Cape Kidnappers

A short distance south of Napier is Cape Kidnappers which is only accessible by foot at low tide. The walk along the beach takes two and a half hours each way with a steep climb at the end. There is a tractor that operates when the tide is out but we arrived at high tide and took a tour bus over the privately owned Cape Kidnappers Estate. It took about forty five minutes to drive to the cape and when we crested the last hill the sight that greeted us took our breath away.

This is the largest gannet colony in the southern hemisphere and we were six feet away from the birds who ignored us completely. There are several colonies on the cape and at each site the birds carried on as usual providing fascinating insights into their behaviour.

Gannets are sometimes called Boobies and in many languages the name for the Gannet has derogatory connotations but looking at these birds, they just seem beautiful.

The way they greeted each other when one partner returned to the nest and the way the parents groomed their chicks was totally endearing.