Whataroa, and the White Heron Sanctuary

Leaving Lake Hawea yesterday with dramatic low clouds drifting down the hills.

The fantail falls are on the way from Lake Hawea to the west coast.

Today we drove from Whataroa across the bridge, to the foot of the Franz Josef Glacier and walked to Peter's Pool for the view of the glacier, and the reflection, and then to the river bed where the forest ends, for a view of the glacier.

The view of the glacier from the car park where people start their 2 hour walk to the foot of the glacier, or to Peter's pool.

This is the lovely view from Peter's pool. The glacier reached to the pool around 100 years ago, and has been retreating further up the mountain since.

Today the glacier is quite a way from the parking area.

We needed to be back at Whataroa at 3pm for the tour to the Heron Sanctuary.

The tour started with a bus journey to the jetty, and then a jet boat ride of 20 minutes down the Waitangitaona river to the hide where the nesting herons can be seen. There are around forty nesting birds, with nesting cormorants or shags below them, and the occasional spoonbill above.

One has to walk around ten minutes through a forest of ferns.

Here is the only colony of nesting white herons, or Kotuku, in New Zealand, in the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve. One can only reach this nesting colony by jet boat, which can navigate the shallow waters of the river. We saw around twenty nests with young chicks and often, an attending adult.

Many of the birds seen here are adolescents, aged around three years. The fully mature adults have a more finely traced feathery plumage.

This is a shag, or little cormorant. They nest just above the water level, and below the white herons.

A white heron in graceful flight.

Here is a parent white heron with two chicks in the nest.

Carol with our jet boat driver and guide.

An adult or adolescent fishing in the clear waters.

The hide has a supply of binoculars and a large monocular lens.

This is a Royal Spoonbill; a different shaped bill to the white heron; otherwise they look similar.

The mature adult has a finely feathered plumage.

You can see this plumage projects further than the rest of the feathers.

Arriving back at our start on the jet boat.