Adventure Vacation Down Under
The real Kiwi: In search of New Zealand’s icon (with photos)
- After many hours of searching and patient waiting, I finally spotted this NorthIsland Brown Kiwi with its beady eyes, unlikely bill and fur-like feathers. Whendisturbed, kiwis usually run off into dense vegetation.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Tongariro National Park protects immense swaths of pristine volcanic and alpinelandscape along with North Island Brown Kiwis that frequent the grasslands andforests.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Kiwis are not the only flightless birds on New Zealand. Isolation and a lack ofpredators allowed several species to lose flight, like the pictured Takahe, agiant flightless rail surviving on protected islands.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Cape Kidnappers on the North Island gives a true sense of land's end. The hillsare overgrazed by sheep, but the steep slopes provide nesting grounds forAustralasian Gannets, striking black and white seabirds.Photo courtesy of DFW Aiport
- Remote, rugged, nearly untouched, Stewart Island is the stronghold of the SouthIsland Brown Kiwi. Here kiwis reign and are even spotted during the day. Theirdistinct large three-toed tracks crisscross the entire island.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Three major volcanoes beckon climbers and hikers in Tongariro National Parkduring the day, but wandering the trails at night may reward one with seeing oneof the most unique animals in the world, the kiwi.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- The almost subtropical Paporoa Mountains on South Island are an incrediblelabyrinth of karst, rivers, and dense forest. Great Spotted Kiwis survive inthese remote mountains, but looking for them here is not advisable, since theground is riddled with caves, underground streams, and sinkholes. Signs warnhikers to stay on trail and rushing into the forest after dark can be dangerous.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Native Kauri trees often thousands of years old create the perfect habitat forkiwis. Here in Trounson Kauri Park dozens of these unique birds survive andtheir loud eerie calls are heard every night.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Restored native vegetation and some patches of old forest on Tiritiri MatangiIsland near Auckland support one of the few populations of Little Spotted Kiwiremaining in the world.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Forbidding-looking Little Barrier Island can only be visited by scientist. Itharbors pristine forests and has never been invaded by non-native predators. Itsupports all species of native birds found in New Zealand, including two speciesof kiwis and the amazing Kakapo, also known as the Owl Parrot.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Lake Taupo makes a great stop between kiwi searching on the way south towardsSouth Island.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Signs warn drivers of kiwi crossings in order to reduce the risk of birdswalking across the road at night. If driving in protected areas at night, slowdown!Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- One of the best known birds in New Zealand along with the kiwi is the Kea, alarge parrot of alpine areas in the South Island. Most people are familiar withits destructive habit of tearing into windshield wipers and insulation on parkedcars, but it does not stop there, Kea’s have been known to kill sheep in orderto feed on the fat on the animals. It is definitely not your pet kind of parrot.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- The Southern Alps are rugged and cold, supporting populations of the rarestkiwi, the Great Spotted Kiwi, but dense forests and rough terrain makes it nextto impossible to see one.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Due to its long isolation and distance from major landmasses, New Zealand isrelatively impoverished when it comes to animal diversity - besides birds. Thereare only two native mammals - both bats - and two native frogs, but the islandsupports many unique plants.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- New Zealand is blessed with good empty roads that make for easy travelthroughout the country.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- The dramatic coastline of New Zealand offers unlimited photo opportunities andis a welcome distraction from kiwi hunting.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Car rental can be incredibly cheap in New Zealand and there are endless campingopportunities, making it one of the more affordable places to travel.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- The Natural History Museum in Auckland exhibits stuffed dusty specimen of threespecies of kiwi: North Island Brown Kiwi (bottom left), Little Spotted Kiwi(top), Great Spotted Kiwi (bottom right).Photo by Stephan Lorenz
- Besides kiwis, New Zealand is also famous for seabirds that visit the coldnutrient rich waters just offshore. Even the most avipathetic person will notavert eyes when a wandering albatross, with the largest wingspan of any bird onearth, puts in an appearance.Photo by Stephan Lorenz
When you're a New Zealander, or “Kiwi”, as they like to call themselves, you seem to take that rite-of-passage world trip for a year or two - sleeping in hostels and living out of a backpack - more serious than any other culture.
Well, maybe just second to the Brits.
After having met my fair share of kiwis during my own travels and eating the synonymously named fruit (fresh, with peel, without peel, in salads and baked goods) until it became as exotic as another apple, it was finally time to see the real deal.
No, not the currency. The actual bird native to New Zealand.
Quick reading on the Internet or in a basic natural history book will show you that the kiwi is a ratite, a group of ancient flightless birds that includes the African strich, South American rhea, and Australian emu. Kiwis are endemic to New Zealand (no surprise), and amazingly affordable airfare on nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Auckland made the trip pretty easy.
Before the trip, I studied everything I could find about kiwis, from premier places to spot one in the wild to the average incubation temperature. I learned that kiwis lay one of the largest eggs compared to body size of any bird, have a great sense of smell, feed mostly on earthworms, and are rare and endangered due to habitat loss and introduced predators.
Apparently, they are also solitary and hide in burrows underground during the day. My kind of critter.
After 13 back-bending hours, I landed with high hopes at Auckland Airport. I spent my first afternoon at the slightly stuffy Natural History Museum, housed in a temple-like structure in the center of Auckland’s largest park, the Domain.
Here, I saw my first kiwi - albeit a stuffed one - and further learned that taxonomists recognize five species of kiwis, each varying in size and color, from spotted to plain brown. All occur in different parts of the North and South Island.
Since I was not going to settle for one of those nocturnal displays where captive kiwis with antipolar circadian rhythms shuffle through dimly lit cages, it was going to be a long trip.
I threw books, camping gear, and an assortment of canned food into the cheapest rental I could find, and set out on a cross-country journey to see them all.
For a month, I worked my way from Auckland down to Wellington, took the ferry from the North to the South Island, stopped along the way for such attractions as the Milford Sound, and ended the trip after another ferry on Stewart Island. Along the way I camped among ancient Kauri trees, explored the subtropical karst cliffs of the Paparoa Mountains, hiked through a couple of rainstorms in the Southern Alps, and backpacked through swamps and endless Melaleuca woods.
Since kiwis are nocturnal, I spent countless hours at night wandering through New Zealand’s most pristine places. I watched glow worms come to light in tree hollows, and also had several run ins with the brush-tailed possum, a tenacious marsupial native to Australia overtaking New Zealand (there are currently 70 million of these raccoon sized animals in the country).
And, of course, gazed at unforgettable stars.
Through trial and error, I figured out that the best way to see a kiwi in the wild is to wait until complete darkness, listen for their loud, eerie calls or noisy scramble through thick vegetation, and be quiet and patient (very patient).
Most of the time, it will see you long before you know its there.
And even though they will not fly, they can run, and fast.
The best places to see kiwis in their natural element are Trounson Kauri Park in the Northland of North Island, and on the wild and remote Stewart Island, where the distinct three-toed footprints wander from the beaches up to the highest mountains.
But you want to know, don't you? You want to know: "Did I manage to spot a kiwi in the wild?"
I am proud to say I saw three different kinds. Mostly glimpses of brown feathers scuttling under brush, but one I was able to observe for over 30 minutes in Trounson Kauri Park as it methodically probed the mud with its unlikely bill.
Standing among towering Kauri trees with glowworms along the path, not a single possum in sight, I witnessed a scene unchanged for thousands of years.
All hail the kiwi.