Gannet Colony, Farewell Spit

Having decided to extend my stay in Australia, I needed to leave the country in order to renew my visa. I landed in Christchurch, rented a car and initially drove north, through the stunning Marlborough wine region, then up through Nelson and Collingwood. Farewell Spit, the northernmost point of New Zealand's South Island, is a remote sand spit that stretches 30 kilometers eastward into the Tasman Sea, while its sheltered south side, facing Golden Bay, is an intricate wetland ecosystem with over 6 kilometers of tidal mudflats. Part of the Ramsar Wetlands of International Significance, the Spit is temporary home to over 80 species of migratory shorebirds traveling the East-Asia-Australasia flyway, and those that were spotted today included: Bar-Tailed Godwits; Caspian Terns; Variable and South Island Pied Oystercatchers; Lesser Knots and most spectacularly, a colony of Australasian Gannets who had just begun their nesting season. I showed up with camera equipment that couldn't do them much justice, but they were majestic to watch, as they looped back and forth from the beach colony to the water line, in order to collect nesting materials. They were curious as to our presence, and flew closely overhead, playfully showing off their astonishing grace.

Farewell Spit, South Island, New Zealand

Not visible in the photo, but the beach was littered with a virtual carpet of coin-sized blue Portuguese Man-O-War.