Australia & NZ (Cruise) -- Nov 2013

Taken as we walked down the hill, but still pretty far above the beach (beach is across the top of the photo). Here we are looking down onto the grassy area just inland from the beach. This seems to be where the penguins nest (in the green area) -- although the guide said that have been seen over 1/2 mile inland (but I don't know if they ever nest that far inland).

The distances in this photo are larger than they appear because of the use of the zoom lens and the fact that the land is sloping steeply downward.

The rectangular structure in the lower center of the photo is a partly buried bunker-like structure from which toruists (and researchers) can view penguin nests. The short "tail" extendiing downward from structure (toward the bottom of the photo) is a covered trench that provides access to the "bunker".

There is a cluster of similar buker-like structures just to the left of the center of the photo. There are several other sturctures and tunnels in the area that are either outside the field of the photo or are so well camoflaged that they can't be seen.

The idea is that the penguins would be disturbed by people walking around them, towering over them. However, they don't feel threatened by seeing relatively small amounts of motion from observers down near their eye level.

The story we were told is roughly that the owners of this "preserve" are basically a farm family (mostly raising sheep) that has extensive land holdings in this area of the coast. They realized they have this area where penguins nested and established this private research/preservation center on this portion of their land.

It's run at least partly as a tourist place. However, it's also apparent -- from the size of the facility (small) and the staff and investment they have made (in building the observation structures, buying the smaller buses, etc.) that they aren't doing much more than breaking even on expenses. It is not a big time money-maker like, say, the Disney company. (IMG_5162.SX40.JPG)