KOPPELQUESTS - Photo Gallery 1/26/2004

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Looking back toward the Otago Peninsula from our walk up to the Royal Albatross Colony on Taiaroa Point.	A nesting albatross as seen from the observatory at Taiaroa Point. This one is a father named "Harold", and he's sitting on a newly-born chick. The mother and father share nesting duties.	This is the chart that the rangers use to track each of the birds and their nests. The birds are followed so closely that the naturalists are able to describe each one's personality and love life!	A flying albatross. It's not easy to get pictures of these guys flying! These are huge birds - the wingspan on this bird is 8-9 feet, and it's 4-5 feet long (from head to tail).
This is a shot of an albatross soaring toward us over Taiaroa Point.	These birds are called "Black Swags" - they live only here and on Stewart Island (off the southern coast).	The view along Taiaroa Point, home to many nesting birds (and lots of fur seals)	Looking down toward the Yellow-eyed Penguin Reserve. There are 160 penguins that live here, and there are a whole series of trenches and hidden observatories that have been built to allow viewing without disrupting the birds.
Our first penguin sighting! These guys have just returned from fishing at sea. One of these two birds (named "Tensing") hadn't been seen in two weeks, and was feared to have been permanently gone.	Here the two penguins are walking up the path returning to their nests	Walking on up...	The hides let us get very close to the penguins