Ahoy a Hoiho!: Yellow-Eyed Penguin Profile

It looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a... yellow-eyed penguin! A perhaps-cautionary tale of penguin spotting on a budget in New Zealand.

Earlier this year, I went on an amazing 6-week roadtrip round New Zealand with my boyfriend. Despite being on a sleeping-in-the-car budget, we were determined to still see as much wildlife as we could. We ticked off fur seals and dolphins driving down the west coast of the South Island, so our first port of call once we got over to the east coast was somewhere to spot penguins. There are places where you can pay to sit on a private beach with pretty much guaranteed spotting of blue penguins, but this seemed a bit easy (and expensive) so we looked for free options nearby instead. After a lot of research, I found a hide where you could apparently see the much rarer yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes (or hoiho in te reo Māori).

We got there just before sunset, as instructed, having read that the penguins come in from swimming all day over the course of half an hour at this time. We had barely hunkered down in the hide, a few hundred feet above and away from the shoreline, when we saw what looked like a duck in the sea. As it waddled ashore, we realised it was a penguin. A yellow-eyed penguin, so soon after we had arrived!

I snapped a few photos without getting any great shots, not worried because we would of course be seeing a lot more penguins. Well, a few minutes went by, then a few more with no more penguins. We stayed, reasoning that it was still light so this could have just been a (very) early bird, getting slowly colder in this little hut, until it got so dark, a full 45 minutes later, that we realised our early bird was in fact a straggler, the last one to come to shore.

The thing is, I'm still delighted we saw one penguin at all, especially one that's so rare. For me, much as I love photography, it's not always just about getting the picture. Even though we didn't end up seeing any more penguins, the anticipation was fun in itself, and I'm still pleased we didn't just pay for a prime spot on the beach, although I'm not saying I wouldn't do that if I went back!

PS. If you've been to New Zealand, you've probably seen a Hoiho yourself... on the back of a $5 note!

#penguins #birds #NewZealand #photography