This is one of only three gannet colonies established on the mainland in New Zealand. It is also the most accessible, only a few minutes walk from the carpark. The birds are usually present from October to January. Photo C. Smuts-Kennedy, courtesy of Department of Conservation. After having been hunted relentlessly until the early 19th century, New Zealand fur seals are re-establishing themselves.
Colonies are common in the South Island, and they have started to breed again in the North Island.
Nowadays sperm whales are the most commonly seen and observed whales in New Zealand waters, but a number of other species can be seen as well. Southern right whales occasionally return to the Cook Strait area where they were once common, while minke, Bryde's and humpback whales are common visitors to the Hauraki Gulf. The sub-antarctic islands have remained a haven for several species of pinnipeds and southern right whales. Because of the country's extensive coastline and many inshore and offshore islands, it is possible for the keen obsever to see more seabirds here than in most other countries. Three-quarters of the world's albatrosses, penguins and petrels and half the shearwaters and shags are to be found here, along with numerous representatives of a number of other groups.