Zealandia with Dad and Lucinda

Posting once a week is resulting in the dates of my posts being increasingly distant from the dates when things actually happen. I hope this doesn't bother anyone too much, because I don't think that posting more than once a week is something I'm willing to commit to at this stage.

Anyway, this post is still from when Dad and Lucinda were here. We did so many fun things, over a month later I still have lots to write about.

Zealandia is probably my favourite place to take visitors in Wellington, partly because it's so beautiful and inspiring that it's delightful to share, and partly because I always discover something new, so it never gets repetitive for me.

First, we went on Dad and Lucinda's second day here, when it happened to be raining. I'd been told that a drizzly day was the perfect time to come, because that's when lots of the birds are out looking for food. It turned out to be slightly more of a downpour than a drizzle at first, but that was fine, as it's exciting and beautiful to be in the woods in the rain. And then it lightened up significantly, and we ventured out from underneath our umbrellas, and enjoyed that, too.

Dad and Lucinda shared my appreciation of amazing ponga (NZ ferns). Also, Dad had a cool waterproof hat that Patty's dad Paul gave him, which he enjoyed using here.

There are all kinds of interesting fungi around Zealandia, but I don't think I'd ever seen these ones! They look like some interesting (but unappetizing) combination of licorice and tar.

Tickets for Zealandia are good for two days, so we headed back the next day, which happened to be much sunnier. J came with us as well, and the four of us had a fabulous time. The shags were out in full force in their favourite spot, which was fun.

All over Zealandia there are these wooden steps with tiny plaques on them, most of which state the names of the individuals, families, or organizations that donated money to Zealandia. I'd read a couple but mostly didn't pay attention to them.

Fortunately, Dad did, because he spotted this one. Hilarious! The Three Billy Goats is one of my children's favourite stories, which we tell in te reo Māori and in English. It made my (already lovely) day to see this.

A nice lady pointed out this beautiful female tuatara sunning herself. I'd never see one in this area, and it is great for getting a really good look at them.

We also saw a larger male one out in the usual area where we see them. I'd never seen two on one trip, so that was special.

We also saw this stunning quail -I'd never seen one at Zealandia before. They are not native to NZ, of course, but they don't hurt anything and they're beautiful, so they're pretty good as far as invasive species go.

We also admired the Kākā, as usual. I liked how clearly you could see the intense, curved beak when they were silhouetted in the trees.

The reservoir was beautiful, as it always is.

This is the higher of the two dams, which we learned were constructed to provide more water for the growing population of Wellington.

I'd never noticed the hilarious and ingenious little pockets the foresters had created to help vines grow. We'd been noticing how often there were natural little pockets in trees, from which other plants were growing, and apparently here they decided to give the system some support.

I may have (definitely) mentioned this before, but I love tunnel paths like this!

We saw lots and lots of birds the second day, and I actually got some decent pictures, especially around the Hihi and Korimako feeders like this one. The one with yellow on his wings is a male Hihi (Stitchbird) and I'm pretty sure the other one is a female Hihi, although it's harder to tell the females apart. Could be a female Korimako (Bellbird).

 One of the male Hihi hung around in the tree after finishing at the feeders, which was charming of him.

Dad and Lucinda read all of the historical information about the settlers and evolution of Zealandia throughout the years, and said it was fascinating. I prefer to focus on being out in nature with the birds, but it's great to have both options.

I do think that I'm coming to the end of the pictures and stories from when Dad and Lucinda visited, but I still have lots of back-logged things to post about, so I'll keep getting to them as I can.