Picassa Photo Album and Monro Beach Track - Click on image to go to album

New Zealand Slide show 1

Click on the image of the bus schedule and you will be taken to a slide show of uploaded pictures on Google's Picassa. You do not need any special software to view this show. Sphere: Related Content

Where the Penguins Sometimes Are

After a short nap this afternoon, I looked out and unexpectedly the sun was trying to shine through the heavy dark clouds.


Gathering the photo equipment and umbrella, I headed for the Monro Beach walk, a 45 minutes hike from the lodge to the beach where the penguins gather. It was a beautiful walk. Overhanging ferns and tall trees with epiphytes made the forest dense.

This truly is where the hobbits live. They never lived in England, of that I am now sure. This is their true home. The air was filled for a while with bird sounds but later it became quiet. I neared the beach. If I were a penguin this is where I would hang out. Sadly none were there. Up on the cliff face overhanging the beach there were several likely habitats, but intense scutiny produced no sightings. Surely they can't all have left on schedule for the ocean currents to follow the krill. But alas, I am afraid that it is true. The crested penguins have left the building........

On the way back to the lodge, I did see couple of beautiful fan tails and actually caught a picture of one. Take pictures of rapidly moving birds in dense forest with an autofocus lens is a good way to burn up a lot of film. Thank goodness for digital..........




Photo by A.C. Burrent posted on the lodge bulletin board. He took some great pictures of the crested penguin.










Of course, as you leave the track (trail) they have a poster for the hikers who come in January. It is a pair of Crested Penguins laughing their little eyes out at the tourists who thought they might actually see one of them.









After a hard day of tramping the track to find the elusive crested penguin, I strongly recommend Monteith's Seasonal Honey and Spice Lager. It takes a little of the edge off your disappointment and because it is seasonal, it is only sold when the penguins aren't around. Drink up!
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