But she was "over the moon'' yesterday when she and her husband Phil returned and were granted special close access to a royal albatross chick called Tumanako (Hope), at the colony.
Mrs Bevan (63), now a New Zealand citizen and living in Mapua, about 30km west of Nelson, won a competition, which attracted 1672 entries, to name the chick.
"This is a 'once in a lifetime' for people like me,'' she said.
"This was my No 1 experience.''
The chick is Dunedin's latest albatross media star, having spent its life being widely viewed on the internet via Doc's royal albatross cam.
Tumanako and its predecessor chick Moana have attracted more than 1.6 million views from audiences in 198 countries since the camera was installed in January last year.
Mrs Bevan spent "a few days'' mulling over her suggested name before sending it in.
"I thought that was right for the bird.''
"Hope'' seemed a fitting name, given some birds ventured vast distances away from Taiaroa Head before returning some years later, she said.
