Posts

Andrew: White-Faced Heron

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Hello. this bird info post is about the White-Faced Heron. This bird is known by many different names such as the blue crane, or the blue heron. This bird is the most common Heron in New Zealand and the numbers are incredible on Stewart Island (they`re just very good at hide and seek). They are a medium sized heron and have blue-grey plumage. They, as the name suggests, have a white face and a small portion of the neck is white as well. They appear in Australia, New Guinea and, of course, New Zealand. This is one of the most common large birds in New Zealand. They usually breed at the top of trees where they lay and incubate 3-5 eggs. Egg laying usually peaks at the end of October. The egg incubation takes up to 27 days. They eat a wide range of food such as frogs, tadpoles, fish, crabs, insects, etc and they can adapt well to almost any environment. This species does very well because their eggs can`t be eaten by rats or stoats (but the rats and stoats do not want to mess with a l...
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Lachlan: The luge and gondola

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Hello! Today I am talking about my trip on the luge and gondola. The luge is basically a kart that you sit in and sort of drive but I'm not even sixteen yet - I'm nowhere near sixteen so I don't think I should be allowed to drive the luge ... I crashed a lot. So it started off in the world's longest line to go on the gondola. Another random thing is that it would have basically taken a day to get on the gondola. So at the end when we made it to the gondola we went up a mountain and saw super cute goats at the middle of the mountain. At the top we found another huge line to go on the chairlift. Then once we made it up the chairlift we found another huge line to get on the luge. Once we finished waiting in the line we finally got into our luge karts and we all raced each other until the final two rides because everyone else went on the red track. I wasn't allowed on the red track because I am not 130cm tall.
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Andrew:Takahe

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Hello, this post is about a special bird called the Takahe. This bird is endangered and has under 150 left in the world. I saw this bird at the Te Anau bird sanctuary where we decided to take some photos. This large flightless bird is a member of the rail family of birds and is about the size of a very large hen. They are the largest member of the rail family. This bird likes to eat the leaf base and other parts of the tussock or other grasses, yet they do eat invertebrates, mainly during the chick rearing session. This bird has the most of its numbers at the Fiordland, Te Anau bird sanctuary. Strangely this flightless bird has wings for showing off to its mate. It was thought to be extinct from 1898 to 1948 until it was rediscovered with barely any population. For the last 70 years we have made various conservation efforts and most are working. Slowly but surely their numbers are growing. Here are some pictures I took of this rare and endangered bird.   I hope you enjoyed th...
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Kristen: Car travel with these guys

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There's nothing quite like enforced time in a small space to remind you of your children's strengths.  Jess is our songbird, with an amazing memory for all the songs on our playlists. When the going gets tough, Jess gets singing - and when it gets really rough, she gets the boys singing as well. Andy is our most self contained traveller. He keeps himself to himself and usually has his nose in his Kindle or phone, unless somebody spots a potential new bird ... then the camera comes out ready for action. Lachie is so brave. He is not a happy traveller, and has been sick a couple of times but never complains when it's time to get back in the car. He spends more time staring at the view than the other children, so I think he's actually seeing more of New Zealand than the other two.
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Kristen: Stewart Island

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What is it that makes islands so special? Perhaps they let us feel as though we can truly step outside our routines to try something new; spaces for experimentation and risk taking. Islands are encapsulated and delineated. They are testing grounds, prisons, sanctuaries, playgrounds. They are proof of travel. Arriving at Inlet View at Dusk Stewart Island , an island below the South Island of New Zealand, has tickled my imagination since I first heard of a merino wool clothing company being located there. I always felt that visiting it would be an adventure. In my imagination, the adversity was the biting cold Antarctic winds and rugged accommodation. In reality, the challenges were my aching calves and sea sickness. The walk to Golden Bay with so many stairs! Breakfasts at Inlet View We stayed at Inlet View , on the recommendation of a friend, and relished the chance to play house on an island. The views of Paterson's Inlet were stunning, however the height required ...
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Kristen: Embrace decay...and other rain-forest inspired thoughts

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Rain-forests thrust life and death under our noses, with sounds, sights, smells mingling moistly in a glorious cacophony of colours. Death and decay are embraced, not mourned. Leaves rot, naked logs sink into the forest floor, bare branches lurch from dizzy heights to the ground. To stand tall in the rain forest, shed your juvenile leaves and branches. Seek the sun. Don't mourn your cast offs; they are already being subsumed by and nourishing those who need them. Love your neighbours and relish the dance together, weaving a forest fabric. Know that there are strengths in community and diversity.  Relish each joyful moment and seize every opportunity, for tomorrow there may be a rat. Just one rat can change everything. Is our future built on a cycle of death and decay, or will a disruptive predator change everything?
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Andrew:Weka Bird

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Hello, here is another bird info post. Today, I am writing about the New Zealand Weka. This bird is a flightless and large bird. They don`t seem to mind human activity and love pecking around your backpack looking for food. They are however very annoying to farmers who hate seeing their precious food being trampled and stolen in front of their very own eyes. However, I think they are very cute. They are a member of the Rail family of birds. The ones from Stewart Island are usually very strong chestnut brown but they still act the same funny, peckish way. They are usually around the south side of New Zealand, and are rare in the north island. They eat whatever they can get their hands on (or feet on, for that matter) and don`t mind it, though their natural diet is made up of fruit, invertebrates and some small animals. But they have been known to kill and eat stoats and west land petrels. We saw this one at Ulva Island bird sanctuary where they swam at the beach with us (and also ...
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