Spent last week exploring Golden Bay. We were based on Pohara Valley Road, which was a great location to explore nearby bays. As always I was hoping to photograph a few birds that I hadn’t seen before, and whilst I found a reef heron at the back of Motu Island, I was in my sea kayak, and thus I didn’t have my big camera with me, so no photograph. Other than that encounter I didn’t find any new birds.


I attempted to find some Whio ducks up the Wainui River, as a friend had seen a pair up there in January, but that was a bust as well. In truth, it’s not easy to find a blue grey bird in a grey rocky river bed. Even without seeing the bird, it was still a pleasant walk. 
A couple of Weka were crabbing on the mudflats of Wainui Bay, and a couple of Variable Oyster Catchers were hunting for luckless shell fish.

I also walked up to the Te Waikoropupu (Pupu) Springs, and took a walk around the Pupu Hydro Walkway which explores a restored hydro system, and a 1.7km water race, hand dug in the 1920’s.  Well worth a visit, but I wouldn’t do the road, just take the track to the top of the water race pipe, and then follow the water race.