Cape Kidnapper's Gannets

The Cape Kidnapper Gannet Reserve is a half hour drive from Napier in New Zealand. The Plateau colony, located on private land at the top of the Cape’s sheer and barren cliffs offers one to get within a few feet of the world’s largest and most accessible mainland gannet colony in the world. Besides the breathtaking scenery, this is the place to head for to view nesting gannets.

The headland was named after an attempt by local Maori to abduct the servant of a Tahitian member of Captain Cook’s crew aboard HMS Endeavour who they thought was being held against his will during a landfall there in 1769. When Cook’s men fired on the Maori canoe, the cabin boy escaped and returned to the ship.

The Australasian gannet, also known as Takapu, is a member of the Booby family which and is related to the families of shags, pelicans, and frigate birds. The 20,000 gannets at the cape have a pale gold crown and distinctive black eye markings.

The gannets, which have an average lifespan of 25 to 40 years, have a remarkable start. At 16 weeks old, the chicks take on a 2,800 kilometre Tasman Sea crossing despite having never been airborne before. Two to three years later, the young birds return from Australia to undertake tentative mating. However, it is not until they are five years old that they nest in earnest, after which most spend their life around Cape Kidnapper.

Mating is accompanied by a distinctive courtship display and occurs early in the season. Eggs are laid about two to three weeks following fertilization and first appear late in September with the majority laid in October. Normally a single egg is laid but if this is damaged or broken before January, a second egg is sometimes laid. When the egg first appears it is pale green and covered with a white chalky substance. Within a few days the color changes to a distinctive brown.

The gannet nest in large numbers for protection from natural enemies. The pecking range of birds on nests determines the nest spacing. They will attack any object or bird that strays into their territory. 

The best time for viewing the gannets is between early November and late February. Please note that public access to the gannet colonies is closed between July and October. This is to prevent disturbance to the birds during their early nesting phase.

Wildlife in Paradise

In December 2012, I was commissioned by Bali Zoo to produce a 120 page hardcover book to showcase the animals and activities at the zoo. The photographs in the book were captured over a total period of two weeks that I spent with these amazing animals. Unlike my previous nature projects that were done in the wild, the greatest obstacle was to overcome the distractions of grim looking bars and fencing both in the foreground and background, and reflections off glass to get the right image. There was a lot of hanging around and patience involved in order to best capture the animal’s character and intricate details of its body. Timing was also important to take full advantage of the natural light and increased activity of the animals during feeding times.

Cameras used for this project were Canon 5DMark III, Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 1D Mark III. Lenses included the 600mm f/4, 400mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 15mm fisheye and the 50mm f/1.8.

10% of the proceeds from sale from Wildlife in Paradise will be donated by Bali Zoo to the Friends of Nature Park Foundation (FNPF) which is well known for its conservation of the Bali mynah - Bali's emblem and one of the world's most endangered birds.

Wildlife in Paradise was launched at Bali Zoo on the 28th of May 2013 and another launch was held at Pacific Place Mall in Jakarta on the 30th of May 2013. The Malaysian High Commissioner to Indonesia did the honors in Jakarta.

With the kecak dancers from left: Omar Ariff, Jos Parengkuan, Lesmana Putra and Nik Kamil.

The book retails for Rp. 349,000 and is available from the Bali Zoo.