Zealandia with Mary and Jennifer

I know that I said that I would post about my nature-based programming visit to the South Island, and I will. However, some of the pictures that I'd like to share are still on my work computer, so I've elected to wait until next week to post about that.

I also said that we'd be snowboarding this weekend, and that has not happened either, due to J having a pulled muscle in his back. He is on the mend, and we're crossing our fingers for good weather and healthy backs for next weekend. Anyone who holds sway with healing musculature or Whakapapa weather, please put in a good word.

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you some pictures from a completely amazing day I spent at Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary with Mary and Jennifer. They are ECE faculty from Kansas State University who had come to NZ to present at the World Forum on Early Childhood Education in Auckland. I have known Mary all my life, in a variety of ways, and then she was my major professor throughout my undergraduate and masters studies at K-State, which was wonderful. Jennifer has joined the faculty since I left, but I met her last time I went to visit, and she and Mary work together, and it was great to get to know her better. They were able to come down to Wellington for three days before the forum in Auckland, and we spent the weekend doing amazing Wellington things, then had a whirlwind day on Monday meeting with Victoria University's ECE faculty and spending time in my centre and the other university centre location. More about the phenomenal brainstorming and sharing we did later.

Anyway, we did many fun things on Saturday, which was a beautifully sunny day. Then on Sunday it was overcast and a bit drizzly. I was disappointed at first, but then the people at Zealandia said it was perfect to come when it was a bit wet and had rained overnight, because that's when most of the birds were out. Great news! And it proved to be completely true, because we saw an amazing profusion of native birds, including many that I'd never seen in all the time I've been in NZ. I got pictures of some of them, but not all, so I've supplemented my own pictures with ones from the internet, so you can see all the birds (and a few other creatures).

I will skip over some things that I wrote about last time we went (about a year ago with Mom, for the night tour), so if you want to look back at that post, click here.

This picture of a Piwakawaka (Fantail) is actually one I took on the South Island, but we saw lots of them in Zealandia, and I'm deeply proud of having gotten this great shot, so I'm still using it. Piwakawaka love to flit around people and fan their beautiful tails at them. It's quite a wonderful display.

The Takahē, which I saw last time we went, are amazing birds with beautiful iridescent feathers.

Unlike last time, she was spreading her tiny, flightless wings as she groomed, It was pretty cool to see. They still definitely look like wings, although it's clear that she wouldn't be able to get off the ground.

All three of us were amazed by the dense tangles of vines throughout the native bush.

Zealandia has a very successful Kākā rehabilitation programme. The Kākā are even spreading out into Wellington, to some people's consternation, as they use their hooked beaks to pry at anything they can get ahold of, and can do damage to trees, houses, cars, etc. I still think it's amazing that these native parrots are making such a comeback, and I love seeing them around.

(Remember how one of them brought a present to me at home? Click here to read that post.)

They have several different types of Kākā feeders, all of which were swarming with Kākā. I particularly like this one, because I liked watching them stretch up to get the food, and also because it made me think of the world's biggest hummingbird feeder.

Also, hilariously, this Tūī was managing to get food out of the Kākā feeder as well. It was trickier, as Tūī are so much smaller, but this one managed it. A lot of people have Tūī feeders by their houses to attract them, and they are basically smaller versions of this.

We heard and saw many, many Tūī throughout our day. Tūī have two voice boxes, and so can make a wide variety of sounds, including guttural clicks and high, lilting notes. Click here to watch a video so you can hear some of its sounds. I couldn't find one where it was more like singing, but that's okay.

A little hard to see, due to effective camouflage, but this is a Kākāriki, which is a type of parakeet. Kākāriki simply means "green" in te reo Māori, and so is not the most creative name, but the bird is beautiful.

I couldn't resist this fern silhouette. I think I have always been a touch obsessed with ferns.

And to go with the view from below, here's a view from above. We climbed up a lookout tower, and although the view in general was lovely, I just couldn't get over the beauty of this fern!

This is the picture I managed to take of a Hihi, which I'm including only because I'm proud to have gotten one at all.

Here is the internet's picture, which is much more informative, not to mention impressive. Hihi (also known as Stitchbirds) are nationally endangered, but conservation efforts are going well.

We also saw Silvereyes (also known as Waxeyes), but they were a zillion times too fast for my photography skills, so we'll thank the internet again. Silvereyes are thought to have been blown over from Australia, which I find almost unfathomable, especially for such a teeny-tiny little bird. Their colours and distinctive white eye markings are beautiful.

This stately Tuatara had found one of the few places where a sunbeam had broken through the clouds, and was clearly very pleased with herself. As I've mentioned before, Tuatara have been largely unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs, which makes them pretty darn impressive.

At the recommendation of a volunteer, we ventured into this old mine. We were given hard hats (thank goodness, as I bumped my head twice) and red night-vision torches (flashlights), and went in to look for cave wētā.

(Note: This is also the last of my own personal pictures. The rest are supplied by the internet to show you things that we saw, but couldn't photograph.)

In the cave, in the red light of our torches, we saw three cave wētā like this one. They have much longer legs and smaller bodies than the other wētā I've seen in real life, which have mostly been tree wētā. They also jump, unlike other types, which apparently gave the family in there before us quite a fright!

As a bonus, we also saw some glow worms on the ceiling!

Zealandia also has Tree Wētā (Pūtangatanga) houses along the path, which you can open up to see if wētā are living in there. I checked lots of empty ones, but we finally found one. These are also the kind I often find in the Botanic Gardens with my children.

We spotted a Korimako (Bellbird) at the Hihi feeders. They're beautifully subtle and sleek.

These next two are confusing. This is a Riroriro (Grey Warbler), and I'm pretty sure we saw one flitting through the trees. However, it might have been...

... a Pōpokotea (Whitehead). I realize that they look quite different in these pictures, but I maintain that what we saw could meet the description of either. As we'd all have been thrilled to see either one, we'll just be happy.

They are also both similar to this lovely little fellow, the Toutouwai (North Island Robin). I have seen enough of these, though, to recognize them. I remember them especially strongly because I was shocked to discover that robins here do not have red breasts, as I am used to. They are also much smaller than my robin friends in Kansas.

Thanks to an observant small child and his thoughtful father, we got to see a Tīeke (Saddleback). They were actually extinct on the mainland for 80 years, but are now thriving. Pretty exciting, and definitely beautiful. Also, usually I'm all for sticking with Māori names, but I may deviate from that track for this one, because it really looks like a saddle! Can't you imagine a tiny gnome riding on it? (I was going to say fairy, but they already have wings, so why would they do that?)

Our original plan was to spend about two hours at Zealandia, and then go into town and take the ferry out to Matiu Island. But not long into our stroll, we made the wise decision to take our time, go slowly, admire everything, and not worry about getting anywhere else. I'm so glad we did, because we were there for a least five hours, and every minute of it was amazing. We were gloriously lucky to go on a day when barely anyone else was there, and all the birds were eager to be seen. It was so peaceful to walk through the stunningly lush bush, pointing out birds to each other, chatting quietly about all kinds of things, and stopping frequently to fully immerse ourselves in the sights and sounds of this amazing place.

I feel like I say this all the time, but if you come visit, I'll want to take you here! The list gets longer all the time, so if you come, make sure you have plenty of time for adventures! If you want to read more about Zealandia, click here for their website.