New Zealand's Bird World

It's not raining yet today. The emphasis is on yet. However, our desire for activities is limited. Especially since I just read that the royal albatrosses are currently in their breeding season and cannot be visited. So I'll use the time and browse through my travel guide, because I haven't told you anything about New Zealand yet.

New Zealand is the only country where fjords, volcanoes, subtropical beaches, glaciers, forests, and geysers are so close together. The country where there are no poisonous animals and where tourists are welcomed with open arms by the locals. New Zealand consists of the North Island and the South Island and has less than 5 million inhabitants, which is about 18 inhabitants per km2. Most of them are of European descent (70%) and Māori (15%).

The main economic sectors are agriculture and forestry (wood, wool, and aluminum), the food industry (meat, fruits/vegetables, and dairy products), and tourism. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor-General, a Māori.

The South Island was discovered in 1642 by the Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman. However, part of the crew was killed by Māoris when they went ashore on the island. The rest of the crew decided not to go ashore and left New Zealand. In 1769, James Cook landed on the "Tasman" Island, claimed it for the English crown, and mapped it. His crew also had unpleasant encounters with the Māoris, but that didn't deter them.

From 1800 onwards, New Zealand was colonized by the first European settlers.

Well, enough for now. As long as it's not raining, we want to go to the albatross colony. 20 minutes along the coastal road and we're there.

Located in a scenic area.

You can only visit the royal albatrosses with a guided tour, but we don't want to do that.

I'm starting to find that annoying, you have to pay to see every "animal" here, except for seagulls, sheep, and cows.

We saw a few albatrosses flying around,

but the screeching seagulls outnumbered them. Whenever I see such a large gathering of seagulls, I automatically think of the movie "The Birds". Creepy.

However, there were also cormorants.

The northern royal albatross can have a wingspan of 3 meters.

It can be recognized by its dark wings.

Its life expectancy is 42-60 years. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 10. They lay an egg every 2 years. Their diet consists of fish and 🐙 on the surface of the sea. The greatest danger to the albatrosses comes from longline fishing.

All the fresh air is making us tired. Besides, our wellness package is waiting for us.