New Zealand (Aotearoa) Overview

I'm going to have to break up the blog entries - there was so much to see and do in New Zealand that we saw and did a lot! It's a fantastic place to visit, so all of you who are planning your trip to see us should tack on an extra week or three to swing by New Zealand. It's only about four hours away from Sydney. Yes, it is that far. When people from the other side of the world glance at a map, places look a lot closer than they really are, especially when they are so remote. This place is worth the trip from anywhere in the world.

New Zealand contains very unique flora and fauna. The most common theory is that New Zealand broke off of Australia when Pangaea busted up, but some believe it was part of South America. I've never been to South America, but the NZ I saw looked nothing like AU. There are some trees that can only be found on New Zealand and South America, and New Zealand has no marsupials. There did used to be a really badass bird called a Moa that was like a giant emu but with no wings at all and a height of up to 10 feet. The Moa was killed off by humans, just as many other birds on the island would be killed off by other pests. There were not many natural predators to birds before humans arrived, bringing with them cats and rats, so the native feathered animals were diverse and easy prey. Kiwis still exist, but we didn't see any of them during our trip. I did see plenty of hedgehogs but they were all dead. I cannot confirm that there are any hedgehogs still alive in New Zealand. I saw about as many dead hedgehogs along the roads of New Zealand as I saw dead wallabies in the Northern Territory. Hedgehogs were introduced to reduce pests on farms but became pests themselves and have wiped out species of insects and snails.

That all sounds so negative... well, it pretty much is. Europeans also introduced deer and rabbit since they had nothing to hunt. The deer and rabbits took off into the vast wilderness to proliferate and not worry too much about a human wondering their way with a gun. But, some amazing birds and plants do survive! The aforementioned kiwi - a small flightless bird whose egg is a quarter the size of the mother; the tui - a bird that looks like a lounge singer in a bow-tie that does impressions... no seriously it mimics the calls of other birds; and plenty of penguins. We managed to spot the rarest of them all: a yellow-eyed penguin... and during the day! He was wobbling along the beach and then hopping up to his nest. Or she. I didn't get that good of a look. We also saw heaps of fur seals and dolphins.

As far as plant life, it's pretty much the same story. We were amazed at the number and size of roses in New Zealand - they were everywhere! The roads were lined with (besides dead hedgehogs) beautiful tall flowers. These are russell lupin. They were introduced but took to the soil and spread like wildfire. The "southern Christmas tree" blooms in summer (Christmas) with spectacular, bright red flowers. These are native to NZ but it's slightly amusing that it's called a southern Christmas tree when it's surrounded by millions of pine trees.

I think that's long enough for one post. I realise now that it's all about plants and animals, but the people and scenery were amazing too! But the beer and bungy were the best. More on all of that soon.