HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLY - in New Zealand

NOTES ON HOLLY’S BIRTHDAY. 

BY HOLLY:

It’s my birthday today and we are in Tauranga, New Zealand. 

We went on a kayaking journey on Lake Rotoiti (that’s us, John and I in our kayak) outside the glow worm caves (dots of blue and white light in a dark cave that we rowed into until it was so narrow we had to walk our hands along the walls in the pitch black).

After that, we rowed/paddled across lake Rotoiti into a head wind for lunch and took hot baths in the natural thermal hot pools at Manupirua .  The smell of sulphur might have been off-putting, if it wasn’t for the sweet warm feeling you got from being in those hot soothing waters.

We had wonderful weather the whole day with the temps in the 70’s and partly cloudy. 

Did I tell you there were lots of paddling?

I got to steer at the back of the 2 person kayak with John doing the pulling and I did the steering and the paddling.  It was fun.  John was paddling in the front.   

After our lunch and dunk in the baths, quite a nice soak, we paddled back to the tour bus.  It was a scenic ride from the lake back to the ship. 

We will be sore tomorrow, I am sure, but it was worth it. 

Our drive to Lake Rotoiti took us through “The Valley of Plenty (Te Puke),” named by Captain Cook, and this is the kiwi fruit capital of New Zealand. 

We saw lots of kiwi fruit being grown in the form of grape vines, both the furry green ones we are used to in the states and a golden hairless one that I have never tasted that is supposed to be very sweet. 

Also got to see another of New Zealand’s big crop being grown which is the avocado. 

Corn, squash, grapes were also growing everywhere. 

Tomorrow we arrive in Auckland, NZ. 

Still haven’t seen a real Kiwi bird.  It’s the national symbol and they are endangered – so it’s not easy to get a look as they are nocturnal as well as endangered.  Still have hopes though. 

There is a big conservation program to bring them back, but they still live in only in a few places in New Zealand  -- unfortunately. 

The biggest problem for the kiwi bird is the non-native invasives such as the possum, the ferret, the weasel, and house cats that have gone feral.  All those “settlers” brought them without any idea what the consequences would be.  Until they (the government, the people) get rid of these pests that kill them, they will not be able to bring the Kiwi population back or many of their other endangered birds that nest on the ground.  There are traps everywhere for these pests and they are slowly but surely making progress at controlling them but it is slow and a never ending process.

It is great to see all the conservation practices in place regarding the birds and animals, as well as the native plants.  But apparently they need to do more.  They took down the trees a long time ago.  Only 1 % of New Zealands native forest has not been touched.  They are working to bring back much more of it to help sustain the wildlife that needs it to survive.

A few days ago, we went swimming with the smallest and rarest Hector’s Dolphins but John will file that report when he recovers from today’s rowing – and after he does something to surprise me on my birthday.