

Leaving Paihia behind

We started off heading to Russell, to pick up additional passengers, then headed out to the open area of the Bay Of Islands, where bottlenose dolphins are to be found on a daily basis. Also sometimes present are (the slightly rarer :-/) common dolphins, and also orcas. Today, we only saw bottlenoses. We came across a largish pod of about 15 dolphins, including some juveniles and some very young ones with their mothers. As you can see below, there’s an art to dolphin photography, much like my sports photography!

That was one - right there!

Fortunately there was a professional photographer on board, sanctioned by the tour operator, who had taken pictures of us as we boarded with the express intention of selling these to us as part of the day’s package. Also included in this package was a good picture of a dolphin having fun, and as soon as I figure out how to download it, it will be featured here:

Having spent some time watching the dolphins, at times through a shower of rain that blew across us, we then headed out to the north-eastern tip of the Bay Of Islands, Motu Kokako, otherwise known as the Hole In The Rock. This is, as the name suggests, an arch in Piercy Island off the main promontory, Cape Brett. As we sailed out there the swell got noticeably choppier, as we were now moving out of the  relatively calm and protected waters of the bay and out into the Pacific Ocean. The weather again turned squally, and by the time we reached the hole it was too rough for the captain to attempt to take us through. So we contented ourselves with circling around both entrances to the hole without actually going through it, then headed back into calmer seas.

On the way back we stopped of at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka, the largest island in the Bay. We spent an hour there, climbing up to the lookout point and taking pictures all around the bay, before heading back down to have a quick refreshment and getting back on board for the remainder of the trip home.

View from the lookout

That was our first full day in the Bay Of Islands. Tomorrow is Christmas, so we shall spend it going for a swim in the sea in the morning, followed by Christmas lunch in one of the restaurants on the main drag in Paihia, Marsden Road. The rest of the day we shall spend lollygagging.