June 11, 2017 - Notes from the middle of the night!
John is the caretaker at Rucksacker Backpacker Hostel; He is around our age and has been there seven
years. He complained that after the big
earthquake the kids at the hostel wouldn’t volunteer to restock the
grocery-store shelves; even though they complained that the store wasn’t open. John even told them they might get free food!
Kim, the animal tour guide at Willowbank is a teacher during
the day and guides from four o’clock on in the evening. She told us all the Maori names for the
animals on the tour. Frequently the name
is two repeated words or syllables, like the kune kune or “fit fit pig”, who is anything
but. They are sometimes kept as pets and
are very smart; they can be potty
trained! They are also preferred to
other pigs for farming because their noses turn up which allows them to graze
without tearing up the grass.
Willowbank is also not government supported. Their kiwi program starts from eggs which are
candled, then placed in an incubator.
They can live on the placenta for fourteen days! The chicks can take
four days to emerge from the egg; they
are fully-fledged when they do! Then
they are protected and nurtured until they are able to set along by
themselves. Then they are transferred to
a predator-free island until they are fully grown. At that point they are returned to the area
from which the egg was collected so they can return to their family. Kiwi mate for life. Currently they have five breeding pairs and a
male who beat up two potential mates.
Kim thinks perhaps he swings the other way!
Jenny, at Akaroa, told us about the lion lunch wagon and how
one always jumps on top. She asked the
keepers if anyone ever got peed on! Most
said, “Of course not!” but the rest said, “Don’t ask awkward questions!”
Identify some of the birds – pukeko is the blue bird with
the red beak; ruru is the owl; torea or pied oystercatcher is the black and
white one that looks like a magpie; kakariri is the green parakeet with the red
head and white bill; the kea is the world’s only mountain parrot; the tui is
the black bird with the white tuft on his chest. Kereru – the large bird in the
tree that we couldn’t see well! Also
called the wood pigeon.
The Aussies consider New Zealand just another state; although the Kiwis who live there don’t get
any of the government benefits!
Fun sign we saw -
Safety third!! Later we saw Liberty first!! Never saw what was second!!
Safety third!! Later we saw Liberty first!! Never saw what was second!!
OH! And to prove I'm really here - here are a photo or two!
Is this heaven? You certainly make it look like it is. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt would be if it came with a thermostat!
DeleteLooks like a lot of snow for a Floridian!
ReplyDeleteThat wind lasted about as long as I could handle! They do have corners where you can seek shelter and I didn't have to use one, so I was pretty proud of myself!
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