New Zealand was on our short list of places to go for some time so when we found relatively cheap tickets that would allow us to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday we jumped on the opportunity. And now after a couple months of preparation we are on our way via Los Angeles. It is a long flight so we are excited when we finally see the New Zealand coastline below us and soon we are landing in the Auckland airport. Passing through customs is lengthy but finally we are out and ready to pick up our car for the short (5 min) drive to the hotel.
First view of New Zealand
Landing on the island
The hotel is quite modern and good looking and to our surprise even has finches in the lobby some of which are unbelievingly colorful. After checking in we go to the nearby strip mall to buy some provisions for the next day before returning to the room.
Our hotel - quite modern
Inside the hotel
The lobby and restaurant
Mall near hotel
Birds in the lobby
Quite a cutie
The room is also very nice which is good as the first thing we do is to fall asleep as we are dead tired after the long flight. And it is raining outside so there is no chance for us to go out as we planned....or at least that is what we thought.
The room
Nice bath
When we wake up the rain has ended and after a short review of possible targets we decide to go out to the nearby Otuataua Stonefields. Otuataua Stonefields is a historical site that shows how the first tropical Polynesian colonists that arrived here around 1300AD adapted to their new environment. There are Polynesian house sites, storage pits, cooking shelters, terraces, mound gardens, garden plots and garden walls as well as some 19th-century European dry-stone farm walls however few of them are visible.
Otuataua Stonefields entrance
Australian Magpie looking at us
We are the only people this late in the day on the trail and there are quite a few birds all around us at least based on the sounds that we hear. The only ones that we actually see are the magpies which are examining us curiously and a skittish sacred kingfisher who flies away as soon as he spots us. Close to the start of trail is an avocado orchard where you can enter and pick your own avocados but unfortunately we are out of season.
Typical stone fence
Sacred Kingfisher on a post
Entering the orchard
Avocado orchard
The trail then opens up into the Stonefields where multiple trails both official and unofficial create loops passing past points of interest some of which are marked. There are very few still visible remains but we can imagine how this area looked hundreds of years ago when the first Polynesians started their gardens here.
Looking for the trail
The lagoon in the distance
Coral tree
Still near the airport
Stonefields
Some more modern worked stones
Now the meadows are full of flowers native and more likely introduced and almost all the birds around us have been introduced from the Old World - for certain the yellowhammer which is by far the most common bird on these fields. Many of the native birds have been exterminated or reduced to island sanctuaries either by Polynesian settlers, or by the European ones or by the introduced animals and pests and few can be seen readily in today's age but we are planning to do our best the next couple of weeks:).
Yellow Glandweed
Common Broomrape
Wand Mullein
Seashells (from a bird/animal?)
Yellowhammer mad at each other :)
Resting on top of tree
As we start our return loop it seems to rain everywhere around us just not on our peninsula with some nice double rainbows visible for quite some time. Just when we assume we escaped the rain starts also at our location so we get wet right before getting in the car - just our luck but at least we didn't get soaking wet.
Bramble fences
Double rainbow
Nice view
Before the rain
After returning to the hotel and changing into dry clothes it is time to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant which is the best of the choices in the neighborhood. The food is actually quite good even though the curry is more spicy than we expected and full we return to our room to rest before the start of our exploration of the North Island.
Today we are driving north taking in the Northland Peninsula which we struggled a bit when planning as it means in a couple of days we have to drive back and pass through Auckland again when going south. However we found a very interesting accomodation on Aroha Island that promises kiwis virtually every night and we couldn't resist so north we go. But first we stop at Puketutu Island close by to the airport hotel which is near the Mangere lagoon one of the major birding areas in Auckland.
On our way to Puketutu Island
Lots of birds on the canal
From the first stop we are impressed by the multitude of birds on the canals and lagoons from swans to ducks and quite a few Pied Stilts. We actually park on the shoulder and walk around and a police car takes a look at us before continuing on their way which is probably the last time we see a police car in New Zealand :).
Black Swan
Muscovy Duck on shore
Pied Stilt in flight
And on land - quite elegant
We are even lucky to see one of the rarer birds in New Zealand the New Zealand Grebe basically on our first stop and it is quite fearless and even comes towards us for a little while before deciding that maybe that is not the best idea. Then exploring we are surprised to see something in a nearby tree and looking more careful we see a Song Thrush baby bird that is quite vocal so we move backwards as soon as we can to ensure that the parents are not scared regarding us.
New Zealand Grebe on water
Coming towards us
Nothing interesting to see...move along
And there it is!
Looking on the other side of the causeway we see other birds but most of them take flight as soon as they notice us including our first white-faced heron and a little shag/cormorant. The views over the lagoon are quite nice though and we spend some time admiring them before continuing on the causeway to the island.
Looking the other way
That doesn't look natural
White-faced heron in flight
Little Shag - running away from us
Mama (Papa?) Song Thrush
Welcome swallow
On the Puketutu Island we plan to do a short walk along the Watercare Coastal Walkway and we start first in one direction soon meeting a few wild chicken who are regarding us distrustfully before moving on. Soon however we notice some white faced heron in the tree and they are fun to watch for some time before moving on.
Trailhead for Watercare Coastal Walkway
The trail
Chicken along the way
White-faced heron in tree
On the short walk we also see our first flax, a plant very important to the Maori as it was being used for weaving, creating baskets and to create a lot of household objects. We also notice our first tui - in fact we didn't notice it is a tui at first it took some time of looking at the photo before id-ing it.
Large bindweed
New Zealand Flax
Trail continues
Our first tui
Going in the other direction the trail passes right next to the lake/lagoon with some great views and a lot of waterbirds in close proximity to the shore. The major attraction to us are the spoonbill but the shelduck are exciting also, it is one of the rare bird species where the female looks better than the male at least in our opinion.
Trying the other direction
Song Thrush are everywhere
Couple of shelduck are hidden in the mix
Many spoonbill
Besides the spoonbils and shelducks we also notice some cormorants on a couple of iron bars and even though we first assume they are the same species they are actually quite different, just sitting next to each other. And then after taking it all in for a while it is time to move on but not to far for now.
Two species of cormorant close to each other
Close up of little shag
View over the water
Nasturtium flower
Our next stop is close by, Ambury Regional Park which has a few interesting trails and a bird hide that we want to visit before starting on our way north. What we don't expect is the more developed area near the parking lot which is built (and likely was) like a farm including a working milking station, chickens laying eggs, sheep and other farm animals. However as we start on the trail soon the native birds start to appear including our first grey gerygone which is so active that it is almost impossible for us to take a photo of.
Ambury Regional Park milking station
Milking example
Australian Swamphen
Eurasian Blackbird
Trail through park
Grey Gerygone
The observation deck is not that far from the parking lot but it is along a nice shaded walk that is quite enjoyable. The deck is one of the best spots to watch the protected red breasted dotterel and we are lucky to see one in the distance. However almost as exciting is the welcome swallow building a nest in the observation deck who is quite annoyed by our visit but in the end gives up and continues to build the nest in the worst spot possible.
Observation deck
Red-breasted Dotterel - a rare bird
Welcome swallow in next
Bringing in the material
Returning we take it slow watching the cows and also being careful to avoid anything that looks like poison - as we will notice throughout our trip there is an ongoing fight agaist pests and offshore invaders with traps and poison especially in protected parks.
Cow with heron watching it attentively
Dangerous place to be
Our next stop is outside of Auckland on the west coast of Northland Peninsula, the Muriwai beach. Muriwai beach is famous for its gannet colony one of the few on the mainland and that is what we are planning to see - if we can only find it. The parking lot is relatively high above the beach and most people are going to the beach not to the gannet colony but in the end we find the right way and down we go until we find the trail climbing towards the colony.
Muriwai Beach
Descending towards the water
The trail is quite scenic as it passes close to the ocean before climbing the cliffs with some great views of the cliffs and the ocean.
Ocean view
Rocky area
Trail towards the gannet colony
Beautiful coastline
There is of course a lot of non-gannet related wildlife in the coastal zone including one of the few native butterflies the coastal copper and of course a lot of flax and the two common gulls, black-backed and red-billed gull.
Black-backed gull
Red-billed gull
Coastal Copper
Flax along the trail
And then we are at the gannet colony which is announced in advance by the pungent smell. However as soon as we see it we forget all about the smell (or maybe our sense of smell is damaged permanently) - the gannets are everywhere each with their own patch defended fiercely as can be seen whenever a new one lands trying to identify his own patch and pair/chick. It is really a beautiful natural spectacle and a success story for conservation with the gannets expanding from the offshore island to the mainland shoreline in the last years. We take in the spectacle for some time before continuing on from viewpoint to viewpoint for different views of the colony.
Muriwai Gannet Colony
The pylon where it all started
Each gannet has their own plot
Australasian Gannet
From another viewpoint we notice some white fronted terns fighting for some prime real estate not yet taken over by the gannets - the battle is quite vicious as the one on land is dive bombed by a couple of other terns trying to take over (with no success in the end).
White fronted tern waiting
And the fight is on
Aroha Island is our destination for the day and also where we plan to spend the next two nights. It is also the reason why we decided to go north as supposedly it is quite an easy place to see kiwis at night and a lot of other interesting wildlife during the day plus a hiking trail that goes around the admittedly small island. We decided to rent a cabin here and were asked to arrive earlier in the day than we usually do as the gate would close around 5PM. We arrive on time and the check in process is fast and soon we are driving to our cabin.
Aroha Island
This is what we came to see
The cabin is actually quite roomy as it has room for 5+ people and we have our choice for places to sleep. It also has a large kitchen which is well stocked with utensils which is good given that now we are closed inside till the next day in the morning.
Our cabin - quite large
Table with kitchen in the back
After unpacking we are excited to go outside and explore the island and already close to the cabin we notice lots of birds, with our first view of a NZ fantail besides many tui which are quite vocal and seemingly everywhere.
Road to the island
You have to drive carefully
Tui eating an orange
Our first fantail
We decide to walk the nature trail around the island and soon arrive at the beach with the water being quite far away due to low tide. Similarly to the area near our cabin there are lots of tui, a few swallows and what attracts our interest, a lot of weird seeds. We poke and probe them with no conclusion regarding what they are - only later we do find out that they were mangrove seeds which certainly makes sense.
Island beach at low tide
Mangrove seeds
Tui near the beach
Welcome swallow resting
Any waterbirds are further away with a few herons, gulls, dotterels and a kingfisher being visible on the exposed flats as we round the tip of the island.
New Zealand Kingfisher
White-faced heron
Mangroves on the beach
Sunset view
As we continue our walk we notice the many traps scattered across the shoreline to catch any predators that make it to the island. We do not see any captured predators, only a blackbird in one of them attracted by the fruit bait and now waiting to be released. We also read all the nature trail signs trying to learn a bit about the vegetation that surrounds us.
Harvesting fish?
These are everywhere - to protect the kiwis
Rengarenga
Whau
Arriving at the other side of the island it is getting dark already but we still take a look at the small lake which has a boardwalk leading to a platform before returning to the cabin.
Walking to the mainland
Lake near the causeway
After we eat dinner from our provisions we start our night walk searching for kiwis along the trail. Soon we start hearing them but seeing them is more difficult. But persistence pays off and suddenly we see one of them moving just off the trail and we follow him for a few seconds before it hides in the bush with no luck on any subsequent tries to spot it. However we did see :) it so we return satisfied to the cabin where we examine the diferent moths that were attracted by the light before retiring for the night.
In the morning it is time to eat breakfast from our provisions and explore a bit more the surroundings around our cabin.
Our cabin and the trail to it
Quite a big one
The wildlife is out in force from beautiful birds to scary bush spiders. The funniest birds are the fantail who are quite unafraid of us but are very active following insects all around us and are very difficult to take photos of.
Fantail in front of cabin
Song thrush
European Blackbird
Scary bush spider
And then it is time to start on our exploration of the area with our first goal being Puketi Forest. We are lucky that we have all points of interest mapped on our GPS and they can be quite difficult to find especially if the road devolves into a dirt road and you have to find a specific parking road for the hiking trail.
Camping parking lot
View along the way
Puketi Forest was one of our goals as it contains one of the largest stands of mature Kauri forest in the Northlands and we really wanted to see this indigenous conifer which is one of the ancients in the world. Size wise they can rivel sequoias and they have quite a unique structure that we have we will be able to see in person. In addition we hope to see some of the local bird species especially the local NZ pigeon. The first trail we explore is a boardwalk that winds through the forest and doesn't touch the ground to avoid impact to the kauri.
Puketi Forest - Kauri Walk
Parking lot - no one else this morning
Trying to protect the remaining Kauri forest
Elevated trail
Through the initial part of the trail we are surprised at the number of ferns and palms in the forest - it is really a jungle with huge tree ferns, and palms everywhere. We also see our first kauri but a bit further away and really hope we will be able to see some a bit closer as they seem to be lost in the other vegetation.
Silver Fern
Nikau Palm
Looking up at the huge kauri
Very jungle like
The trail continues through cut trees that fell on the boardwalk and then suddenly after turning a corner we hear a huge commotion in a tree and shocked we search for the cause and notice a big bird - it is a NZ pigeon/kereru noisily moving from tree to tree and eating from the smorgas of fruits available in the trees.
Continuing on the trail
Stump near the trail
Our first kereru
Kereru = New Zealand Pigeon
The trail is soon looping back as it is quite short but we still have time to admire the variety of ferns and mosses and a huge kauri that the trail actually encircles so we can examine from different directions - it is quite impressive and huge.
New Zealand the land of ferns and moss
Many different species
Kauri trees can be huge
This is one of the bigget kauri in the park
Next we drive to the main trailhead in Puketi Forest near the campground where the loop nature trail begins. There are many other longer trails going into the forest but today we plan only to do the shorter loop trail. Even on the road we already see a few interesting but common birds like Myna and surprisingly our first ever California Quail really far away from California :).
Common Myna
California Quail
This trail has a more interesting start compared to the previous one. As this time we are going to walk on the ground past the kauri there is a cleaning station at the entrance where we have to clean and disinfect our shoes before proceeding into the forest in order to avoid infecting the kauri with the kauri dieback disease which is a threat to the major remaining kauri forests. The trail itself starts flat but then descends sharply through the forest through the huge impressive fern forest.
Start of nature trail with cleaning station
Trail split
Unusually flat portion
Huge fern trees
There are quite a few informative signs along the trail and we learn a lot about the trees and ferns that we pass by as we continue along the beautiful trail. What we most enjoy are the Rewarewa flowers that initially look quite scary as we see them first as huge caterpillars before deducing what they are and having quite a laugh.
Forest cabbage tree
Some ferns are impressively huge
Rewarewa flower on the ground
Flowers are quite interesting
The loop continues to the bottom and then follows the contour for a while before starting back up. We stop quite a bit looking at the flowers, trees and ferns and everything all around before returning to the car. We had enough of kauri for now and we are ready to continue on to the next attraction but first we have a stop to make on the way.
Traill through the ferns...
....and kauri
Gorse
Manuka
The stop is at any supermarket that we can find as we badly need provisions, and there aren't many supermarkets in the area so we settle on the first one we find in the area. It is surprisingly expensive but we still find a few things to buy for the next few days. The flowers nearby are also quite beautiful and we are impressed at the many kinds of flowers that grow here in the wild - many of them of course naturalized by humans.
Very expensive food market
Our provisions
Nasturtium
Red Hot Poker
Continuing to our next sightseeing spot we are struck by the number of stops for road repairs that we encounter, we noticed this also the previous day but today they seem a bit excessive. There is also extensive logging going on given the number of trucks we see, hopefully not of old stands of kauri trees :).
Very common sight
Also very common unfortunately
Our next stop, Ruapekapeka Ka, is into the hills up a dirt road and it feels quite far from the main highway. However we really wanted to see one of the Maori fortifications and this one is one of the most famous ones as it was built specifically to resist British cannons and was the site of the last battle in the war of the north. It resisted a siege of two weeks before it was discovered that it was mostly abandoned and taken over by the British after an hour long fight. When we arrive the parking lot is empty so we eat a short lunch before starting on the trail.
Visiting the site of the last battle of the North
Parking lot is surprisingly empty
Archway to start the trail
New Zealand cabbage tree
There are really no other tourists at this attraction which means we have it to ourselves if we could only find it. Soon we find out that the fortifications are on the next hill and that the start of the trail goes actually through the area where the British forces were located when they bombarding the Pa.
Battle information
Is the trail really in that direction
Trail enters the meadow
Meadow full of flowers
As we pass through the meadows we admire the beautiful flowers that are seemingly everywhere while being stalked by a fantail who tries to pick up the insects that are stirred as we are walking passed them.
Red clover
Lots of daisies
Trail pases a flax field
Excited fantail
Soon we pass a side street that neatly divides the British part vs the Maori part and enter the Maori fort through a beautifully ornated wooden door.
Entering the Maori part of the battlefield
Picture perfect
On the flat area at the top we finally discover the fortifications left behind by the Maori which are clearly visible especially the caves/holes where they were hiding from the bombardment from the British cannons. We can also trace the perimeter of the fortification even though the logs that were protecting the enclose are long gone.
Denivelations used for defense against cannons
Approaching the fortifications
Row of holes
Must have been quite impressive
There are some nice views of the area including of the former English positions and these views are also enjoyed by the birds, including the swamp harrier we see "harrying" above us during our visit. Also of interest to us is the large totem pole at the top which we assume was raised by the Maori as a memorial of the battle.
View over the British position
Swamp harrier
Approaching the totem on top
Quite impressive
After finishing our visit it is time to return to Aroha Island before we are closed outside and we possibly have to spend the night in the car. We make it on time though and as it is still light outside decide to take one more walk along the small island with a focus on the bridge dividing it from the mainland. It actually has a small boardwalk to an overlook where we spend some time looking for waterbirds without seeing any.
Back on Aroha Island
Protected with the usual traps
Not sure how safe the overlook is
And the water is not too inviting either
We see a lot of other birds though on our return walk from Tui to Silvereyes to the rare introduced Barbary dove. From a distance we see in the lagoon also herons and NZ dotterels so overall it was a worthwhile walk but now we are hungry so it is time to return back to eat dinner.
Tui eating oranges
Silvereye
Barbary dove
White faced heron
New Zealand Dotterel
Mangrove seeds are very common
Our lunch today is a mix of what we have bought in the supermarket earlier in the day and overall we feel it is restaurant quality even though that might have been our hunger talking. And then later in the evening we take one more long walk along the perimeter of the island looking for kiwis and just when about to give up we find them and watch them for a while before going to sleep as we have a lot planned for tomorrow.
Before leaving we take one more walk through Aroha Island that we enjoyed quite a lot during our short visit and enter the small museum to leave our keys and take one last look at the exhibits including that of the huge kiwi egg.
Flax baskets
The egg really is big
And then we are on our way south back towards Auckland and beyond. We have a few stops planned along the way that we are looking forward to but first we have to find our way on the many small sometimes one way roads in the area to the main highway which takes a bit of time.
Leaving Aroha island
Finally we can go faster
Our first stop is at Waro Limestone Scenic Reserve, one of the places recommended for birding and walking in the area. The trail around the lake follows the route of a historic horse tramline, built in about 1900 and has some good views of the limestone landscape. Also we are hoping to see at least a few endemic birds and even a few dragonflies or butterflies. The parking lot is surprisingly full with picnics at the lake shore however as soon as we start on the trail there is no one else around.
Waro Limestone Scenic Reserve Parking Lot
Looks peaceful
The area is a paradise for dragonflies and damselflies as far as we can tell with our first sighting of Carove's Giant Dragonfly an endemic huge dragonfly from New Zealand that we were really interested in seeing.
Wandering Percher
Red damselfly
Carove's Giant Dragonfly
Australasian Swamphen
We walk around the lake for a while watching for birds and we find a few endemic birds including NZ Grebes and NZ Scaups. However the most interesting thing we observe is a battle of cormorants that goes on for a while before the loser slinks away likely with a few less feathers. And then it is time to move on to the next attraction on our list which is relatively close by, the Abbey Caves.
Trail goes around the lake
Lots of baby birds
New Zealand Scaup
New Zealand Grebe
Battle of the cormorants
Little Pied Cormnorant running away
Abbey Caves are on our must see list because they are one of the places in NZ where you can see the endemic glow worm. There are actually three caves accessed from a roundtrip trail according to our research and we are not sure which will be the best for us. This is because we are not sure of how flooded they are so we might have to wade to see the glow worms which is really not something we want to do. The parking area is surprisingly dangerous on the side of the road but we survive to the trailhead and on we go.
Abbey Caves - one of our must see places
Parking is a bit iffy
The initial part of the trail is downhill and is mostly an access easement to the loop between two private properties. At the bottom a panel greets us with a description of the loop and the caves and we decide to start left through some beautiful meadows.
Descending towards the trail
Start of the actual trail loop
Weird plant - Araucarias
Fields of flowers are everywhere
The first cave we enter is the Middle Cave and even getting inside is an adventure as the entrance is quite wild with the wet rocks giving us little purchase as we climb down finally arriving at the level river bottom that flows through the cave. As we explore the cave and enter into the darkness the water becomes deeper and deeper so we stop for a few seconds and close the lights and lo and behold all around us we see the glow worms - they were there all the time we just didn't see them with the flashlights on. Now that we know what to look for we find a few of them also in the light and satisfied after watching them light up the cave ceiling like a quasi night sky (and getting cold from being in the cold water ankle deep for some time) we walk back towards the entrance.
Entering one of the caves
Yes you have to walk through the water
This is what we came to see...
....the cave glowworms
On the way back we have time to admire the few remaining cave formations along the way - many were broken off and taken as souvenirs we assume by other explorers which is a bit of a shame in our opinion.
Some formations were vandalized
Some are still here
Outside we sit in the sun for a while to warm ourselves before continuing towards the next cave, enjoying the birds and beautiful rock formations along the way.
Cave entrance
Up and down we go
European Greenfinch
Rock formations
The next cave seems a bit easier to get into (or we simply have more experience) and here the water level is a bit lower and we can explore deeper into the cave. It is actually quite interesting with some nice formations, glow worms and to our surprise even an endemic Northern Koura (crayfish) relaxing in one of the pools created by the river.
Yes that is the entrance
New formations get created
Glowworms under the light
Northern Koura
From here we continue on the loop trail towards the parking lot and while we passed the caves we wanted to see we are quite taken in by the interesting rock formations along the way as well as some interesting trees that we cannot decide whether they are natural and maintained. Close to the end of the loop we encounter an unexpected roadblock, a herd of cows, blocking the trail and refusing more or less to move over until we got really close to them - it felt almost like a Mexican standoff for a while.
Second cave from either direction :)
Is this natural?
Hauntingly beautiful
Stones with flowers
Trail is beautiful...
....until you meet the indecisive cows
From here we have a long drive ahead of us to the next (and last) planned stop for the day, the Miranda Shorebird Center. Part of this stretch of the road is passing through Auckland again which we hit right during rush hour making the drive stop and go for some time. After exiting Auckland we decide to stop at a rest area to eat something for lunch before continuing on.
Back to civilization
Passing Auckland
Late afternoon we finally arrive at the Miranda Shorebird Center. The visitor center is already closed but luckily the trails are open and we have printed them in advance so on we go towards the bird hides in the distance. The Shorebird Center is famous for (obviously) the shorebirds that congregate here and that is what we are hoping to see even though to our displeasure it is low tide which means that most birds will be far away at the shoreline and not close to the blinds. Just bad luck or planning...
Miranda Shorebird Center trail start
The trail
Even with our bad luck there are still some birds - shorebirds far in the distance and land birds close to us - so we focus on the landbirds especially the skylarks which follow us while singing constantly and the goldfinches which just enjoy the sunset.
Not a lot of shorebirds
And if they are they are far away
Skylark singing incessantly
European Goldfinch
Continuing along the trail we find an internal pool with more waterbirds including pied stilts, white faced herons and even a teal lost in the middle of the stilt gathering.
Pied stilt
White faced heron
Lots of pied stilts on a closer lake
Some teal are lost in the mix
The birds here are not that afraid of us so we can watch them going on about their business like taking dirt baths, singing and following each other. However what we cannot see for quite some time are the swans which we can hear but are lost to us in the tall grass until they finally decide to show their long necks like some prehistoric dinosaurs.
Taking a bath
Finally noticed them
Before continuing on we give a try to the visitor center which is really closed as we expected and stop a few more times along the deserted road to take a look at the ponds along the way before continuing on towards Rotorua, our stopping point for the night.
Lake at main building
Only mallards on it
Beautiful view
Teal with swans
The drive is uneventful however we arrive quite late so after a late dinner we fall asleep in the historic hotel that we booked and hope will be able to explore more in depth the next day.
The hotel we are staying at, the Prince's Gate Boutique Hotel, is right in the middle of Rotorua touristic area next to the Government Park and the geothermal areas that we plan to visit this morning. It is also a beautiful historic hotel built originally in 1897 when the area was a boomtown due to the gold mine nearby with a lot of details still surviving to date. The small sitting area with a phone nearby is a blast from the past for us - we have seen something like this only in the movies.
Inside our historic hotel
When fixed phones were still a thing :)
We explore the hotel for some time including from the beautiful veranda taking in the views of downtown Rotorua. The lobby is also a throwback to the glory times of the hotel and we explore the different nooks and crannies before going into town to find a place to eat breakfast.
View from the veranda
Buildings are quite beautiful
Downstairs
The hotel phone ;)
We have a few breakfast places around us picked out on Google and the first one works out just fine with some good food and coffee that energizes us before we start on our tour through the city.
Looking for a breakfast place
Our chosen place
Breakfast and ....
...coffee
Or maybe more precise our tour of the waterfront with the many geese and swans and even a reproduction of a Polynesian outrigger boat that is quite impressive even thought we cannot get close to it as it is locked into a safety enclosure.
Rotorua Waterfront
Red billed gull very aware of us
Black swan with chicks
Reconstruction of Polynesian boat
Next we continue along the shore enjoying the nice walk, interesting vegetation and beautiful views over the lake. The trail is sometimes sandy and sometimes boardwalk but always flat and quite enjoyable as we continue along it looking for some interesting birds.
Pohutukawa tree
Waterfront trail
Lake taken over by Red Azolla
Green and Golden Bell Frog
Trail becomes a boardwalk
On the boardwalk
And birds we find both introduced and native from chaffinches to cormorants to Canada geese. Most of them are quite far in the distance but a few of them are less scared of people or not interested and we can see from close up.
Chaffinch to the right
Scenic views to the left
Great cormorant on a small island
Canada Geese - far away from their namesake
As we reach the tip of the peninsula that we were walking on we continue looking for birds and enjoy the views of the lake as well of the small artificial islands that actually spell Rotorua as we later found out. We also have fun with the Greylag Goose that chase us for a while for food before giving up.
Rotorua Lake view
New Zealand Scaup
Greylag Goose on a mission
European Goldfinch
There are also a few swans and gulls around the point but the big attraction to us is the cormorant tree - a colony of cormorants on an off shore island close to the tip of the peninsula. We decide to approach it and study the cormorants closer as we are interested to understand which types of cormorants they are and whether they have any chicks.
Watching the proceedings
Cormorant in water
Small off shore island
Circling the island
It is a noisy and smelly colony and we enjoy the watching the cormorants interact, fighting, feeding each oher and generally doing birdy stuff before continuing on on the shoreline trail.
Cormorant colony on island
Almost force feeding or so it looks
Lots of birds already have chicks with lots of ducklings on the water and even some swamphen chicks crossings the trail in front of us - they are quite funny to watch as they try to hide like we can't see them.
Scaup with ducklings
Australasian Swamphen with chicks
The last part of the trail is the one we wanted most to see when we started and the last part along the lakeshore of the loop back to our hotel. It passes past the geothermal area with some good views of the smoking lake in the distance and smelly bubbling mud pools close by.
The smoking lake
Close up of smoking area
Hmm why isn't there any vegetation here?
So we have smoke also on this shore?
This is impressive
The mudholes were all bubbling
From the geothermal area we return back to our hotel through Government Park past the Rotorua Museum, a beautiful old building that previously housed the Bath House but is now closed post the last earthquake pending repairs and strengthening of the building.
Rotorua Museum formerly the Bath House
Closed due to not meeting earthquake standards
Cemetery in Government Park
Our hotel right at the entrance of the park
From Rotorua our next stop is Orakei Korako Geothermal Park and Cave. There are multiple private geothermal areas around Rotorua but in the end we settled on this one because it seems to have the most interesting features and also as a bonus includes a boat ride across a man made lake to the geothermal area. Arriving we are happy we chose this area as it is quite scenic even from the parking lot and we cannot wait to cross over - but first we have a very close encounter with a few ducks inside the gift shop that try to cut in line for the boat crossing.
We have to get to the other side using the boat
Looks impressive let's do it
We were here first - wait in line
On the other side - left in the wilderness :)
The trail starts up along the geothermal area and it is well marked with points of interest receiving informational signs describing the features we are seeing. While there are also geysers none of them are regularly active and we don't see any of them erupt during our visit.
Well marked
Geothermal water flowing in the lake
The trail
Geyser is not erupting today
The views especially after we climb to the first terrace are breathtaking and the colors otherworldly. It seems like a giant painter poured colors randomly over the landscape and it is dazzling as we sit and enjoy the views for some time.
Start - very colorful
And the end
Picture perfect
It goes on and on
We continue on the trail surrounding the colorful pools enjoying the views and the fumaroles as well as the fern forests growing on the slopes, it is a beautiful walk and we are somehow the only people on the trail which makes it even more special.
Mix of colors is beautiful
Wonder what is on top?
Lots of fumaroles
Fern trees are doing quite well here
Continuing on our climb we reach the Artist's Point with a great view over the geothermal plains, which makes sense given the name. The view however is great even as we continue to climb and this is good as it permits us to enjoy the view while we rest from the climb.
Artist's point
Detail of formation
Would be scary (and deadly) to fall down
View from high up
The trail then passes through the forest where we examine the flowers and the ferns before reaching the seemingly smoking cave. In fact the overlook is high above the cave to avoid the gases exiting the cave which might be dangerous.
Tangle ferns
Rewarewa
Which way to go?
The cave
Another mostly level walk through the forest from the cave leads us to the next attraction, the mud pools. These are similar to the ones seen in Rotorua but still impressive as it seems they actually swallowed part of the trail.
Mud pools
Impressive
The loop trail then passes for some time through the forest before returning back on the other side of the colorful pools that we admire again before boarding the boat back towards the visitor center and the parking lot.
Trail through the jungle
Elephant rock
Back to the main area
No geysers today
We have still time to find a few birds and damselflies in the visitor center proximity from a few grey teals with chicks to paradise shelducks in a field and multiple damselflies just chilling themselves on the greenery.
Grey Teals with chicks
Paradise shelduck in field
Red damselfly
Aurora Bluetail
Our next area of interest on the way south is the Tokaanu area where we have two stops planned, one at the free Tokaanu Thermal Walk and one at the scenic Lake Taupo dock. We start with the Thermal Walk which is right next to the baths and certainly not as popular. From our research we know it is a relatively short loop walk but we are quite interested to see as many of the geothermal attractions as possible today as this is the last opportunity in our trip given that farther south the geothermal features are mostly lacking or far away from our route.
Tokaanu Bath entrance
Crossing the river
The trail being free has fewer geothermal attractions than the paid ones but it is mostly well marked and still interesting. There are multiple ponds along the way some thermal some possible not - in the end we give up and assume all crystal clear ponds are thermal while the other ones are categorized as maybe.
Great to have a map and description
Isn't the trail this way?!
Thermal or not that is the question?
This one does look thermal
The ones that are clearly geothermal are the ones the steaming ones - one with the way the find is blowing is steaming right over our path and we have to enter the hot steam - it is like a hot steambath in the middle of the hot day so we try to exit it as soon as we can. There are also mud volcanoes littering the landscape so overall we enjoy the short loop trail before continuing on.
Blowhole along the trail
Poor tree
Soo clear
This pond isn't - smoke was quite hot
The other stop in Tokaanu is at the edge of Lake Taupo where we are looking for the historical dock. Our first stop is a miss, we get to the lake edge but there is no dock - we see it farther along the lakeshore. Still the stop is quite nice as we walk around looking for waterbirds and making bets on whether a fragile branch can hold a huge kereru - surprise, it can!
Lake Taupo
Mix of birds
Japanese Honeysuckle - quite invasive
Kereru (NZ Pigeon) resting
The dock is actually at the end of the dirt road as we discover when we finally get there. It is impressively long and a bit rickety so we decide not to go to the end, especially given that the end has already been reclaimed by the water and a colony of cormorants. From here we also see one more endemic NZ Grebe in the distance - who would have thought that when leaving home we assumed we had no chance of seeing them?
Dock - looks scary
Especially if you see the end
Lake Taupo is quite calm today
NZ Grebe in the distance
From here it is onwards towards the south and our accomodation which just three stops planned were supposedly sometimes the rare blue duck or whio is visible. This duck is a flowing river duck, the more wild the better supposedly so all spots are in gorges or in other areas where the water is basically whitewater. First stop we have no luck but the view is quite nice with everything in flower along the side road.
Impressive bridge
Looking for blue ducks - none here
Everything is in flower
Close up of flowering trees
Second stop we also have no luck, the gorge is impressive but the blue ducks are nowhere to be seen.
Another bridge another stop
Impressive narrows but no ducks
Third stop we walk to the river along a canoe launch trail - yes there are people who raft the whitewater - and the along the river for some time with no luck, the blue duck has eluded as today. Still it is a nice spot and we eat a late lunch/early dinner before continuing to our accomodation for the night in Paraparaumu. After a long back and forth regarding whether we actually paid for the room (we did but the motel insisted we didn't) the issue gets solved to our satisfaction and we can get to our room where we soon fall asleep as tomorrow we have a very adventurous (for us at least) day ahead of us.
In the morning we have limited time to enjoy the motel as we have a relatively early start as we have booked a ferry to Kapiti Island as well as accomodations and the check in for the ferry is at a restaurant in downtown Paraparaumu at 8AM so we have to be there by that time.
Our motel for one short night
Never used this
First we need to find the suggested parking where we have to leave our car overnight - it is easy enough but we are quite surprised by the tractor carrying a large boat sitting in the parking lot. We wonder whether the boat is broken down or something like that - little did we know about the real reason...The cafe is about 5 minutes away and after checking in and doing a self check of our luggage and clothing we still have enough time before the ferry leaves to eat a hot breakfast.
A foreshadowing of things to come
Meeting and breakfast place
Eggs benedict
Pancakes
Returning to the beach we bird watch for some time, watching the gulls playing around in the shallow water. It is relatively windy and we (and everyone else) try to hide behind the huge tractors on the beach until one of them starts moving and to our surprise enters the water to pick up the ferry - oh my god I guess that is how we will enter and leave the water at the shore.
Red billed gull
Black backed gull
With the ferry safely on solid ground everyone files in ready for the short jaunt over to Kapiti island. It is a ferry like no other we have been on but it does its job well and we can even leave our overnight luggage on the boat while we exit first on the central part of the island where the hiking trails are.
Not the most hygienic beach?
Incoming boat - that is one way to beach the boat
Ready to load/unload
On the boat - all eager
Kapiti Island has an interesting recent history being used for farming and being cleared almost completely of native forests. Since 1897 however the government started purchasing the land to be protected for its natural history. Now almost all of it is protected except for an area at the north end which even though still in private hands is mainly being used for accomodating overnight tourists (including us) and the inhabitants are the stewards of the island ensuring no invasive species can establish themselves.
Welcome to Kapiti Island!
Almost looks like a whaling station
First stop on the island before we can start the hike is at the visitor information point where we get a lecture about the history of the island, the trails for hiking and the birds that we might be able to see. After the lecture end we start exploring the surrounding area and immediately find a weka foraging in the undergrowth and bellbird singing above us which makes us quite excited regarding what we will be able to see.
Explaining the island
Recent sightings map
New Zealand Bellbird
Weka - quite common here
Continuing we pass the historic building where the preserve keeper historically lived watching kereru and weka that enjoy the rare grassy area. From here we have to make a decision should we go up the Trig Track, reportedly a challenging track or Wilkinson track the easier one, knowing that the only permitted way to descend is on Wilkinson track? In the end we decide on a loop hike - up Trig Track and down Wilkinson. And up it is - the trails here climb to Tuteremoana the highest point on Kapiti Island at 521m above sea level so quite a climb in a jungle setting.
Historic building
Which way?
Kereru on the ground
Weka watching us
The trail starts level in the beginning giving us some false confidence before starting to climb sharply with stairs or just through mud giving us some intensive workout. Along the way there are many traps trying to capture any invaders that make it from the shore (which is not impossible as a couple made it just a few years ago and had to be captured).
Unusually level part
Bench along the trail
Still well defined trail
Starting the climb
Ok this looks more like a primitive trail
Trying to ensure the island is predator free
Of course we are here for the birds not to suffer through the jungle :) and we see quite a few interesting birds on this less visited trail. Highlights to us are the first New Zealand Robin foraging right next to the trail and our first Kaka(s) watching us from high above impassively.
New Zealand Robin
Kaka watching us
Bellbird serenading us
Weka along the trail
As we get higher the character of the forest changes and it starts to look like an "out of the storybook" forest is the best way to put it. There is mist drifting through the trees which now contort themselves are even seem to be growing with the roots up like in a magical forest.
Leveling out...we wish
This is how the primeval forest looked
No stitchbirds for us
At least kakas are relatively common
It feels we stepped back in time
Impressive stump
And then the track meets up with Wilkinson Track and soon we are at the top back to civilization - only because we meet the majority of the group there as well as the only restroom along the trail.
On top - with our luck all we can see is the fog
Mountain Five Finger is covering the top
Descent trail is much gentler
Lots of moss - it is a rainforest after all
Going down we keep an eye out for the elusive stitchbird including at the feeding stations with no luck. However we add at least the Whitehead to our list and a tui (of course). The descent on the Wilkinson Track is gentler but slower so towards the end we have to go faster to ensure we will make it to the ferry and will not be left on this part of the island (not that it would have been that bad).
Whitehead
Tui
Gentler descent
Mainland view from below the cloud cover
We reach the beach quite suddenly and notice we still have a few minutes left to take a look a the whaling implements left behind from the time this was a whaling station. The beach itself where the ferry lands and takes off is quite wild and we walk around taking a look at all the shells that accumulated on the shore before it is time to take the short hop from our location to the accomodation.
Back at the beach
Coastal defenses - still a stoat snuck past them
Whaling implements left behind
Another one
Old Man's Beard
Collection of shells
The landing spot is about 5-10 minutes away from the lodging on an unimproved road so we are happy that a tractor is taking our luggage to the lodge while we walk along the trail enjoying the beautiful day.
Landing at our accomodation
Walking towards the accomodation
It takes a bit to get the cabin assigned but it is quite cute and could accomodate more people if so desired. Unfortunately there are no in room facilities so we have to trek to the main lodge for that. The view however makes up for it as we overlook a nice meadow where we hope we will be able to see some birds the rest of our stay.
Cabin - quite cool (but hot inside)
Our cabin
View from the porch
Trail through the marshy area
Why wait that long though? We almost instantly see Weka with chicks, bellbirds and even a tui on a short walk through the area so we are quite excited to see what else this area has in store for us.
Our own weka
With chicks even :)
Bellbird next to cabin
And a tui resting
As there is still time till dinner we decide to explore further afield returning back to the dock and then continuing onto the public land section. On the way we pass a separate dock which seems to be residents only and the small cemetery where family members are buried.
Landing area for residents
Flax, wonder if it is planted
Exploring the surrounding area
Cemetery for relatives
The usual birds like wekas and bellbird are out in force along the trail but we also find our first chaffinch as well a copper butterfly (which right now are being rearranged for New Zealand in separate species so we don't know exactly which we have seen).
Copper - species TBD ;)
Proud chaffinch on top of the world
Bellbird resting
Wekas never rest
The trail leads through some beautiful meadows full of weird or interesting plants that we also examine as we slowly make our way to the inland lagoon/lake at the north tip of the island.
Five finger
Forster Clematis
Trail through the meadows
Tui
Of course there are also plenty of birds along the way settling for the evening including two kereru barely fitting on a small bush and a very active and curious NZ Robin next to the trail in a patch of forest.
One kereru...
....Two kererus
Dense forest
Curious NZ Robin
Finally we arrive at the lagoon which is quite quiet and has quite a few shelducks on the water and on the shore. However what we are quite surprised and happy to see is an endemic brown teal on the water - not something that we were hoping to see at all so we are quite happy when we start our walk back to the accomodation.
Quiet lagoon
Shelduck male far away
Female shelduck on the shore
Quite a few shelduck it seems
And the surprises keep coming - near the accomodation on the lawn we notice a red crowned parakeet just milling about - very exciting!
Bellbird on flax
Red crowned parakeet just showing off
And then it is time to for dinner at a large common table. We have a Tui beer besides the food which is self serve buffet type - who can resist it after the many Tui we have seen today?
Tui in a tree
And as a drink :)
Dinner table
Objects for sale
And the day is not over yet - part of the reason we have stayed overnight here is to join a night tour to search for the little spotted kiwi, a separate species of kiwi which has a stronghold on the island. Before seeing the kiwi we see the Tree Weta - huge giant flightless crickets that are easier to see at night when they come out. Speaking of flightless things, we also hear and then see Little Blue Penguins both chicks and adults on land - it is quite surprising how loud they can be. And then we hear the kiwis and after a few minutes of searching for one our guide finally finds one that decides to actually walk right over my foot - how exciting.
With all this excitement we are quite tired so after the tour end it is time to settle in for the night - we fall asleep very quickly after this long, tiring but very beautiful day.
Today we still have time till after lunch on the island and we have a hike planned on the only trail that we didn't explore yet but first we walk around the cabin for a bit in order to wake up and see if any birds are around (not many).
Less sun more clouds this morning
The view is still nice though
Keeping a wary eye on us
Bellbirds are quite common here
Then we eat breakfast at the lodge and soon we are on our way back towards the lagoon from where the Okupe Valley Loop Track that we intend to do starts. It is about 5km long and supposedly can be done in 1:30h but we learned to be careful of these types of estimations.
The hidden trail to the common building
Kereru enjoying our veranda
Lodge/Common building
On the way for one last hike
The first part of the track is gently following on old road into the forest with lots of wildflowers and a smattering of bellbirds and kererus thrown in along the way. As it continues the climb we are grateful that the rate of climb doesn't change - the trail really is easier than the one yesterday from which we are still recuperating. From time to time we catch glimpses through the trees of the forest that seems to extend forever even though we know the ocean is right after that ridge.
These fruits are everywhere
Beautiful flower field
Going up again
Bellbird pair
Nice trail
With good views
Arriving at the top we relax for some time taken in the beautiful views of the ocean and coastline. There are some neat formations and even some brave people in the sea that we try to identify as either fishermen or divers, we just can't make out enough to make a decision. And then it is time to start our return walk on the different branch of the loop trail which is as gentle as the one we used to climb to the viewpoint.
Barely noticing the ocean
Better view from top this time
Hole in the wall type formation
Brave people
Descending trail
Jungle like vegetation
On the way back we hear a blood curling call and of course we decide to stalk the animal/bird that is making it. Lo and behold it is a bird with a long tail that is calling (again very loud and scary) that we have no idea what it is. Very excited we look on the web and decide we have seen a long-tailed cuckoo, which makes our day (we think as we don't know how many more interesting birds we will see). Kererus and bellbirds continue to be everywhere but we also notice a whitehead singing and then entering a thicket and when we peak inside we see two whitehead chicks peering back - how exciting!
Long tailed cuckoo
Whitehead
Whitehead chick who assume we can't see them
Bellbird researching the trail
From there we continue back to the lagoon uneventfully and then it is back to the accomodation on the trail we now know so well for lunch.
Descending back to the lagoon
Kiwi rooms?
Back on level ground
Public/Private boundary
Since we left for our hike another boat has come in and now there are a lot more people at the lodge than we expected, in fact people have to sit also outside to eat as inside it is becoming crammed. Sitting outside also has the bonus of a kaka that decided to fly in and try to beg/cajole/fight for food. Everyone is warned that they should not feed the kaka which leads to some interesting situations with people trying to run away with the food in hand, shoo the bird which can be dangerous for your fingers or simply hide the food with the drawback that the parrot will climb on you to try to get to the food.
Time for lunch
Lots of salad options
Modern era pirate....maybe
The bird was the pirate :)
After lunch it is waiting time - we had already to check out from the cabin but the boat is not yet in so we wander around the common area to discover if there is anything that we missed. Surprisingly we see quite a few birds in this short stroll almost as many as we saw on the longer loop hike. The most interesting ones are the shining cuckoo that decided to rest in a tree right along the path and the endemic brown teal - our second sighting in as many days on the island.
Song thrush
Rare brown teal
Shining cuckoo
Hidden silvereye
After one last look at our cabin it is then time to get to the shore to load into the boat for the short trip to the mainland where we find our car and are ready to continue towards Wellington.
One last walk around the cabin
Leaving Kapiti island
But before we leave we decide to explore for a few minutes the Waikanae estuary a protected area on the mainland. After Kapiti it is difficult to not be a bit disappointed (even though it is in no way fair to compare), no kakas, wekas, cuckoos only an European Greenfinch on our short hike.
Waikanae estuary
Trail through the scientific reserve
European Greenfinch
Capeweed
It is a short drive to Wellington so we decide for one more stop at Wainuiomata Recreation Area. We cannot stay long as rain is chasing us but it is a nice walk to a bridge and then back as we enjoy this nice natural park.
Trail/sometimes road in Wainuiomata Recreation Area
Cabbage Tree
Bridge over the creek
Trail through meadow
Finding our hotel in Wellington is easy, parking a bit more difficult as the only space left is a bit difficult to enter but we make it. After enjoying the view for a bit we decide to walk to Cuba Street and eat at one of the many restaurants there - we decide on an Indian restaurant with good food and then it is back to the hotel to recuperate after all the hiking.
Today we have a full day in the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington, to relax and recuperate before we relocate to the Southern Island where we have a full circuit planned to encompass as much as possible of this beautiful country. Wellington has a few major attractions but in the end we decide to focus just on the central area, with the central business district and the Museum of New Zealand as our major goals. Our hotel is actually closely located to these attractions which is a bonus as we do not want to drive for at least one day :).
Wellington view from hotel room
Interesting building
We start again on Cuba Street but today we have more time to examine the shops and restaurants along the street. A special glance is given to the Viva Fidels restaurant supposedly a stable on Cuba Street - quite appropriate.
Cuba Street - one of the famous Wellington streets
Viva Fidel Bar on Cuba Street - hmmmm
Some of the older buildings
Entering the pedestrian area
Part of Cuba Street is pedestrian only which is great however most shops are closed this early in the morning unfortunately. We decide to make our way first to the museum and then on return actually visit whichever stores are open. However with fewer people out we have time to admire the older buildings along the street some of them imposing even though the names on them do not match the stores anymore.
There is some traffic even early in the morning
The building names do not match the stores - at all
Burger King in a Bank of NZ building...
Some are delapidated likely from earthquakes
Soon we arrive at the waterfront and from here it is a short hop through the (former) dockyards to the modernistic looking museum.
Walking towards the Museum of NZ
Former Docks - now cafes
Museum entrance
Interior courtyard
We arrive at what likely is not the best time for a visit as two floors are closed as they mount a new exhibition. We start from the top taking in the view from the top of the museum before continuing to the portrait room. As we are not that attracted of the portraits we continue to the other exhibits some of which can be quite interesting especially the Maori and modern art ones.
View of waterfront from the museum
Gallery view of new installation creation
Portrait gallery
Interesting artifact
Modern art comes first with some quite interesting pieces along the way as we saunter through the few rooms before exiting into the interior courtyard where a small garden is maintained. Here we find a surprise - a small artificial cave with exhibits of early animals/humans.
More modern art installation
Even more modern :)
Looking for the main are of the museum
Found a cave instead
The by far most popular exhibit in the museum is the Gallipoli exhibit. It is the only one where initially there was a queue and even now it is difficult to move around due to the throngs of people fascinated by the description of the WWI battle.
By far the most popular exhibit
You can barely squeeze near exhibits
Scale of this was huge
Weaponry from the war
Next exhibits we visit are the nature and mineral exhibits. There is also a very interesting train like sign showing when and where the different non-native bird species were brought or arrived in the last hundred years.
Stones from all the corners of NZ
Interesting representation of introduced species
Animals/birds were used for everything
Trying to save the kakapo
The last exhibit we visit is the Maori exhibit where you cannot take pictures so the only ones we can do are outside and of a modern section. It is quite interesting though with many artifacts and information about the Maori and their first hundred years in New Zealand.
Modern representation of Maori house
Main exhibits
Returning we decide to try a different path to Cuba street, passing through a park in the middle of the city full of Rengarenga flowers and then visiting the stores along Cuba street as we return back to our hotel.
Trying a different return path
Rengarenga flowers
Close to the hotel we find a beautiful mural full of painted native birds that we examine and admire for some time before entering the hotel.
Beautiful mural
Quite a few native birds are represented
In the evening we return to Cuba Street to eat at a Malaysian restaurant we noticed during the day, we get the last seats and the food is quite good so we return quite full to the room to rest - tomorrow we have an early flight to the South Island.
We wake up early in the morning as we have to return the rental car before the flight and also to eat some breakfast. The drive to the airport is fast and the car return uneventful and soon we are in the airport where we are surprised to see a huge eagle hanging from the ceiling. We find out it is a reproduction of a Haast Eagle one of the largest eagles in the world who were hunting moa and were driven into extinction after the moa were hunted to extinction themselves by the first Maori. After admiring and being awed by its size it is time to find something to eat for breakfast (only some sweets are easily available). However what is important is that the flight leaves on time and we are on our way to our South Island Adventure.
Haast Eagle - largest eagle ever extinct due to humans
Wearable art show inside the airport
Our breakfast
Leaving for South Island
We land in Dunedin and unfortunately it is either raining or threatening to rain almost the whole day. This makes our car rental a bit odd as they do not want to come outside to check the car even though we find a large bump in it but finally they relent and enter it in the computer. And then we are off in the cold and rain towards the Otago Peninsula right off Dunedin where we have many activities planned for the day + is the site where our lodging is located. First stop is Allans beach where we hope to see penguins and/or NZ Sea Lions.
Dunedin View
There are periods of rain
We turn off from the main Otago Peninsula Road onto Allans Beach Road and soon the road becomes a dirt road following the shore of a large water expanse that we cannot decide if it is part of the ocean of an inland lake. However what is important is that it is full of birds including Black Swan and Paradise Shelducks all with chicks or working towards them.
Allans Beach Road
View over Hoopers Inlet
Paradise Shelduck with chick
Black Swans on Hoopers Inlet
The lake however is not the only attraction, the other side of the road is grassland and marshland sometimes with sheep and sometimes with birds nesting, the funniest being the Pied Stilts who nest almost arranged in a pattern on the fields. Rabbits are also very common (unfortunately as they are introduced) as well as Song Thrushes especially in a small clump of trees at the end of the road where we park for the short hike to the beach.
Sheep grazing at the edge of the marshland..
...where Pied Stilts are nesting
Red billed gull
South Island Pied Oystercatcher
Song Thrush
Rabbits are very common here
It is windy and cold outside but luckily there is a lull in the rain and that is all that we wanted. We walk through the fields admiring the Yellow Bush Lupine which grows at the edge between grassland and beach and the we enter the very windy and almost deserted beach.
On the trail to Allans Beach
Yellow Bush Lupine
Beautiful almost deserted beach
Scenic view
It is almost deserted but not fully deserted as we see another group of people in the distance studying an amorphous glob. We decide to zoom in on the glob and our heart jumps - it looks like a marine mammal so we make our way as fast as we can to the location and, yes, it is a NZ Seal Lion just lying immobile on the beach. We try to decide whether it is even breathing when it suddenly decides to rearrange itself - definitely alive just very very lazy.
What is this in the distance?
A NZ Sea Lion
Is he even alive?
Guess so
Returning to the main road we keep an eye out for any new birds and are rewarded with a Sacred Kingfisher and our first Black-shouldered Lapwing.
Sacred Kingfisher
Black-shouldered Lapwing
Now it is time to drive to the end of the road to the Taiaroa Head Cliffs. Our reason to stop is twofold - first we want to see the birds nesting and notice any albatross that are flying around and second to eat at one of the few restaurants on the peninsula that is open, the one inside the albatross observatory. Initially we wanted to also enter the observatory but given the exorbitant prices we decided that taking a cruise on the sea will allow us to see the same or more birds at half the price. There is a short trail to a viewpoint from the parking lot where we watch the red billed gull colony for some time, they are quite interesting as they fight and rearrange themselves. We also notice in the water a few fur seals and slightly in the distance our first Spotted Shags - cool! Then it is time for a quick lunch (soup and sandwich) inside the restaurant where we also warm ourselves before our boat tour.
Taiaroa Head Cliffs
Red billed gull colony
Nesting (not that successfully)
Beautiful contrast of colors
NZ Fur Seal - wonder if they will change the name?
Mobbed Spotted Shag parent
Now it is time to drive back towards the dock from where our boat tour departs. As we have passed it before we know where to stop so we have time to examine little stands along the way for anything to eat for dinner with no luck. Finding parking near the dock takes a bit but then soon we are processed and embarked on the small boat for our wildlife watching tour.
On the way to our cruise - nothing useful to buy for us
Start of the cruise - where is the boat?
There it is
On the ship
The first part of the tour as we chug along the shore towards the headland is uneventful from the point of view of wildlife but it has quite a few history sites, like coastal defenses against an expected Japanese attack in World War 2, and natural caves. But in general we just take in the views and are happy that it is not yet raining.
On the way back to Taiaroa Head
Shoreline with the coastal road visible
Anti Japanese coastal fortifications
Interesting cave
As we continue towards the headland we see our first little blue penguins hidden in a cave along the shore and a couple cormorants flying next to the boat but there aren't large numbers of birds yet as we hoped when we joined the tour.
Our evening goal - the little penguin viewing site
However we see two even now!
Royal Albatross Center - quite expensive to visit
Rounding Taiaroa Head
That changes as we get to the headland where the Otago Shag (cormorant), found only in this area, are nesting covering a full hill side with nests, parents and chicks all making lots and lots of noise. Also close by we also see our first Royal Albatross but it is quite far from us and we can basically see it only as a white shape in the grass. Also there are quite a few fur seals on land especially pups but they are matching quite well with the environment making it difficult for us to notice them.
Lots of birds on the cliffs
They are the rare Otago Shag - found only here
Close up of Otago Shags
Royal Albatross far in the distance
NZ Fur Seal pup
How many can you see in this picture?
Right after the headland we enter the open water where albatrosses are circling using the updraft to either fish or to prepare to land on the headland. Besides Royal Albatrosses we also see a Northern Giant Petrel and a White Capped Albatross while learning of the differences between them so we can distinguish some other time (if we only would remember them :)).
Royal Albatross circling us
Passing quite close to the boat
Northern Giant Petrel
White capped albatross
Back on land we have another tour planned to see the Yellow Eyed Penguin Reserve. While we avoided the rain until now it starts raining as we wait for the tour to start however luckily there is a covered area where we can wait and watch the birds coming in to the feeders.
Next stop is the Yellow Eyed Penguin Reserve
Not the bird we expected - still beautiful
The start of the tour is a short presentation which would be fun if we wouldn't be wet and it wouldn't be so cold but we get through it and then are taken to the area where they rehabilitate Yellow Eyed Penguins. We get the history of the different penguins, how they were rescued, what is being done to treat them and when they expect to release them.
Brief introduction
Rescued penguins
Protected from elements
Waiting to be fed and released
From the visitor center a small bus is taken us to the observation area where with luck we hope to see some wild penguins. The rain is on and off even though it does not matter at all at this point as we are mostly drenched anyway.
Driving to the lookouts
Grass and sheep as far as the eye can see
Swamp harrier
Parking lot at the end
First we go to an overlook over the beach where excitedly we notice a yellow eyed penguin crossing the beach towards the vegetation. The guide then leads us to what can only be called trenches where we are running through left and right trying to find any yellow eyed penguin from close up with no luck unfortunately.
The beach in the distance
Running through the trenches
What is that in the distance?
Our first wild yellow eyed penguin
Returning back to the viewpoint we can notice some other wildlife enjoying the secluded area, mostly Shelducks and Fur Seals. We watch them playing for some time before it is time to return to the bus and back to the visitor center.
And a fake one :)
View of the beach from the bottom
Paradise Shelduck in flight
NZ Fur Seal exiting the water
Our accomodation for the night is at Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand. The accomodation is not actually in the castle but in another building but still it is a beautiful location with some great views (when we can see the views through the clouds).
Our room
With some great views
After changing into dry clothes and dring a hot tea it is time to return to Taiaroa Headland for our little blue penguin viewing. They return from the sea as darkness falls and while viewing them was free previously it is not that way anymore but still worth it for us. We wait for some time in the Albatross Center visitor center until it gets relatively dark and then everyone walks down to the nearby beach to see the penguins. There are lots of people and it is quite impossible for some time to get close to the viewing area to view the penguins even though the guides are encouraging people to rotate (but doing nothing to enforce that). But finally we get close as people start to attrite due to the rain and cold to catch our first glimpse at them as they come out of the water in rafts (groups) to attack the beach.
Going down to Little Blue Penguin beach
Paradise Shelduck on the way
Penguins come in rafts
Attacking the beach
They are quite cute actually especially when they suddenly are unsure on where to go and the ones behind the first one bump into him creating a traffic jam. We enjoy them for quite some time especially now that we are one of the few remaining people so we can use the different viewpoints to track the progress of each raft of penguins.
Moment of confusion
Continue the attack
Nothing will stop us
United we stand
After one more look at the penguins it is time to return to the car and back to our castle lodging where we soon are asleep after our really long day in the wind, cold and rain which still was one of the most beautiful we had in New Zealand.
We wake up to significant cloud cover similarly to the previous day but no rain which we take as a good sign. We sit a few minutes (not too much as it is cold cold cold) on the balcony enjoying the beautiful views with a kereru that decided to sleep in the tree next to our room and is in no hurry to leave for his day business.
This is a view to wake up to
We now understand why the castle was built here
Not the only lifeform enjoying the view
Very tired in the morning it seems
This is one of the few locations that had breakfast included which is great after we basically skipped dinner the previous day. It is also quite a lot which helps to keep us full for the reminder of the day.
NZ/English breakfast - good for all day
More sweet version of breakfast
Before leaving the area we have one more thing to do - we have to visit the actual castle nearby so we walk to it through the beautifully maintained and after paying the entrance fee we are in.
Walking to the castle
Beautiful garden
Castle from front
View from top
Larnach castle is obviously not as old as castles in Europe/Asia being built around 1870 by a wealthy New Zealand businessman who ultimately went bankrupt (not because of the castle) and suicided (not because of the bankrupcy). It is called the only castle in New Zealand and it is quite impressive as it extends across multiple floors.
Interior stairwell
View down the stairwell
Well restored/maintained to the early 20th century feel
Sitting area
The whole castle is quite well appointed with period furniture and interesting details and we enjoy exploring and understanding how the turn of the 20th century people lived.
Uhm - was this popular at that time?
This for certain was
Sewing room
Bath
There is also a solarium with a few plants, a gun collection and an interesting exhibition about the family that built the castle and how they went from rich and famous to basically ruin and suicide.
Solarium
Beautiful ceiling
Of course they needed weapons to defend against..kiwis?!
Lots of restoration work went into maintaining the castle
As we leave the castle it starts raining and it continues as we load up the car and leave the area on our way south and inland.
One more view from above..as the rain starts falling
Last look while retreating to the car
As we start exploring the area looking for a few wildlife areas on the way we get the impression that the rain hasn't really stopped for quite a few days. Roads are flooded, waterways are brimming with water threatening to flood the remaining roads but live continues especially logging - hope they do not clear cut the island similarly to what happened to Iceland a few hundred years back.
It is certainly raining heavily for a few days it seems
Doesn't stop the logging industry
As we arrive at Sinclair Wetlands we have to bow to the inevitable, there is no way to actually hike outside so we sightsee a bit from the car and decide to skip any future stops as long as it rains and continue to the lodging otherwise.
So glad we are welcome...
....here?
Black shouldered Lapwing
Ducks walking through the fields
Given our decision we make only two more stops along the way, at an overlook during a lull in the rain and at roadside fruit seller where we try to find something local but it is too early in the season.
Overlook along the way
Some nice views
Soon we arrive in Wanaka and our lodging which seems to be quite popular so it takes a bit to check in. With key in hand we carry our luggage to the room right before it starts to rain so while we dry ourselves out we enjoy the views from the balcony of the birds either braving the rain or hiding (even ducks).
Our bedroom in Wanaka
Overlooking an interior pond
Eurasian Blackbird
Even ducks hide from the rain
As the rain wave passes we sneak to the car and drive downtown to find a restaurant for the evening - we find one where the food is quite good even though a bit on the expensive side.
Our dinner with good presentation...
...and also yummy
With the rain seemingly gone we walk a bit along the Lake Wanaka lakeshore and enjoy the views and the birds while hoping that the next day the rain would go away and we can start enjoying the nature without being drenched.
As we wake up in the morning to our surprise and delight the sun is shining and there is not a rain cloud in sight. We decide to walk to the nearby lakeshore from our room for a morning hike and are rewarded with some great views of snow covered peaks hovering over Wanaka Lake.
Morning walk on the Wanaka lakeshore
Views are mesmerizing
Our hotel and the small pond
Yellow Bush Lupine growing near the trail
Then it is time to leave our lodging however the next stop is quite close nearby still on the Lake Wanaka lakeshore at the famous Wanaka tree which was basically mobbed fom the lakeshore by people trying to take the best photograph possible. We also do our best to catch :) and get a few shots before moving out of the way.
Closing in on the Wanaka Tree
Very famous (and popular) tree
However we do not get far as we are interested in a duck mama with chicks that decides to exit right in the middle of the people, obviously they are quite used to the humans and even the chicks show no fear as they waddle around. We also see a few more birds, mostly introduced from Europe such as chaffinch and song thrush.
Lots of duck chicks on the water
And on land
Chaffinch
Song thrush
Next it is time to leave Wanaka and cross the Southern Alps towards the western seashore on the Haast Pass Road. We find quite a lot of information about the road online as it passes through Mount Aspiring National Park and therefore we have quite a few stops planned, both nature hikes and waterfall stops while hoping to see a few rare birds along our drive. Our first stop is Kidds Bush Recreation Reserve from which we are planning a short loop hike through the forest.
Starting from Kidds Bush Recreation Reserve
Mostly level trail
The hike is quite beautiful with the trees seemingly smoking as water is evaporating from everywhere under the unexpected sun after the previous rains. The trail is also quite level and towards the end we even see a few birds even though some of them to our surprise are house sparrows, what are they even doing here so far away from the town?
Not burning - just water evaporating
Lots of tree cuttings and moss
Unexpectedly - a house sparrow
NZ Fantail
Returning towards the Haast Road we enjoy the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains from the dirt road while avoiding cows that sometimes seem suicidal.
Camping area with some nice views
Still snow on the peaks
Cows just waiting to escape
Road through the wilderness (more or less)
Next stop is the Makarora Bush Nature Walk, another short loop trail that is level and passes through some beautiful rainforest. We do not see any birds here but still enjoy the old trees, huge ferns and even see a few mushrooms along the way.
Nature walk in Mt Aspiring NP
The trail
Mushroom along the way
Old logging site
The most famous stop on the road is the Blue Pools, our next stop. From the parking lot the trail goes downwards towards the river and the pools passing through the beautiful rainforest.
Blue Pools - the most famous stop on the highway
Much larger trail
Typical forest
Huge stump
As we arrive at the river we cross two bridges and finally arrive at the blue pools, a couple of beautiful blue deep water holes in a side creek that some people seem to try to use for bathing but not quite daring as it might be cold still.
First bridge
Second bridge in the distance
View from second bridge
One of the pools
On the return trip we keep a close eye for birds and animals but the only one we see is a Song Thrush so on we go to the next stop.
Song Thrush
Interesting moss/lichen
There are popular and less popular spots on the Haast Road and then there are spots like the Davis Flat Bridle Track where no one seems to have stopped for quite some time. However the trail is still maintained and we walk a bit following the river enjoying the easy walk and looking for birds with bellbirds seemingly everywhere but nothing else that we can see.
A less visited trail
Large river
Maintained trail
Close to the snow line
Trees are full of moss
Attentive bellbird
Next are a few quick stops to view a string of waterfalls. The most famous ones are Fantail and Thunder Creek Falls as we pass the crest of the Alps and start descending towards the western side of the island.
Fantail Falls from the distance
Close up of the falls
Thunder Creek Falls
Lots of trees are falling on this trail
The last waterfall that we view is the Roaring Billy Falls which is reached by a longer trail through a beautiful fern forest. Unfortunately the waterfall itself seems a bit dry but the walk was certainly worth it.
Roaring Billy Falls Trail
Looks a bit dry
We arrive a bit earlier at our lodging than usual given that we have one more hike planned for the day. Checking in is actually more difficult than we hoped for us the person at the reservation desk cannot find any info that we prepaid for the room but finally still lets us in the room in the end until she can verify. In the end this gets resolved later in the day but still it takes some time that we planned to use to relax before our next hike.
Our hotel room
With a sitting area
Due to the delays we have to leave almost instantly towards Munro Beach where we have to hike from the trailhead to the beach and then wait to maybe see some of the famous and rare Tawaki penguins. The start of the hike is quite auspicious as we almost immediately see a South Island Tomtit which we haven't seen before during our trip. The trail is quite wide and passes and beautiful hanging bridge before entering the impressive fern forest.
On the way to Munro Beach
The creek
Our first South Island Tomtit
Kiekie
The trail continues through the forest sometimes changing to a boardwalk to pass over a possibly marshy area arriving at the beach after about 2 km.
Trail to the beach
Sometimes it is a boardwalk
Arriving at the beach
As evidenced by the clams and shells on the ground
The beach is quite beautiful with rocky low cliffs at both ends and soon we notice a group of people waiting to see the penguins. We join them for about one hour but with no luck we then decide to walk back to the car and the drive to our hotel for the evening. While we haven't seen the penguins it was still beautiful hike and we are happy that we planned to do it (but still we would have been a lot more happier if we had seen the penguins also :)).
Like most other lodgings we stayed in New Zealand the breakfast is not included so we have to eat from our dwindling resources this morning and it looks quite pitiful but we are hoping we won't get hungry for a few more hours at least and decide before leaving to explore the beach right next to our lodging, Haast beach.
Our breakfast - not a lot
And this...
After crossing the main road a short trail leads through fields to the beach. On the way as birds are flying overhead we turn our camera on them and to our surprise they are not gulls but Gannets in flight, cool! Also Shelducks continue their trend of appearing everywhere in New Zealand by making a flyby over our heads.
First a quick walk to the beach
Geodetic survey mark - looks different from the US
Australasian Gannets in flight
And a Shelduck couple too
The beach is unexpectedly beautiful and wild and it extends as far the eye can see. We wander around for some time enjoying the sea before deciding to return to the accomodation. On the way back on the trail we see our first stoat - the bane of the NZ birds - crossing the path, it is so fast it is almost a blur and we have no time to make a photo unfortunately.
Wild beach
Witchcraft was performed here :)
Looking back towards the mountains
Ocean can be quite strong
After checking out we continue on the dead end road south towards a hiking loop that seemed quite interesting to us at Hapuka estuary. The area is quite scenic, with view of the mountains in one direction and the sea, beaches and hidden houses on the other one.
On the way to Hapuka estuary
Nice views of the off shore islands
The trail starts through what is basically a flax field, this must have been quite useful some time back to create baskets and clothing - not so much today though. Then we see more and more cabbage trees and suddenly the trail opens up and we are on a boardwalk walking over the water and praying that it is sturdily constructed (hint: it is).
Flax - very common and useful for Maori
Cabbage Tree
Trail on land
And on water
As we walk the loop we do not see as many birds as we expected just a few yellowhammer and a swamp harrier keeping a close eye on the...swamp. There are also a few early flowers along the trail before it leaves the marshy area and loops back through a forest to the parking lot.
Swamp Harrier
Yellowhammer - even here
Marsh view
Panakeake - beautiful flower
As we return past our accomodation with what must be the only shop for miles we decide to stop and by a couple mince pies. They are surprisingly good and keep us filled till the evening so it was a good snap decision.
One more stop at our hotel
To get an early lunch (or to add to the flimsy breakfast)
The next stop is on our way to the Glaciers at Ship Creek where a couple of trails await us according to our research. To our surprise this stop is very popular with even a few buses squeezed in the insufficient parking place. There are two trails one inland following the creek and then looping around back to the parking area. The second one is going the other direction out to the beach and it seems a lot more popular so inland we go.
Ship Creek Walk
Trail lined by flax
It is an enjoyable and relatively quiet trail as it follows the creek while the marshy area on the other side is overgrown with "Parrot's feather" an invasive plant from South America. Far fewer but there are still a few here in this now protected area are the Kahikatea trees which were cut down intensively to use for butter boxes and cheese crates.
Close to the water
"Parrot's feather" everywhere
Surviving Kahikatea tree
Most were used for butter boxes or cheese crates
As we walk the loop we are impressed as usual by the rainforest and how empty it feels without the usual mammals (no squirrels and so on). There aren't even a lot of birds that we see as we continue along the loop arriving back at the parking lot.
Impressive forest
Jungle like with moss and other creeping plants
View over Ship Creek
The other side - Kiekie everywhere
We debate a bit whether to even try the second trail and then decide on a compromise - we will go just to see the beach and then return instead of doing the full hike. The beach is full of tourists and not in any way that we can see better than Haast beach which was empty so we retreat to the car and continue on our way.
The beach - full of tourists
This looks more secluded
Next we stop to investigate a few lakes along the way for birds or dragonflies or butterflies and see a few birds and a lot of of red damselflies, it seems they are in season right now.
Short stop at Lake Moeraki
Some great views
Little pied cormorant in flight
Red damselfly - most common it seems
We take a slightly longer stop at Lake Paringa as there is a lot more vegetation and we even see a huge dragonfly flying around but we have no luck to actually take a good photo of the dragonfly.
Lake Paringa stop
Creek feeding the lake
Mountains view
Walking through this while searching for insects
Our major goal for the day are the two glaciers, Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. So we are quite nonplussed when we reach the first one, Fox Glacier, and the road to it is closed. No info on where to go/what happened. Our GPS is showing another route of access on the other side of the river but unpaved so we decide to go there and that part is open and very busy. It leads to a full small parking lot and from there a hiking trail leads to a an overlook of the glacier but anything further in is blocked again so we leave the area quite confused.
No way through here to the glaciers
Barely found a parking spot
Blocked again - oh no
Fox Glacier View
On the way to Franz Joseph Glacier we have a short mobile data window and solve the mystery - there was a rockslide that destroyed the paved road and all access in is closed for now (later during the year it was reopened and then another rockslide closed it again a month after opening...). However Franz Joseph glacier is open and given that everyone now is coming here we are a bit afraid that we won't be able to find parking but it is no problem even though we have to walk a bit to the start of the trail.
On the way to Franz Joseph Glacier - maybe it is open?
First view
Parking lot for the start of the walk
Glacier pushed back quite a bit due to global warming
There are a few trails here but we decide on a shorter one that climbs to the top of a hill and promises good views of the glacier. Majority of the people are continuing on to the foot of the glacier which makes the side trail quite tranquil (unless a helicopter flies right above you of course).
Up - why does it have to be up?
Beautiful view
You can get closer - by helicopter at least
Close up view
This quiet encourages birds to forage closer to the trail and we see our second Tomtit and a funny silvereye who is doing acrobatics right in front of us.
South Island Tomtit
Acrobatic silvereye
After the glaciers we have only one more stop planned at Lake Mahinapua on the west coast before turning inland towards Arthur's Pass, where we plan to spend the night. We do not really know what the expect here but it seems to be quite popular with the locals with quite a bit of camping going on. We explore the area a bit including the old ferry that was crossing the lake to the other side and even find one of the birds that we didn't think we will see, a white heron.
Lake Mahinapua our last stop on the West Coast
Flax and Cabbage Trees abound
Former ferry
Dock - now disused mostly
No birds?
White Heron - really unexpected find
And then it is time to start inland and up into the Alps again. We are a bit scared that the road might be closed which happens sometimes but not today. That doesn't mean that it isn't spectacular with spring water flowing over the road, many one way passages and so on but in the end we arrive on top at Arthur's Pass where we are planning to spend the night.
Into the mountains
Really hope the road is not closed off
Well built
Scary - but at least we can pass
We are staying in a cabin tonight and after warming it up it is quite cozy with a separate bedroom and a kitchen area so we eat a short dinner before deciding to see the town before the sun sets completely.
Our cabin
With a separate bedroom - luxury
There is of course a method to the madness, we know that Arthur Pass has quite a few Kea (large native parrots) that like to linger downtown so we hope that maybe just maybe we get lucky. And we are, as we start walking we notice a kea actually crossing the main street towards us - quite funny. We follow it a bit at a respectful distance and even find its nest/sleeping place before returning quite happy back to the accomodation for the night.
After a cold night (outside, inside we were quite well insulated and heated) we wake up early in the morning and explore a bit the surroundings of the lodge and eat a quick breakfast. After that we go to the National Park Visitor Center to find out whether there is a place to see blue ducks that is reasonable accesible (quick answer: no) so we decide to continue with our planned hikes and then in the afternoon descend to Christchurch where we are planning to spend our last night on the South Island.
Cabins at Arthur's Pass
Walking through the backyard
Coming here first to get info
THE Store
There are a multitude of trails along Arthur's Pass that you can hike on, basically something for everyone with long/medium/short hikes, hikes to waterfalls or peaks or cabins or simply following creeks. From all of these we choose the Otira Valley trail that can be split in a few segments. It actually follows the river climbing up towards the tree line and then crosses over a bridge continuing up. Our plan is to go just to bridge and back about 2 km one way but given the elevation change we assume that it will be a tough 2 km.
Otira Valley trail start
The "trail"
From the beginning the views are great but even more special are the plants, some flowering and some in the process of flowering, that are quite different from what we have seen till now.
Lots of wildflowers - Veronica odora
Mountain Five Finger - can you eat those?
Lots of different plants
Some quite weird
The views as we continue are magnificent which is really good as we stop quite often to catch our breath so we have a lot of time to admire our surroundings.
Climbed quite a bit
Still a lot to go
Trail is becoming....interesting
We are quite high up
Relatively far below is a raging river that supposedly houses blue ducks from time to time, no luck for us today. In fact there are really very view birds here but at least we see a few butterflies including a relatively rare one.
River we are following
Our turnaround point
Declana glacialis - a rare butterfly
Boulder copper
From the trail especially when returning we can see the other side of the valley across the road which is full of small waterfalls and even has a few cabins where the waterfalls converge - that must be a great place to stay.
Those houses have some nice views
Too common
Next trail on our plan is the Devil's Punchbowl Wwaterfall, a very popular hike to one of the easier to access waterfalls near Arthur's Pass. The trail starts easy enough crossing a large river on a sturdy bridge and passing a few ruins along the way.
Start of the walk to Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall
Remains of buildings litter the countryside
Crossing the river
Wonder what they are working on in the riverbed?
However after that the trail first goes up and up and up on what seems an unending number of stairs and just when we hope we reached the waterfall it is down and down and down until we finally exhausted reach the overlook. The waterfall is quite beautiful and we enjoy it while we catch our breath for the return trip.
Waterfall from a distance
Closest you can get
However all this leads actually to a very positive outcome as on the return trip we notice a couple that was with us on Kapiti Island looking very carefully into the forest. As we greet them they tell us that a rifleman is in the bush and we actually notice it - we didn't expect to see one at all during our trip so we are quite happy and stay for some time to snap photos as the bird flitters from tree to tree.
Rifleman looking for lunch
Here it is - quite a big morsel
Quite happy we return to the main shop for lunch and have another lucky encounter with a kea who is also here for lunch. Ultimately it pesters enough people that one makes a mistake and soon the kea is under a car eating its bounty. We decide to eat inside.
Kea on the prowl
Victorious
And then it is time to leave Arthur's Pass towards Christchurch through the NZ Alps with a few more stops along the way. The first one is right after a very long one lane bridge where a hiking trail is supposed to start. We miss the right entrance but park in a close enough parking spot and walk back to the trailhead which comes complete with an old boundary stone and a rustic restroom.
Parked in the wrong spot - trail is the opposite side
Bridge over River Waimakariri
Old boundary(?) stone
The view is breathtaking
We walk for some time on the trail and we are quite amazed to find a rifleman nest so we spend some time watching the parents bring in insects into the tree hole, quite fun. Other birds abound including some beautiful chaffinch.
Forest trail
Rifleman bringing food to chicks
In the riverbed
Chaffinch happy for the water
Returning to the car we decide to walk in the riverbed which is quite wide for the size of the river. Here we find the usual Shelducks watching us, lots of lupine flowers and black-fronted terns flying overhead.
Mountains from the riverbed
Large-leaved Lupine
Shelducks apprehensive of us
Black-fronted tern
Next stop is relatively close at the next bridge over the river, it is quite a new bridge as we soon find out as we can see the old bridge sitting broken and twisted in the river bed - guess the waters can be quite high here. The bushes and trees are in flower painting the mountainsides in yellow, it is quite beautiful..
New bridge
Old bridge....
Yellow everywhere
Great Cormorant flying past us
Returning over the bridge we take our time after seeing what happened to the old bridge and also due to being watched by a police car which appeared from nowhere on this seemingly abandoned road.
Looks sturdy we hope
What happens if a car comes from the other side?!
Continuing we see rain clouds gathering so we decide to stop as much as we can until it starts to rain. So we stop relatively soon again at Pearson Lake, not a lot of birds besides scaup and silvereyes near the lake. However we see a native skink in a bush which is quite cool.
Quick stop near Lake Pearson
NZ Scaup on the lake
Silvereye in the trees
Left some blood in them
Next stop our luck runs out with the rain starting quite heavily so we take a photo of the stonefields from a distance and retreat to the car for a non stop drive to Christchurch.
Hiding from the rain
This is the closest we are going to go
The hotel in Christchurch is quite central as we wanted to have dining close by so in the evening we walk to a nearby thai restaurant for a good dinner before retiring for the night.
Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island and the third by population in New Zealand. Unfortunately it was hit by a series of earthquakes between 2010 and 2012 which led to the death of 185 people and the destruction of thousands of buildings and from which the city has yet to fully recover. Still even so it is one of the more historic cities in New Zealand and one that we wanted to explore for a few hours before returning to Auckland and then home. As we are close to the downtown area we explore on foot starting towards the Botanic Gardens.
Previous night restaurant
Walking through the huge Hagley Park
The botanic garden is much larger than we expected and even finding an entrance proves to be a challenge as it is surrounded by a moat from our point of view that we have to follow until we find a bridge. The gardens are well maintained with lots of colorful flowers while the lakes host quite a few ducks.
Botanic garden
Pacific Black Duck x Mallard
In the botanic garden
Beautiful flowers
We observe the usual expected birds like scaups and silvereye however we find also a new one a dunnock, yay.
Near the small lake
On the small lake - NZ Scaup
Silvereye
Dunnock
At the garden cafe we decide to eat breakfast and also get some coffee to wake up, we have limited time so we have to move fast through the town so we can check out before check out time and then reach the airport before our flight.
Breakfast/Lunch
Time to wake up
At the other end of the park lies our major goal, the Canterbury Museum. Before entering it we explore the surrounding area which is quite beautiful like a 19th century English town.
Chaffinch
Is this the museum?
Peacock Fountain
Former University - now Arts Center
From the entrance the museum is quite interesting as it is focused on Moas and how they were exterminated by the maori in about 100 years that led to the destruction of a whole ecosystem that was depending on them. Of course the Europeans continued the trend doing their best to exterminate the whales but stopping just in time (we hope).
Inside Canterbury Museum - bird remains
Moas - huge flightless birds inhabited NZ before humans
Exterminated by Maori in ~100 years
Europeans doing their best to duplicate that with whales
Artwork from whalebone
Modern art
The next area is dedicated to Maori Art and Weapons and it is fascinating to us, especially the multitude of weapons, who knew there are so many ways to kill someone.
Maori section
Look scary
Artifacts are both ancient and modern
Beautiful work
War implements
These too...
Another interesting section of the museum is the Paua Shell House. It is based on a reconstruction of the house of Fred and Myrtle Flutey who for over 40 years decorated their New Zealand home with thousands of paua shells that Fred had collected from the nearby beach. After their death their grandson loaned the shell collection to the museum.
Paua Shell House
Close up of wall
Sooo many shells
And objects made of shells
There is also a small section dedicated to Asia and Asian Arts especially China and Japan.
Porcelain collection
Memorial coin collection
Oriental section
Objects from Japan
One of the most famous collections inside the museum is the one related to the Antarctic as Christchurch is one of the starting points for Antarctic expeditions. It is very interesting showing how the technology has progressed from sleds to mechanized machines and also describing some of the most famous expeditions.
Old way to move around
Ancient Motor Tractor
More modern
This is the way to go around
One of the more unexpected things we find is a piece of an Arizona meteorite, they have quite a collection but still it is quite a coincidence. Of course they also have a mummy and a full size replica of a dinosaur.
Lots of meteorites from all places..including Arizona
Largest part outside of US of Canyon Diablo AZ meteorite
They had to have a dinosaur right?
And a mummy
The last section that we visit is the one focusing on the wildlife of NZ. Here we can see both existing common and rare and even extinct birds from which the most famous are the Huia for which there is a still a vanishingly small hope that some might have survived.
Now we can identify the birds we have seen
It can be quite tough though
Huia are extinct - remarkable difference in bills
Fight is on to save the kokako
As we still have some time we decide to visit the famous Cathedral that was destroyed during the earthquake. Walking towards it we pass through the downtown area and we can see quite a few condemned houses but also quite a few that have been renovated and are ready to be lived in.
Downtown house - likely not lived in
Gulls can make a living near the cafes
Art Center buildings
More modern
The downtown tram
Abandoned buildings
The cathedral is quite destroyed and you cannot get close so we have to view it from distance before continuing our walk to the new Provisional Cathedral where services are held until the original one can be repaired.
You can see the destruction from the earthquake everywhere
But most in the cathedral
Provisional Cathedral
Inside the provisional cathedral
We notice that it is getting quite late so we hurry back to the hotel through the Botanic Gardens seeing our last shelduck and stopping to take a photo of ducklings, who can resist?
Our last shelduck
One more mama duck with ducklings
At the airport at the car rental return counter the guy checking the car tries to claim that we bumped the car so we are happy that we insisted when we left for them to mark the damage and after a lot of back and forth he finally agrees and on we go towards Auckland. We arrive late in Auckland and we do not have a car rental arranged so we booked a hotel next to the airport with a free shuttle. It works perfectly and soon we are at our hotel and after refreshing ourselves we go to the hotel restaurant for our last dinner in New Zealand which is actually quite good.
Auckland hotel near airport
Nice desk
Last dinner in NZ
At least it is special
Next day in the morning it is time to leave back towards the USA on an uneventful flight after a beautiful vacation in a country that seemed geared towards us with lots of interesting hikes, views and of course wildlife.
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