We arrived in Christchurch South Island and picked up our hire car, the trip to the air bnb was only a 15 min drive so we unpacked and headed into town for a bite to eat and a look around, then it was back to try and sleep and sort out our body clocks after the change of timezones from Singapore. This didn’t go too well and I was awake at 5 am, pottering and waiting for the sun to come up so I could go and explore Hagley Park and Botanical garden, which was only a short walk away from where we were staying.
The light started to show around 7 am and so I headed out, the park is split by a main road and it soon became clear the side I had chosen was the playing field and not the garden, there was nothing much about, just some Australian Magpies and lots of Black Backed Gulls. Not to worry at least I had my bearings , so back to the house where Lee my Australian friend, who is also a wildlife photographer, was now awake and ready to go, so off we went again to the other side of the park.
Here was much better with the river Avon flowing through immaculate gardens and flower beds. The river was alive with Paradise ducks or White headed ducks as Lee knew them from Oz. The bushes were buzzing with Silver Eyes and Fantails, and the gardens alive with House Sparrows, Starlings and Blackbirds. Further into the gardens there were Canada Geese, Starlings and a few Black Swans.
The sun was well and truly up now so we headed back and started our trip to Akora, a peninsula founded by the French and a beautiful spot with the sea coming into the fjords and looking like a lake. On the way we stoped and another lake called Forsyth which was alive with Black Swans, and the largest amount of Great Crested Grebes I have ever seen in one place, some with young swimming next to them , others with younger still on their backs, while above hunting were Harrier Hawks, known here as Swamp Harriers, but the same bird with a different name.
Arriving at Akora the harbour was buzzing with Black Shags ( Cormorants to us ) , Red Billed Gulls, Darters and Black Backed Gulls, not a huge variety but in great numbers. We spent a good few hours watching them and were lucky enough to catch a brief glimpse of a Hectors Dolphin, one of the smallest and rarest dolphins which had followed a boat back into harbour and then just as quickly returned to sea.
A fantastic day out with lots to see and superb fish and chips on the harbour side. Tomorrow is a trip to Dunedin for four days so we will see what that brings, but a great start to our road trip.
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