Picton, Marlborough Sound and Motuara Island

Had several days off in a row from work shifts, so I have headed up north to Picton and Marlborough Sound.
Cheapest way to get there?  The Naked Bus (no frills); $35 each way for about 5 hours.

There is a completely yellow hillside (can't quite see in this picture) that is really striking.  I guess, though, that it is a plant called broom and it is not native to New Zealand- an invasive species that has really spread, so though it looks cool it is not benign.

North of Kaikoura (where I was last weekend), went through the town of Blenheim, home of many New Zealand wineries.

Took a boat trip/bird-watching tour to Motuara Island.
  This picture shows several Spotted Shags, as well as one King Shag (the one that is black and white in the middle of that group)- apparently there are only about 900 King Shag in the world; we saw 4 today.
  We also saw Australasian Gannets, Fluttering Sheerwaters, and many other birds.
  There had been orca sightings the past few days, but we did not luck out on that front.

My favorite- little blue penguins!
Motuara Island is completely predator-free and is a bird santuary.
These nesting boxes were put on the island for the penguins, and they like the shelter (they come and go as they please)

Hard to see in this picture through the wire, but this is actually a fuzzy gray penguin chick!

View from a lookout on Motuara Island- this is where Captain Cook first arrived in New Zealand and encountered the Maori people on this island.

Very tropical- look at that fern!

Here is a better picture of a little blue penguin- this one still has a bit of gray fuzz, but is reaching maturity.

This picture shows the start of the Queen Charlotte track that I start tomorrow (3 days of hiking- about 44 miles, or 71km)

Cheers,
Emily