Being able to sleep in a little was a treat so after a quick and light breakfast, we headed out to the Moeraki Boulders. Winding along the coastline gave us some beautiful scenery. A little nervous at times with Twinning would try to take pictures while driving on the left-side of the road.
We parked at the trail head to the beach and spent time with the Scottish red deer before heading down to the beach.
Once at the beach, everyone scattered to view the boulders. The boulders are considered septarian concretions. They are made from the cementation of mud and silicon dioxide. When the cliffs erode, due to the poorly consolidated soil, they fall to the beach below.
There are calcite veins running through some of them and you can see several stages of erosion due to the remains of boulders left along the beach.
Lots of kelp along with other algae was seen on the beach.
Picked up a mud rock that had evidence of a polychaete worm at one time.
After spending time along the beach, we headed into Dunedin, a very hilly town along the coast and checked into the Adventurers Hostel. After dropping off the trailers we headed out to the Otago Peninsula. The harbor here was created by a linear fault. When several faults were parallel to each other a geological feature called a graben formed.
Here on the peninsula, we'll visit Penguin Place, which is the home to the yellow-eyed penguin reserve and then off to the Taiaroa Head to see the Royal Albatross colony.
While at the reserve, we traveled through tunnels to get up close to the penguins. There are 18 breeding pairs located at the reserve. They are very territorial and will squawk at anything that comes into its nest that isn't suppose to be there. The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the rarest penguins. It is only one of 18 species. The iris is yellow along with an area around the orbital cavity. They only live in a small part of New Zealand. There are only 1,000 living on the mainland but there are over 3,000 living about 700 km from South Island on Steward Island. This is because their habitat is intact. On South Island, there is a loss of their breeding habitat and due to the introduction of predators. The reserve helps by providing nesting boxes to the pairs. Since they are territorial, the breeding pairs need to be out of sight from each other. The landowner and a conservation group work together on providing a natural habitat for the penguins. Since the penguins breed in native forest, the conservation group is replanting native trees in the area. Foster parents are used to help raise the chicks. An egg is given to juvenile penguins and these penguins sit on the egg and raise it even though they aren't mature enough to breed.
The chicks have grey fluffy down and it is used as a camouflage. The parents lie 2 eggs a year and they both take turns raising the chick. They feed the chick until they are 15 weeks of age. The young chicks then leave the home to hone their skills. They will hang out in a group when they first leave home. Usually they leave home in February and March and spend about 5 months in the ocean. They'll come ashore in August to breed. Penguins change their feathers once a year and it can take up to 4 weeks to complete the molting.
At the Taiaroa Head Reserve we viewed the Royal Albatross. Of course as soon as the word albatross was mentioned, those who enjoy a good Monty Python skit, started yelling "Albatross, Albatross for sale!" These magnificent birds spend 80% of their life at sea. Since they breed biannually, the non-breeding year is spent at sea. These birds do mate for life and can reach flight speeds over 100kph. At the reserve, the winds were over 40 knots and the birds love this because they need it for lift. Watching the chicks take off from the cliff was amazing. You can just hear them laughing and enjoying the ride. This is the rush that hang gliders feel. If the chicks don't make it the first time they try to fly they'll usually die. Rangers will collect them from the water and give them another chance at flying. Invasive plants and traps are being removed so that the chicks have a better chance of survival.
After a recap, we turned in early. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Papatowai. Here we will be able to stay for a few days. Good thing because I was starting to hate the inside of the van.
Being able to sleep in a little was a treat so after a quick and light breakfast, we headed out to the Moeraki Boulders. Winding along the coastline gave us some beautiful scenery. A little nervous at times with Twinning would try to take pictures while driving on the left-side of the road.
We parked at the trail head to the beach and spent time with the Scottish red deer before heading down to the beach. 
Once at the beach, everyone scattered to view the boulders. The boulders are considered septarian concretions. They are made from the cementation of mud and silicon dioxide. When the cliffs erode, due to the poorly consolidated soil, they fall to the beach below.
There are calcite veins running through some of them and you can see several stages of erosion due to the remains of boulders left along the beach.
Lots of kelp along with other algae was seen on the beach.
Picked up a mud rock that had evidence of a polychaete worm at one time. 
After spending time along the beach, we headed into Dunedin, a very hilly town along the coast and checked into the Adventurers Hostel. After dropping off the trailers we headed out to the Otago Peninsula. The harbor here was created by a linear fault. When several faults were parallel to each other a geological feature called a graben formed. 
Here on the peninsula, we'll visit Penguin Place, which is the home to the yellow-eyed penguin reserve and then off to the Taiaroa Head to see the Royal Albatross colony.
While at the reserve, we traveled through tunnels to get up close to the penguins. There are 18 breeding pairs located at the reserve. They are very territorial and will squawk at anything that comes into its nest that isn't suppose to be there. The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the rarest penguins. It is only one of 18 species. The iris is yellow along with an area around the orbital cavity. They only live in a small part of New Zealand. There are only 1,000 living on the mainland but there are over 3,000 living about 700 km from South Island on Steward Island. This is because their habitat is intact. On South Island, there is a loss of their breeding habitat and due to the introduction of predators. The reserve helps by providing nesting boxes to the pairs. Since they are territorial, the breeding pairs need to be out of sight from each other. The landowner and a conservation group work together on providing a natural habitat for the penguins. Since the penguins breed in native forest, the conservation group is replanting native trees in the area. Foster parents are used to help raise the chicks. An egg is given to juvenile penguins and these penguins sit on the egg and raise it even though they aren't mature enough to breed. 
The chicks have grey fluffy down and it is used as a camouflage. The parents lie 2 eggs a year and they both take turns raising the chick. They feed the chick until they are 15 weeks of age. The young chicks then leave the home to hone their skills. They will hang out in a group when they first leave home. Usually they leave home in February and March and spend about 5 months in the ocean. They'll come ashore in August to breed. Penguins change their feathers once a year and it can take up to 4 weeks to complete the molting.
At the Taiaroa Head Reserve we viewed the Royal Albatross. Of course as soon as the word albatross was mentioned, those who enjoy a good Monty Python skit, started yelling "Albatross, Albatross for sale!" These magnificent birds spend 80% of their life at sea. Since they breed biannually, the non-breeding year is spent at sea. These birds do mate for life and can reach flight speeds over 100kph. At the reserve, the winds were over 40 knots and the birds love this because they need it for lift. Watching the chicks take off from the cliff was amazing. You can just hear them laughing and enjoying the ride. This is the rush that hang gliders feel. If the chicks don't make it the first time they try to fly they'll usually die. Rangers will collect them from the water and give them another chance at flying. Invasive plants and traps are being removed so that the chicks have a better chance of survival.
After a recap, we turned in early. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Papatowai. Here we will be able to stay for a few days. Good thing because I was starting to hate the inside of the van.
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