Day 5: Franz Josef to Te Anau

Today held another long drive, this one eight hours, from Franz Josef Glacier to Te Anau, on the eastern edge of Fiordland National Park. Almost no new birds, but an amazing drive out of the West Coast, through Otago, and into Southland.

We started off heading south into Fox, where we pulled aside into the glacier area to get looks at the mountains. With the morning clouds lifting, we got amazing looks at Mount Cook and the rest of the range, as well as Fox Glacier itself. On the Paradise Shelduck pond a little ways back down the road, there was the usual group of Paradise Shelducks, but this time two Gray Ducks, my first and last for the West Coast.
Heading south out of Fox towards Haast Pass, we hoped to walk a bit at Bruce Bay and then search for Fiordland Crested Penguins at the beach just north of Knight’s Point. We ended up finding some beautiful white rocks at Bruce Bay, along with a single Kelp Gull, and Dad and I had a rather adventurous hike in seach of the penguins. The man from the Glenfern Villas who had helped reserve the Kiwi tour had directed me to a beach where he had seen Fiordland Crested Penguins several times during the breeding season and at all times of day.

Dad stopped the car at the parking lot just north of Knight’s Point, and the two of us searched for the trail for a few minutes. We finally found it heading down the hill and into the dense rainforest. Dad and I started off down the brushy, muddy track, only to be faced with five fordings and two off-trail tangles. We finally reached the beach, which had a “Fiordland Crested Penguin Breeding Area” sign at it. It was a huge beach, a huge beach devoid of penguins. Disappointed, Dad and I struggled back to the car, and the whole family went south again.
Fiordland Penguin Breeding Area Sign

Our final stop on the West Coast was a beautiful lake just north of Haast. On it were eight or nine Black Swans, twenty-two Mallards, and two Great Crested Grebes. We then drove over the beautiful Haast pass, through Otago, and into Southland, with the only other notable species being two New Zealand Falcons, one adult in the forests just east of Haast pass and one juvenile on a fence post a dozen kilometers before Te Anau.

The drive, through devoid of new birdlife, was incredibly interesting. The majority of it was spent driving through open agricultural areas with snow-capped mountains rising about us. It is one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever done, and, though its long, the scenery is well worth the time.

I got a few species in Southland in the failing light, and then we reached Te Anau and our cottage at Birchwood Cottages to stay the night.

55. Great Crested Grebe
56. New Zealand Falcon – 637