Three Things Unique to New Zealand – Kiwi, Maori, Kauri (PART TWO)

We were only in New Zealand for a few days but I wanted to do three things you can only do here – see a Kiwi, meet a Maori, and hug a Kauri. These are not as easy as you might imagine.

The Kiwi.

The Kiwi is a flightless, nocturnal bird about the size of a chicken. It’s genetically a mini Emu now endangered due to reduction in its habitat but mainly because it evolved without predators and has been vulnerable ever since the Maori brought pigs and rats the British imported dogs. We visited the Tāwharanui Regional Park that is a peninsula north of Auckland where the Kiwi are protected by an automatic fence that would not look of out place around Jurassic Park. They are serous about protecting their national symbol.

It is almost impossible to see a Kiwi in the wild so we went to Kiwi North, a museum near Whangarei where Kiwis are kept with reversed diurnal cycles – they are kept in near darkness during the day for visitors to have a shot at seeing them and they floodlit at night so they roost. So … we got to see a real Kiwi but it’s still almost impossible to photograph one of the little buggers in the dark.

The Kauri.

The Kauri is a coniferous tree found only in the most northern tip of New Zealand; they emerged in the Jurassic Period (150 million years ago) and still (barely) hang on today and are protected in the Waipoua National Forest.

Nothing prepares you for the sight of one of these monsters as you approach through the rain forest. They are enormous – about 50 feet round and 150 feet tall.  The photos here are of the largest Kauri – Tane Mahuta – and a small grove called the Four Sisters.

Today they are threatened by a fungal infection that has invaded their ecological niche, spread on people’s feet and by feral pigs. To get to see the biggest specimens you have to pass by cleaning stations with brushes and anti-fungal sprays and approach on elevated walkways. 

Not sure if the feral pigs are following these rules.