There are only a few populations and sub-populations of bottlenose dolphins around New Zealand's coastlines. A small population of maybe as few as 200 dolphins sometimes visits the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island. They are usually a delight to watch, as they are known for their impressive acrobatic displays. They can quite easily leap more than their body length vertically out of the water!
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Hector's dolphins are small dolphins that are only found in coastal waters around New Zealand. I've been lucky to see these rare and endangered dolphins in a few places, but none as good as in the Queen Charlotte Sound. In other parts of New Zealand I've experienced these dolphins to be quite shy and elusive, but in the Queen Charlotte Sound there is a small population of Hector's dolphins that are curious and even playful and times. One individual that stands out is a very curious female who seems to to enjoy the odd scratch against stationary boats. We called this curious dolphin Georgina.
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Some of the local wildlife in and around the Picton township:
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My current home - Picton in the Marlborough Sounds. This was just another day, going for a walk along the marina to check out the birds the bees, and the boats on this stunning sunny Marlborough day.
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The Routeburn track is one of the 10 great walks in New Zealand and often the highest rated. This great walk is located in Fiordland National Park, one of the most wild remaining areas of New Zealand. The area is well known for its high rainfall and changeable alpine weather. We started and ended the three-day trip with rain but got lucky right in the middle of it when the views were the most stunning on day two!
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The Hooker Valley track is a short and easy walking track in Mt Cook National Park. Luckily on this beautiful spring day the very popular track wasn't too busy, so we could enjoy mostly uninterrupted views over the Mueller Glacier and Hooker Lake with Mt Cook as the backdrop.
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After more than nine years living abroad it was nice to return to New Zealand to settle down, but not before doing some sightseeing. First port of call - Dunedin. No matter how long I've been away, I always feel like I'm returning home when I visit Dunedin. A diverse range of wildlife is just on the backdoor and I can't get enough of the wild beaches along the outer edge of the peninsula.
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