Farewell Spit Eco Tours Blog

Earlier in the week we snapped a photo of a Leopard Seal sleeping about halfway along the ocean beach of Farewell Spit. I could not tell whether it was a male or female but it was impressive compared to the Fur Seals we normally see.

A bit further along the beach was a Thresher Shark with a 1 metre body and a 1 metre long tail.

Two youngsters on a recent tour to Farewell Spit discovered an ancient coal seam.

Will it spark another flurry of prospecting applications in the region?????

We caught him enjoying the change in the weather after a week of thunder storms in Golden Bay. Obviously word is getting out about “A gnome away from home” in August this year.

Recently, when returning from Farewell Spit, Murray Hannah and Josh Marshall

found two paper nautilus shells on Pakawau beach, one of them was  still holding eggs.

Contractors to Maritime NZ have been hanging off the Lighthouse at the end of Farewell Spit during the past week chipping sanding brushing and blasting rust and old paint off her legs.  Now that’s real exfoliation! Next comes the new paint.

Below is a photo of the action.

Just to prove that it is not all about the Godwits, here is a shot of some Gannets gathering nesting material on the ocean beach of Farewell Spit.

They will fight each other for this and even pull it out from under another bird while it is sitting on the nest. After a while though, the kelp, seaweed and marram that has been gathered is all stuck together with guano. The egg is laid in the nest on the shelly banks beyond the lighthouse and this coming year we expect more than 6000 gannets on the colony.

Further to this morning’s post about Godwits in Collingwood John reported new arrivals on the beach on his way to the Lighthouse today.

Yesterday just before the tour departed for Farewell Spit a small flock of Godwits was seen on the beach in Collingwood.   Some of them looked thin and one had remnants of breeding plumage.  It is tempting to think that they are some of the first arrivals from Alaska.  A non-stop flight of 8-9 days. Not bad going.

Farewell Spit is often described as a windy place.

What makes it seem windier is the fact that you can not only feel the wind but when the sand really flies you can see it too.

This photo was taken in January with a 25 knot westerly blowing.

Yes it is sometimes hard on paint

Our new Argo eight wheeled all terrain vehicle is just the thing for viewing Wading birds whilst they are roosting on the Spit.

We have been doing tours to see these birds for a number of years now but until this Summer have been denied the ability to see large flocks and to remain on the beach until high tide.

Having a maximum of four people each time makes it really seem like we have the place to our selves.

This photo was taken a few days before they left the Spit and shows just how colourful they become.