Gannets Squawk, Preen, Swoop, Dive, Nest and Fight
Day 45, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022; Napier, North Island, New Zealand.
As we neared the top of the hill, our driver said, “If you are really quiet, we might be lucky and see a gannet.”
We crested the hill and thousands of very noisy birds were nesting almost at our feet. He laughed and said this early in the nesting season he doesn’t worry we will be disappointed.
The gannet is a large white seabird with a yellowish head, black-tipped wings and a long bill. Its wingspan can exceed six feet. They dive at great speeds into the water to fish, and they nest in colonies on cliffs.
This morning they were active and noisy, as pairs take turns on the nests. We could see some small hatchlings under some of the birds and a few that were larger.
In March, the young birds will fly off the cliffs and on to Hobart Island in the south of Australia. The 30 percent who survive the journey will return here in two to three years to nest.
Our tour included a bus ride through the town of Napier, which was mostly destroyed by an earthquake and ensuing fire in 1931. The town was rebuilt in the Art Deco style of the time, and today offers one of the best examples of this architecture around.
We circled around the Hawk’s Bay coast to the south through farming communities until we arrived at Cape Sanctuary. We entered the private land of a working farm and made our way through deep gullies, across fields and by the Cape Kidnappers golf course, ranked No. 17 in the world. Our driver shared the history of the land as it was developed for logging and ranching and eventually conservation by establishing the privately owned nature preserve.
The 45 minutes we had to observe the gannets up close passed quickly, and soon we were navigating the terrain back to the tour company’s base for snacks that included some of the best strawberries I have ever eaten.
We continue to have rain in the forecast for the next few days, but so far we have been lucky. It looks more likely in tomorrow’s port, Gisborne, and the captain said the tender ride in will be long. I’m deciding to declare it a “sea day” and stay on the ship. I’ll be back here in February and explore the town then.
As we left tonight, the captain reported our Covid isolation numbers are continuing to grow, to 31 now from 15 yesterday. I think passengers are taking it seriously. It is rare to get in an elevator where everyone isn’t masked. On our tour today everyone wore masks on the bus.
Just beautiful!!! Enjoying all of your posts!!! Sandy
The addition of short videos adds another dimension to your blog. Nice touch!
Loved it
Simone
Thank you so much for the great view! Love your stories and pics. Would love to cruise!
Thank you for your reports. Enjoy reading them
Neat! My trip down the Mississippi was interesting as the river is 25 feet below where it should be. I think we saw more sand dunes than water at times. Just above Memphis we came to a 23 hour stop as two barges from two different tug configurations came loose and close the two lanes of traffic for the 23 hours. As a result, we missed stopping at Memphis and Baton Rouge. Had a class of 10 to 12 most days while there were only 64 passengers on the ship. I had planned two projects a day thinking they would choose one to do for that day; however, they ended up staying the whole day for four days, 8am to 3pm! Glad I planned the two projects for each day as it worked out well. If I had only one project . . . I would have been in trouble! It is so sad to see an American Icon, the Mississippi drying up. If we do not get enough snow this winter, there may be places on the river that will be closed to barges and boats like the one we were on! Climate Change is Very, Very Real! Barbara