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.

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!

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.

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!

Summer is definitely here and we’ve had some beautiful calm sunny mornings this past week – early trips definitely reward with mountain views, calm waters and great bird life.  Swade took these photos the other day on a morning trip – the Southern Alps with Mount Cook and Tasman, and of course our favorites the Royal Spoonbills enjoying the early morning light.

Okarito Lagoon and the Southern Alps

Early morning light and royal spoonbills

Tui in song

Tui feeding on flowering flax

The Royal Spoonbills are our favorites! They are animated birds, usually in groups as they are quite sociable, unlike the white heron which is far more territorial.  You can often view them at close quarters these days as we enter the Okarito River channel, just before going into the rainforest.  A group of usually five have taken up a particular tree washed down the river in a flood as their resting area between tides and feeding.  They tend to be habitual birds, so hopefully we will continue to see this group throughout the summer months.

Royal Spoonbills at Okarito River

The weather here on the coast has been spectacular these past few days, and although we may have a wet spell tomorrow, the rest of the week is looking fine. 

 The flax flowers are becoming much more apparent and, being a predominant food source for the tui’s, these birds are really putting on some shows in the forest for us with their fast flying manoevres and complex calls.  They actually have two voice boxes and can make sounds too high pitched for us to even hear.  Tui’s breed in September and October and some of the young should be getting ready to test their wings. 

You can see the best of both wading and forest birds on our two hour Nature Tours – hope to see you soon!

You can experience a real variety of bird life at Okarito now as the Kotuku (Great White Heron) are in the middle of their breeding season at the nearby Waitangiroto Sanctuary.  The herons nest alongside the Royal Spoonbills and little shags which are all common feeders on the Lagoon, especially at mid-low tide.

On a good day right now you can see flocks of the legendary Eastern Bar Tailed Godwits, from 30 to over 100.  These amazing birds migrate from Alaska to New Zealand, having the longest non-stop migratory flight of any bird.  They arrived in Okarito in September and one couple who braved the elements with us on a rainy and windy day were thrilled to see the first flock arrive and land on the nearby tidal flats.  These birds are now busy feeding to put on the approximate 1/3rd of their lost body weight from their long flight. 

A couple of unusual bird sightings were made in Okarito this past week – a pair of lesser knots were comfortable feeding on the tidal flats and two unconfirmed sightings of a Nankeen Night Heron were reported.  There have been very few sightings ever of this Heron in New Zealand.  We’ll let you know if we get a confirmed report!

On an early morning trip last week (7:45-8:45 am – unscheduled trips can be made by advance booking – contact us!) a couple from the USA were rewarded for their early start with great sightings of three Australasian Bitterns!

The Kereru, or Native Wood Pigeon, have been putting on great shows up in the rainforest and the Tui’s are in good numbers right now too.  The native flax and cabbage trees are just starting to flower in Okarito and these plants provide a tremendous food source for the Tui’s and Bellbirds.  You can often watch them feeding as we cruise up the Okarito River into the rainforest on the 2 hour Nature Tour.

Manuka, also knownn as tea tree and for its honey and oils, is just coming into flower and the Kamahi, with its mini pink bottle brush flower has been in full bloom this past week.

After a good bout of West Coast rain these last few days, we are back to enjoying some warmth and sunshine here at the beach and Okarito Lagoon and hope you can come and join us soon!