spectacular! The West Coast has experienced some of the best weather the country has seen this summer – beautiful hot sunny days and star filled nights.  The local campground has been humming along with happy campers enjoying life at the beach.  We’ve had visitors on the boat tours from around the world, lots of New Zealanders discovering their own country and exploring “off the beaten track”, and visitors from The Netherlands, Germany, UK, Scotland, France and Canada and the USA.

We’ve had some outstanding bird sightings on the lagoon with the white herons, royal spoonbills, godwits, south island pied oyster catchers, dotterals, pied stilts and more.  It’s been a great year for the terns, both Caspian and white fronted terns.  Swade caught this one on camera drifting past on a morning trip – just posing for him! 

Although we have been predominantly viewing herons on the lagoon feeding, this one has found it’s favorite perch in the rainforest and we often see it here.  The colour contrast is amazing with the clear blue skies, rainforest and the incredible white of the herons feathers.

And of course, the early risers are always in for a treat.  We are happy to do early morning departures on request which are often for keen birders, or photographers.  This one was for a photographer who really lucked out with dramatic morning colours – Swade took this from the Wharf where the tours depart at about 6:30 AM – beautiful!

Being small operators, we rarely take time away during these busier summer months, but having a boat has its advantages!  The other night we headed off up the northwest side of the lagoon to the secluded North Beach of Okarito and camped out for the night.  After a meal cooked over the coals of a fire (salmon, grilled vegies and couscous and corn on the cob – yum!), we watched the sky fill with stars and saw the Southern Cross and Orion. 

Early morning we headed back in time for breakfast and to meet our 9 AM guests.  With slightly overcast skies, Mount Cook and Tasman rose up above the clouds and it was another stunningly beautiful morning on Okarito Lagoon.

If you haven’t heard about it, you might like to check out this great website – full of what the 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and 70 somethings are up to in New Zealand!

Lynn Clayton joined us here in Okarito and wrote this article about her experiences – enjoy her writing and stunning photographs.

Okarito Wharf at Dawn

Hope you enjoyed the read and perhaps may just entice you to come see for yourself what this iconic little village is all about!

Although the last couple of weeks has felt more like spring than summer, those fortunate to seek out sunshine off the beaten track were rewarded with some great trips this month.  As Okarito is located right on the sea the weather is often sunnier than our neighbours just inland such as Franz Josef Glacier.  So if you’re in the area and the clouds are rolling in, head out to the beach where you just may find yourself basking in the sunshine just 10 minutes away.

Warmer temperatures are finally here and it does feel like summer.  There has been plenty of bird activity not only on the lagoon but right around the village of Okarito.  A short stroll down the main street and around on the beach will probably reward you with some great close up photo opportunites for young paradise ducklings and banded dotterals.  See you at the beach!

It’s been an interesting spring and early summer in Okarito.  In November the mouth of the lagoon blocked off from the sea – this is a natural occurence when the southerly sea swells drop huge amounts of sand and sediment across the mouth and there is not sufficient rainfall flowing out from the lagoon.  It put a quick and early end to the whitebaiting season here, which, although disappointing is not as threatening to us as to the Kotuku – the Great White Heron.  These birds are nesting just north of Okarito and rely on the whitebait season for them and their newly hatched chicks.  Our heron numbers on the lagoon decreased as these birds struggled with the rising waters and had to move further afield for their feed.  The godwits also began to disappear as the tidal flats quickly became submerged.

Within 3 weeks, the decision was made to force the lagoon open with a digger which duly arrived and took most of a day to clear the entrance.  With a few weeks now of the lagoon being tidal again, and recent rainfalls all is beginning to settle into a more regular routine of flow.  And with that, there are good numbers of herons to be seen feeding, royal spoonbills and the godwits have returned once again.  They were spotted just yesterday by a keen birder from Britain who just happened by on his way to a conference in Christchurch and joined us for a  morning trip.  He spotted about 3 dozen godwits feeding on the flats.

The flax is beginning to flower, a bit late this year with cooler than normal temperatures, but the rata has had a brilliant flowering year.  We come right up to the tree featured here on the water – the show of red against the rainforest green is the perfect Christmas colouring!

Swade of Okarito Boat Tours and A Day at the Beach festivities

A Day at the Beach
25/09/09 3:15 PM

A Day at the Beach Festival is the inspiration of Coasters Louis Brown and Guy Ryan. Late September Louis finished a solo walk from Karamea to Franz Josef – walking along the West Coast and inspiring other West Coasters to engage in educational and fun activities along the way.

He arrived in Okarito on Tuesday Sept 23 in great spirits. We met him on the North Beach of Okarito and after a good nights rest he joined a group of local school kids from Franz Josef and interested adults too who took part in A Day at the Beach Festival at Okarito. Sarah Bond from the Department of Conservaiton and Karen Mayhew of the Blue Penguin Trust put on a great slideshow and talk in Donovan’s Historic Store in Okarito.

As the grey skies cleared to brilliant sunshine, Okarito Boat Tours ferried everyone across the mouth of the Okarito Lagoon to the North Beach. Paula took everyone for a walk up the beach to a hidden cemetery and gave an impromptu talk on the human history of the area. It was great to mix the ecology of this unique environment with the human history and eco-tourism of today in an educational format. Thanks to Louis and Guy for their great festival which has inspired so many others to come out and appreciate the incredible environment we are so fortunate to live in.

For more information and some great photos on the festival visit www.adayatthebeach.org.nz.

Eastern bar-tailed Godwits at Okarito

Although we had heard of godwits returning to Christchurch a few weeks ago, we hadn’t seen them yet on the Lagoon, until last week.  A large grouping of them swooped overhead and landed on the flats nearby – good to see them back!

Winter on the West Coast is generally much warmer than the central South Island, or east coast.  We are now enjoying beautiful sunny days and very still calm waters.  Our wonderful weather has also provided us with gentle seas and a walk along Okarito Beach rewarded us with sighting two Hector’s Dolphins feeding very close into shore.

The birdlife is great as many of the forest birds come down to lower areas as the snow and colder weather creeps down the mountains.  There is a lot of fantail and fernbird activity in and around the village and in the forest waterways of Okarito Lagoon, as well as bellbirds and countless silvereyes.

On the water we are seeing white herons feeding – these birds will likely be with us year round now.  One in particular is a regular around the historic Wharf where our trips depart from.  He seems quite happy to have his photo taken!

Winter in Okarito is a blissfully quiet and serene time to visit.  Our regularly scheduled trips can be customized to suit your itinerary, so feel free to drop a line or inquire about accommodation and boat tour specials as well.  We look forward to your company in Okarito!

The Honourable Anand Satyanand, the Governor-General of New Zealand, visited Okarito on March 14, 2009.  On a West Coast Tour, he and representatives from Department of Conservation, arrived in Okarito for a luncheon at the historic Donovan’s store.  All locals were invited and a great spread of food was laid out.  His Excellency was informal and conversational, meeting and chatting with all the locals including Okarito’s eldest resident Gar Graham (in his 90th year).

Following lunch the Governor-General and entourage, including local historian Anne Hall and local scientist Ian James, took a one hour boat tour of the lagoon. As they set off, the tide was pushing in and the water was extremely high – this doesn’t always bode well to see many of the wading birds! Swade headed straight up the lagoon for the rainforest, and sure enough, a brilliant white heron was perfectly perched on every corner! This is where they are often found at rest, waiting for the tide to change or fishing the swallows along the riverways.  The boat quietly drifts past these birds, enabling very close encounters without disturbing them.  So it turned out and an absolutely brilliant day and all were treated to great bird sightings and views of Mount Cook and Tasman.

We hope the Governor-General enjoyed his West Coast visit and the annual Wild Foods Festival he was visiting next in Hokitika – that will be a change from the quiet trip on the lagoon – plenty of wildlife (and foods of course) to be found there!

Still Waters, Clear Skies and the Southern Alps

February brought with it beautiful sunny days and showed off some of the best of the West Coast.  With the White Heron chicks stretching their wings and coming to the lagoon to feed, Royal Spoonbills in increasing numbers, and loads of orchids in bloom, it was a wonderful month all round.

Clear still mornings offered passengers some magic photographic opportunities for white herons with the snow clad peaks of the Southern Alps as a backdrop – a rare sight indeed for many as the great white heron is more of a tropical bird – New Zealand being such an extreme climate for their survival this is a sight not seen by many!

Morning Tea in the Rainforest

All two hour trips offer a stop off in the rainforest along the waterways of the Okarito River.  Skipper Swade brews up fresh pots of coffee and tea and offers up his famous homemade cookies.  These are great opportunities to stretch the legs, have a chat with Swade and learn more about the forest plants and birdlife.  (and have another cookie or two!)

Family and Group Trips

February brought the Scott/Cameron cycle tour group to Okarito for a private champagne boat tour followed by a BBQ hosted by Paula & Swade.  The Scotts and Camerons of Oregon, USA were on a two week vacation of a lifetime, cycling around New Zealand with friends Simon Burrows (Vermont, USA) and Luise Sutton (UK).  We had a brilliant afternoon and evening with two boat tours, loads of birds to be seen on the lagoon and topped off with champagne and treats in the rainforest.  After time on the water, it was back to Kotuku Lodge for barbecued lamb and salmon, fresh local salads and breads and homemade carrot cake for dessert!  A special gift was presented to each in the group – an autographed copy of “Landscapes of New Zealand” , a stunning collection of work by Okarito photographer Andris Apse. See www.andrisapse.com for more of his works.

We are happy to cater to your group with private bookings and specials – just drop us a line!

Spoonbills and white heron Jan 2009

Weather forecast for the West Coast has come under some debate this past week, as tourists have been steered away from potential rain.  Although rain, and heavy rain, has been mysteriously forecast to appear, we’ve just had two weeks of brilliant warm sunny days.  We’ll let the photos of the past week speak for themselves, and if you’re looking for a proper forecast for anywhere in New Zealand, we recommend you try www.metvuw.com/forecast. 

Heron and Southern Alps Jan 24, 2009Okarito and Southern Alps Jan 2009

Spoonbills in morning light Jan 24 2009

Exploring the rainforest in the sunshineWhite heron in morning light Jan 24 2009

If you have any questions regarding our trips and the weather, please feel free to email or call us at anytime.  The weather can vary tremendously from even as close as 27 kilometers away in Franz Josef.  We look forward to seeing you in some Okarito sunshine!