New Zealand #1

This is the first trip report from the photo expedition in November 2011 to New-Zealand, four sub-antarctic islands and Tasmania.

Day 1 – 15.11.2011 After a long flight from Oslo to New Zealand, we arrive at Christchurch on the South Island. This city, in the past year, has been plagued by two large earthquakes, and damage on buildings and roads was still visible. After a brief stop in town, we met our guide Niall and our two Spanish friends. Together, the five of us will explore some great locations on the South Island, before our expedition to the Snares, Auckland, Campbell and Macquarie Islands.

Our first stop was for the rare White-flippered penguin, which is a subspecies of Blue penguin. This penguin is only found in small numbers (only 2200 pairs) around Banks Peninsula and Motunau Island. With kind assistance from a researcher, we had the chance to experience and photograph these rare birds.

After the penguins we had dinner and drove to Arthur’s Pass in the mountains.

#1 White-flippered Penguin, juvenile. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/640 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 500.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#2 White-flippered penguin, juvenile. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/640 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 1250.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

Day 2 – 16.11.2011 Before sunrise, we were out in the field searching for the endemic Kea parrot. We had a two hour wait before it appeared in our area. And what an interesting and funny bird! This elegant and medium-sized parrot was not shy and quite easy to photograph.

After breakfast we found more Keas – 15 altogether. This was a very good start and we were now ready for the penguins on the west side of the island.

#3 Mountains around Arthur’s Pass. Nikon D3X with 300/2.8, 1/1600 sec, f/11 and ISO 500.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#4 Kea. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2000 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 640.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#5 Kea in flight. Nikon D3S with 300/2.8, 1/30 sec, f/11 and ISO 100.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

That afternoon we arrived at our destination to find the Fiordland crested penguin. I had done months of research prior to the trip to locate the perfect spot for this exciting birds. At the beach I was stunned by the superb landscape and the beautiful penguins. WOW!

I crept as close to the shoreline as possible. I got wet from the large waves, but it was worth every second as the penguins started to reach the beach. It was not a great sunset this evening, but the birds were stunning.
 

#6 Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/640 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 2000.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#7 Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/800 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 1600.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#8 Evening beach with Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3X with 14-24/2.8, 2,5 sec, f/13 and ISO 50.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

Day 3 – 17.11.2011 We had a slow start that morning, and explored the forest areas. I also used my underwater housing in one of the streams photographing the longfin eel.

In the afternoon it was time to get back to the beautiful beach. Our guide Niall helped carry our photo equipment with a wheel barrow. What a great service, and very appreciated!

#9 Longfin Eel. Nikon D3S with 14–24/2.8 (at 14mm), 1/400 sec, f/10 and ISO 2000.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

Cold underwater photographer after 1,5 hour in cold stream. Copyright © Unni Ulltveit

The waves were even bigger on the beach and I really got wet this time. Again it was a small price to pay, for some great photo opportunities. The penguins arrived on the beach, and some of them came very close, which was very funny. In the evening the light was also perfect, with orange back light from the sunset. No doubt – this was one of my best evenings together with penguins.
 

#10 Big surfs at the beach. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/6,3 and ISO 1000.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#11 Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/500 sec, f/5,0 and ISO 1600.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#12 Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1000 sec, f/8,0 and ISO 500.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#13 Fiordland crested penguin at sunset. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1000 sec, f/5,0 and ISO 1600.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#14 Fiordland crested penguin. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/3200 sec, f/5,0and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#15 Shampoo. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1000 sec, f/4,5 and ISO 1600.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#16 Penguin entering the beach. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/640 sec, f/5,0 and ISO 1600.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

#17 Late evening. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/10 sec, f/11 and ISO 400.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE.

Day 4 – 18.11.2011 After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to the west coast and drive over the mountains to the east side. We met the rest of the expedition group from Polar Quest + Kjetil, and we started to get ready for the great expedition to the sub-Antarctic islands.

Thanks a lot to Unni, Miguel, Joan and our guide Niall, great travel companions.

Written by photo guide: Ole Jørgen Liodden

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