Category: Photos by Colleen

Where’s the sheep?

We went to two of the largest sheep stations with 3000 sheep each. I was supposed to photograph the operations. However two days before we got there they had sold off ALL but 3 of their sheep (2 pets from last year and a new pet called “Lucky”). So all we had were these hillside views. Apparently the whole herd had their lambs 3 weeks earlier than usual. Like many herd species, the whole group had their babies within days of each other. It’s a mechanism to keep as many babies safe as possible against predators.

My husband holding “Lucky” 4 months old when all her brothers were sold off to market.

Welcome to New Zealand

After a 3 day crossing from Australia we arrived at Milford Sound. WE had to wait for 3 hours outside the sound because it was so fogged in. When we finally entered there were literally HUNDREDS on waterfalls because it had been raining.

So all the brave souls ran to the forward deck with their rain gear on.

Unfortunately it never cleared off and this was as high up the mountains as we could see. I was bummed because I was looking forward to seeing the soaring Mitre Peak.

Fairy Penguins

These cute lil Fairy Penguins are only 9-12 inches tall. 2000-3000 come ashore after feeding each night at sunset. First, one or two will run about 10 feet inland and then chicken out. THis goes on for about 30 minutes. Then a few finally get brave and then they waddle in in groups of 20-30 for about 45 minutes. Sorry it’s a lil blurry but I had to take this one handed by my foot because they do not allow photography because too many people kept using flash. To see a cute video here is a link to my video. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ncsGdRebcpsfiWrQA

On Phillip Island they have created a center to protect the penguins and have built viewing platforms to keep humans from disturbing the penguins too much as they return to their burrows.