Enjoy a guest blog from our NZ Product Manager, Lindi, as she shares the story of a rare penguin adventure on the South Island.

If there’s one thing here in the DTW office that often has us enthralled and amazed it’s the joy of watching those unique members of family Spheniscidae; those aquatic, large, flightless inhabitants of the seabird kingdom, found almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere ….. aka the penguin.

As a company with a real focus on nature and wildlife around the globe, in places as diverse as Antarctica, New Zealand and Iceland, we are lucky to be able to share this collective passion with our clients. Our New Zealand Nature Tour was the perfect starting point for developing an ”exclusive” South Island penguin experience holiday for our client, Brenda Hotham. Brenda’s passion for recording every species of penguin  had previously led her to Antarctica in 2004 where she was able to view and photograph 7 of the species.

In conjunction with our key partner in New Zealand, Shirley Russ of Wild Earth Travel, we meticulously planned not just a holiday but an experience that Brenda would never forget. In all, Brenda spent 19 days on the South Island, and with no rental car involved, the logistics of travelling around were not that easy!  In spite of earthquake aftershocks in Christchurch and the hustle and bustle of the Rugby World Cup her dream became a reality in October last year. Her mission: to find and record her experiences with the Fiordland Crested, Little Penguin and White-flippered penguin. 

Yellow-eyed penguins were also soon to be on the penguin “radar” as Brenda has been a firm supporter of the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust in Dunedin for many years. We arranged for her to spend a day here visiting “Penguin Place” where she was able to see both Yellow-Eyed penguins and Little Penguins. 

The highlight of the holiday proved to be a stay at Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge and a trip out to see Fiordland Crested penguins. “We were so fortunate in the number of penguins we saw and their closeness, including one that blocked our path on the way back along the track and refused to move!”

One of the most stunning (and often overlooked) areas of the South Island and high on my list of the top 5 areas to visit in New Zealand, is Catlins Forest Park. We planned a 3 night stay for Brenda here at Mohua Park. She reported that: “the last day was magical. We left at 4.55am to go to Nugget Point where we saw elephant seals swimming below us. We had our breakfast at a picnic table overlooking the bay and then went for a walk at Cannibal Bay, a beautiful stretch of “untouched” sand occupied by two sealions and some variable oystercatchers. We had lunch at Papatowi and then stopped at other places for bird watching. Sadly the next day I started my return journey to the UK”.

In Brenda’s own words “I stayed in 9 different hotels/motels, went on 6 Intercity coaches, the Tranz Scenic Railway and the Akaroa shuttle and needed 4 taxis. I have now seen and photographed all species/subspecies of penguin. The holiday was awesome and I cannot thank everybody enough who helped to make it such a success”.

This season has been extraordinary for northern lights sightings, a behaviour likely to continue in late 2012 and into 2013 as the period of solar max continues to produce intense solar flares.

Northern lights over Iceland © RTH Sigurdsson

So what of the more elusive but no less impressive southern lights, or aurora australis? As sun spots and solar storms do their thing, surely this means a more active season down south too.

Well, as a recent image taken by student Koen Broekema on the outskirts of Christchurch show, this could very much be the case, with auroral activity displaying further north than usual.

Occuring as they do in the austral winter months over the polar region, sightings of the southern lights are usually reserved for Antarctic scientists and penguins. Unlike its northern counterpart, the southern auroral zone occurs in an area virtually uninhabited by humans. While it is possible to see the aurora australis from the southern tips of South America, Australia and New Zealand, displays are infrequent. Though, perhaps this will not be the case in 2012.

If you are planning to visit NZ between now and September, remember to allow some time for sky-gazing - you may be lucky enough to witness the magical aurora.

I’ve always said that New Zealand has it all!

This season has been extraordinary for northern lights sightings, a behaviour likely to continue in late 2012 and into 2013 as the period of solar max continues to produce intense solar flares.

Northern lights over Iceland © RTH Sigurdsson

So what of the more elusive but no less impressive southern lights, or aurora australis? As sun spots and solar storms do their thing, surely this means a more active season down south too.

Well, as a recent image taken by student Koen Broekema on the outskirts of Christchurch show, this could very much be the case, with auroral activity displaying further north than usual.

Occuring as they do in the austral winter months over the polar region, sightings of the southern lights are usually reserved for Antarctic scientists and penguins. Unlike its northern counterpart, the southern auroral zone occurs in an area virtually uninhabited by humans. While it is possible to see the aurora australis from the southern tips of South America, Australia and New Zealand, displays are infrequent. Though, perhaps this will not be the case in 2012.

If you are planning to visit NZ between now and September, remember to allow some time for sky-gazing - you may be lucky enough to witness the magical aurora.

I’ve always said that New Zealand has it all!