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Fauna of New Zealand

A stone bridge at Christchurch Botancial Center

I had several left over pictures of wildlife of New Zealand that was worth sharing in a pictorial.  So did we ever encounter the elusive nocturnal Kiwi bird?  Well, yes and no.  In Fox Glacier there was a Glow Worm trail near our hotel that we took one very dark night to view the Glow Worms. They were awesome, but not having a tripod and with the light conditions being so low, it was a futile effort to take a picture of them (see below).  While we were admiring the hundreds of Glow Worms festooning the forest, we heard an odd chirping from the forest floor.   The dark forest made us near blind to the German couple standing next to us as she leaned over to her husband and whispered, “Kiwi!”  We weren’t absolutely sure it was a Kiwi until we found some stuffed Kiwis at the airport that made the same sound that we heard that night.   So we HEARD a Kiwi, but never saw it!

Blue Penguin of Oamaru
Colorful ducks on a stone bridge at Christchurch Botanical Center
So fat! This plump mutton chop sheep took its own sweet time to move off the road. Like Iceland, New Zealand is full of sheep.
This odd little Oystercatcher kept meandering around behind us wanting us to get out of his way so he could eat!
Glow Worms? Really Ethan? Okay, not my best shot, but without a tripod and long exposure, this is the best I could do. The two green trails are the worms, you can see the sky peaking through the canopy to the left and right.
A Rifleman
A Blue Duck on the Milford Track
A Weka on top of the pass along the Milford Track
This is a Shag, a type of New Zealand Cormorant. It was hanging out near Split Apple Rock on the beach.

As usual, leave your comments and feedback below. Kia ora!