At the albatross center, you can visit the museum with info about the birds, Hooker sea lions, NZ fur seals and a few other species. You can also pay for a tour to go out on a boat and see the Royal Albatross. Looking at the rough seas, I didn't think that that would be so much fun. I walked from the parking lot to the fenced off area-paying attention to the signs of 'hold on to your children'. It was a sheer cliff of several hundred feet. I spent about 20 minutes here watching gulls and shags(cormorants).I knew I should stay a few more minutes because everyone else would come to the fence look for about 5 minutes and then leave. The wind was really obnoxious! After about 35 min. I still had not seen an albatross, thinking I may have to spend the night nearby and pay to go out on the boat...I was rewarded with the mighty bird. After listening to the gulls-they always sound like grumpy old men to me, and watching the shags brave the wind to land on the cliffs and dry their wings, I finally saw the Royal Albatross. Now let me say there is no mistaking this bird for any other. It is like watching a stunt plane fly around and then see a C-140 transport-this bird is huge! A 3m wingspan-9 feet. What a spectacular sight! the silhouette of this bird is fantastic against the setting sun. All the other birds were working so hard against the wind and the albatross never even flapped his wings-just so easy for them. I had the whole cliff to myself at this point. It was such a thrill to sit and watch this bird glide through the air with the greatest of ease. several times it flew right above me and out of the setting sun so I could get a really good view-they have these huge black eyes that look more mammal like(deer fawn) than bird and this grin that says, yes, I am the mighty albatross. After about an hour of watching, although they only made an appearance 4 times, I needed to grab a bite to eat so that I could go and wait for the Little Blue penguins come onshore after a day of feeding. I heard that the distance they travel for food during the day is like us running 2 marathons on a full stomach. Well, that experience is for another blog entry.
glad to know I didn't pay for a tour!
