At the end of August I spent a week on Aotea/Great Barrier Island as part of one of my postgraduate courses. We were there to survey vegetation in forests and wetland systems, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. It wasn’t a photo-heavy trip for me, but I did enjoy the opportunities I took to get some images. Here are a few visual highlights from the trip:

Perfect weather for the 5-hour ferry journey, and plenty of seabirds! It was great spotting Fluttering Shearwaters, White-faced Storm Petrels, Northern Diving Petrels, Little Blue Penguins, and even a few Northern Giant Petrels!

The walk back along the sandspit at Whangapoua from our wetland sampling site was pretty perfect (and the dip in the sea for those brave enough was spectacular!). The weather was distinctly summery. The water was not. Still, it finally quenched the craving for a swim in the sea that I’ve held on to since mid-autumn!

The fresh smell of sun-warmed mingimingi flowers was absolutely everywhere.

Pāteke at dawn. We stayed at Orama in Karaka Bay, which gave stunning views out towards Hauturu/Little Barrier Island in the distance, past Wood and Motuhaku Islands.

Method in the madness of carrying around my 70-300mm lens! Friendly Piwakawaka at Kaitoke Hot Springs.

The overwhelming excitement of finally  seeing Common dolphins on the ferry ride home. There were screams of joy as they skimmed along under the bow, accompanying us as we headed back towards Auckland. It was fantastic.

And the sunset was pretty decent too, golden light skimming the water as we passed the Noises and Rakino Island.

Cheers to everyone who made this trip amazing, I could quite happily have stayed much longer. During my time at Uni I’ve had multi-day field trips to Pureora and Tiritiri Matangi, but this was next-level stuff, both in the amount of learning and fun that went on. I’m covered in bruises (thanks to late-night hockey games), slightly sunburnt (whoops), and my plant ID skills have definitely upped a few levels (Thanks James, Shannon, and Sam!). There’s hope for my bird-addled brain yet.