New Zealand continues…
For pictures, click HERE
Our next day would prove full of wildlife. We left Invercargill and headed to the Caitlins – a stretch of land meandering the southern coastline. However, we first drove to the most southern spot one could drive to in New Zealand – this so far is the furthest south we have ever gone!
We first went to a beach where petrified wood lies in rocks along the shore. We lucked out because it is only viewed at low tide, and we just happened to catch the tide right. While looking at the wood, Jim noticed a yellow-eyed penguin in the bushes. These penguins we have been told are the rarest penguin in the world. In February they begin to moult. During this 6 week moult, they cannot enter the water, thus they do not eat. We made the mistake of telling another couple that there was a penguin in the bushes, and as we were leaving they went right up to it, and their child started harassing it in the bushes. Then about 10 other people began crowding around, and even an adult entered the bushes trying to get a photograph. We were so frustrated – Jim yelled out “10 metres!!”, as this is how far one is supposed to stay away from them so they do not get stressed (there were signs stating this so everyone should have known), and some of them started to back away. What the people don’t realize is that stress takes energy, and the penguins have to be very careful with their energy output while moulting. Just getting stressed can ultimately lead to their death. We left there, feeling very guilty as we had shared our secret with people we thought would be sensible. Frustration and anger outweighed the guilt though, as it always astounds us how stupid people can be.
We stayed that night at a campground in Kaka Bay, and after quickly setting up our tent in the afternoon, we left on a seal/penguin search. We were rewarded with both. We managed to time the tide right, and there were large tide pools in amongst the rocks at the shore. We had a terrific viewpoint from the cliff we were on (with our binoculars) to watch the seal pups frolick in the pools with each other. In each pool there were at least six pups, and each pool had one adult seal sitting along the edge of it. It seemed as though the pups were practicing all their fancy moves for the ‘big sea’ while the adults monitored them, making sure they were behaving themselves. By the time we walked back along the same way, all the pools were gone as the tide was high, and all the seals were gone – putting the practice to real life.
We then walked along the beach for quite some time, just checking out critters (mostly hermit crabs) and shells, when suddenly I saw Jim taking pictures of something in the distance. He pointed at something, and at first I didn’t notice it. On further inspection, I saw it….a yellow-eyed penguin who blended in so well with the surrounding driftwood I was amazed that Jim had seen it. The good thing was that the penguin never noticed us as we were quite far away from it – the beauty of having binoculars and a zoom camera lens. We watched it for a while as it preened itself constantly, wondering if they get lonely and bored during the time they are stuck on land with nothing to eat or do, other than preen. No one else was around, and we were happy about that, especially because of the harrassment that had occurred earlier in the day.
With no where else to go but north, we made our way through Dunedin – a very nice looking place (for a city) – and visited the museum and took some pictures of some old buildings. We basically just drove through Christchurch, as it seemed too big and busy for us and made our way along Arthurs Pass. We were told that we could see Keas here; Keas are a type of parrot that we had been looking for, but had not seen yet. The drive along Arthurs Pass was incredible – the weather was perfect and the hills, mountains and valleys were beautiful. We still didn’t see any Keas that day, although we heard one. So, in hopes of seeing one, we decided to spend the night (camped for free!!) at a site that they are known to frequent. Hmmmm. No luck again, and instead we were bombarded by blackflies. We were beginning to believe that the keas have gone the way of the kiwi, and that all the signs stating, “Do NOT feed the Keas” were some kind of sick joke put on by the natural resources department.
The next morning our last chance to see them would be at a lookout site, made for viewing the engineering ingenuity of the road in this area. We had heard that the keas frequent this spot as well.
We found out quickly that the birds do indeed frequent this spot, as our car was immediately bombarded by squaking keas, trying to pick away at any rubber part they could get their beaks on. Well, this wasn’t exactly the way we had wanted to see them, but nonetheless, we got ‘up close and personal’ with them, often having to shoo them off of our car. So, they do exist after all, and from the show they put on for us, it seems as though they are quite used to cars and humans!
By this time we had seen much of the south island, and took the ferry back across to the north island again. We dropped in on our friends again in Palmerston North, where they took us to a professional rugby game. Our knowledge of rugby (especially at this point in the trip) was not very good, and we seemed to miss many of the highlights of the game. However, that was okay, because it was very entertaining just watching all the spectators’ antics throughout – they really get rambunctious, and many were wearing very little except for paint in the colours of their team.
Thanks again to our NZ friends Dave, Liz and Kayden for your hospitality and friendship – we had a terrific time with you (and Kayden, I miss our card games!).
We visited a ‘wildlife sanctuary’ called Mt Bruce, where the Department of Conservation is trying to keep all feral animals out of the area, while introducing some native species to the area. They are having a good amount of success, and even have a nocturnal kiwi house. We had by this time given up seeing a kiwi in the wild, so we decided to check them out at this park.
The park has a large building in which 3 (at that point in time) kiwis are held. It was quite well done, and we were able to see the kiwis quite well. Once our eyes got used to the darkness, the red lights illuminated the kiwis enough so that we could watch them forage around in the leaf litter with their long beaks for food. They could not see us, nor hear us, so they just went about their nightly business of collecting insects, etc. During our night, the lights go on in the kiwi house, and they sleep during this time since they are nocturnal. The kiwis were much bigger than we had anticipated, (however, there are many different sizes and kinds of kiwis) and quite amazing to watch – their beak is so long that it looks like it would be pretty cumbersome, but they manage to make it work for them easily. They are such a unique looking creature; it is so sad that so much of their forest has been taken away from them by us, and that feral animals are killing more than what can sustain the population. The hope of the Dept of Conservation is to try to populate reserve areas and off shore islands with the kiwi and maybe they will make a rebound.
Heading still north, we came across a place with the longest name in the world. Try pronouncing it…Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu. It means, “The hilltop where Tamatea with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, traveller over land and sea, played his flute to his beloved.” Needless to say, the sign for this place is very long indeed!
Driving north to Lake Taupo, we passed by Mount Ruapehu (Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) in Tongariro National Park. Unfortunately it was overcast and rainy, so we did not get a clear view of it. We continued on, not having time to wait for a better day to view the mountain, and set up our tent before sunset. We walked to the beach at Lake Taupo, where Jim proceded to get stung by a wasp. This would not be such a big deal, except for the fact that Jim is allergic to many types of wasps, and in the past has swollen up so badly that body parts have become unrecognizable. I always carry 2 epi-pens on me for situations just like this, in case of a bad reaction. The wasp got him on his ankle – the stinger was still in him. We walked back to the tent and I got out the tweezers so I could remove the stinger. Managed to get it out fine, and surprisingly the site was not swelling up that badly. He felt fine, popped a benadryl, cleaned the sting site up, and we hoped for the best. We actually could not believe that this was the first time on the trip thus far that he had been stung, as for some reason wasps always find him wherever he is, and he has swatted away hundreds on this trip. Myself, I have probably only shooed away, at the most, 10. Anyways, next day his ankle looked pretty good – no major swelling and he could walk on it fine. I was just glad that I never had to jab him with the needle…not looking forward to the day when I have to do that!
We spent a day in Rotorua, which is an area known for its geothermal activity. Unfortunately, most of the thermal areas are privately run, and cost a fortune. We managed to find a thermal stream, some bubbling mud pots and some steam vents all for free, and saved ourselves from another exploited attraction. While in town, we went to a Maori ‘hangi’ (cooking in an underground oven) and dance. The food and dancing was good, albeit in a conference venue at a hotel.
Next stop was Auckland where we tried to arrange a night stay at Tiritiri Matangi Island. This island is a nature reserve, and has both kiwis and tuataras on it, along with many other types of birds. There apparently is dorm style housing on the island that people can stay overnight in, and we were keen to do so. However, no one could give us any information on it, stating that everyone just goes there for day trips. This I don’t understand because kiwis are nocturnal, and wouldn’t it make sense to stay over to try to see one? Needless to say, we were unable to arrange it, so we just headed more north. We would soon find out that the north would prove to be a good route to go.
Tags: Travel
Kristin
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