The highlight of our stop in Dunedin was the Albatross colony.
It is located in the Otago Peninsula (not a drive for the faint of heart, but I am slowly getting used to roads not wide enough for 2 cars and inches from the side of the cliff with sheer drops) and is the only inland nesting area for the Northern Royal Albatross in the world. 1% of this type of albatross use the Otago Peninsula as their nesting area, whereas the remaining 99 % use the Chatham Island - even further afield.
The Albatross land here for courtship and nesting. Once the hatchlings hatch both parents take turns feeding their young - for approximately 8 months - until the hatchling is ready for their adventure of leaving the Otago and they head to South America for the next 5 years (never touching land again) until they come back to the Otago Peninsula - which Ted and I thought was pretty amazing.
We were really lucky when we visited the Colony because it was warm, sunny, and the guide said the Albatross were especially active today and we took so many photos and some videos. Here are a couple of the albatross, who truly are amazing birds.
Cheers
Robert and Ted
