Merry Christmas

The christmas tree was outshone by the beautiful day outside

Christmas in Wellington was supposed to be rain and gale force winds. But hooray, the winds shot through last night, leaving everybody's roofs still attached. Instead there is a mild breeze and a brilliant sunny blue sky. We are having a quiet start before putting a lunch of cold ham and salads together for the family. No Christmas drinkies at this point or lunch may end up weird.

We are listening to Radio New Zealand and loving all the stories of our childhood. BadJelly the Witch by Spike Milligan is just the best! People from round the world are texting in and there are conversations with New Zealanders in strange places.

I woke to discover my pavlova base holding together, looking fragile but yummy. Soon it will be covered in cream and topped with kiwi fruit. The jelly maker had forgotten to put the jelly in the fridge so it was rather runny. Have put it in the fridge but if all else fails we will freeze the thing into solidity.

My pavlova tasted as good as it looked.

The garden is not quite ready to produce for Christmas Day as we have had a little cold spell which put things back. No peas yet but I have three big beans - not enough to feed eight alas. I would have had a strawberry but a bird got it first.

Our christmas presents are sorted already this year. Every second year Wellington holds its Arts Festival and our christmas present to each other is to buy tickets, eat out and have fun. What we see is a bit of a lottery sometimes but we are never disappointed. We enjoy the bad, weird and strange along with the truly sensational. So, February is to be anticipated and our presents yet to be enjoyed.

Fruit salad, ambrosia, trifle, jelly, pavlova - we went overboard with dessert

Evening.
After an indulgent lunch it was time to relax. We had opened presents between courses so there was nothing left to do but finish the wine, and wind down with tea and christmas cake. As it was warm and mild, after the guests left I found a lounger and went and lounged. Bliss! No worries about dinner as we will be dining on left overs for a week.
Christmas Day in Wellington was the best place in New Zealand to celebrate it yet again.

Tucking in to pudding

Pavlova - New Zealand's signature dessert

Wellington's christmas day was one out of the box, encouraging people to take to the water.

Taupo Half Ironman.

On the way out during the 90k cycle.

Finally the training was over and the Kellogs NutrigrainTaupo Half Ironman was imminent. I had spent the last five months running and cycling the hills of Wellington and trying to gain the ability to swim two kilometres without panic or stress. The swimming was still looming large in my head so I had taken the opportunity to head to Taupo with friends to scope the course two weeks before the real thing. I proved to myself I could do half the course in two days and scared myself silly swimming alone in the lake. Oddly enough, once I had swum the required distance I relaxed completely and swam about with no trouble. I definitely had a head issue rather than a problem with the ability to do the distance.
Once back in Wellington I tackled the problem by sea swimming every second day, buying ear plugs and focussing on what I could control rather than jut stressing.

5.45 am - time to get wetsuits on and check everything is organised

Me and my squad up and ready for the challenge

A tidal wave of human bodies. I am out there somewhere towards the back keeping out of trouble.

Two weeks later I was back at Taupo with my squad at 5.30  in the morning waiting at the start and trying to keep nerves under control. I was struggling to get into my wetsuit when the coach casually grabbed hold of my suit by its sides, lifted me off the ground and shook me into it. Problem solved!
The thought of swimming two kilometres with 800 others kicking you in the face is not a pleasant one. To save myself being run over by a tidal wave of human bodies I put myself with my squad towards the back of the pack. I looked to where we were heading and calculated a point to the left of a hill as a guide to where tI should aim for. The orange buoy was too far off to see and people's splashing would obscure it anyway. The hooter went and off we started. My mantra was 'don't panic, just swim.' I found clear water quite soon which was a relief. It was also a relief to check where I was going and to find I was on course. I kept to a rhythm and a space which did not stress me at all. Every so often I tangled with someone else's arms or legs but to my surprise I was actually coping. It took a while but finally I was catching sight of the big orange buoy. I swam towards it but the next time I looked I could not see it. I caught a flash of orange in my periphery vision. Blow! I had somehow swam past the thing and was metres from it. It took a minute or more to get back to it, then to swim to the other one further out that you had to swim round before heading back.
What a waste of time that caused me, but never mind, I had new problems. I had not thought about what to sight for on the way back. All I could see ahead of me was splashing and the feet of the person in front of me. I had recently been taught the new skill of drafting and decided to put it into practice. I locked in beside the body of the feet I could see and swam close to her. I would let her do the scoping and direction finding and I would save energy by keeping my head down and trust she was going in the right direction. This worked a treat. I calmed down and just swam to her pattern. After a while I lost her, but latched on to another and repeated the exercise. I also began to see buoys to my right so did not feel so lost. In the distance I could see a large one but I did not get my hopes until I saw everyone turning at it. I managed going around that buoy far more efficiently  this time then swam for shore while reminding myself not to get ahead of things - don't stand too soon and to just head for the green mat on shore. Finally I stood carefully and allowed the blood to redistribute from the horizontal to the vertical by not rushing things. There was 300 metres to cover to get to transition and as I jogged along the green mat I removed the top half of my wetsuit and thought about the next phase and where I needed to go to find my bike.

Running up the green mat to transition while trying to extricate my self from the wet suit

I spent a bit of time in transition as I struggled out of my wetsuit and removed my bonnet and goggles. I swigged a gel then got on with the task of getting cycle shoes on wet feet, finding my helmet and glasses and drying off a little. It was going to be warm so I did not bother with putting anything over my tri-suit. I grabbed my bike and set off towards the exit sign, glad I had spent time orienting myself the day before when I had racked it in the correct spot. Nervous of doing anything new  and not practised, I had decided to use my camel-bac for fluids rather than drop and collect water bottles from the drink areas. I had a horror that I would miss picking up a new one as people handed them out, or I would drop it and cause others behind me to crash. Safety first I thought and everyone one would be better off if I avoided the whole issue by carrying what I needed even though that meant extra weight. We started off around the waterfront then turned a sharp left to head up a hill out of town. Alas though, I had my gearing wrong and dropped my chain on the hill which was most annoying. It took only a few seconds to get going again but I was grumpy with myself for not getting it right.

Stocking up on fluids and gels on the way out

The bikes spread out in a long line. Bike rules are extremely specific in ironman which make this part of the race very safe. Every bike has to be ten metres away from the bike in front. If you pass, you must achieve the manoeuvre in twenty seconds. Of course you have to keep left as well. Also a large section of the course was closed to traffic. Compared to the Round Taupo Challenge which I have done in the past this was great. No crazy bunch riding and no crazy passing. Sweet! The day was pleasant with light cloud and a gentle wind which would push me home after the turnaround. I kept an eye on the time and concentrated on getting fluids and food on board - electrolytes and gels and jelly fruit lollies thrown in as well.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on a bike

I sailed past the drink stations, signalling I was not in need of anything. I watched a few exchanging old drink bottles for new and decided I would have to practise this in the future rather than carrying the extra weight on my back. I looked up and saw the first of the elite riders coming towards me having made a break for it. They had already done the turnaround and were heading back at the rate of knots. They looked amazing with their tri-bikes and special helmets. I had not invested in a tri bike which has aero bars on which you rest with your elbows, plus specialised wheels. All very costly so I was happy to make do with my tried and true road bike. IIt did remind me to get down on my drops to reduce wind resistance and continued to the turning point trying to keep my speed up as I went.
Finally I was heading back. Though slightly uphill the wind behind made a difference and it was relatively easy. I had tried this part of the course a couple of weeks ago and the wind had made the journey difficult so it was good to be sailing along this time. With no cars, no spectators and cyclists only at least ten metres behind or in front I could look out at the scenery - a lush pastoral scene with geothermal activity at places reminding me that the whole area is volcanic and relatively active. Lake Taupo itself is a vast crater caused by an eruption thousands of years ago.

For the last part the cloud burned off and the sun came out. The run was going to be hot. I came into transition and remembered where my bike had to go and where my gear was. I tried to change footwear and stuff down a banana at the same time with little success and ended up wasting time and messing about but finally I had shoes on, hat on and a new layer of sun cream. A final swill of a gel and liquid and I was off on the run.

The run was along the waterfront and very picturesque but I was doing it tough at this point with my legs in bike mode plus I had a bit of stomach cramp - and the heat was getting to me and sapping my energy.

I was not so sure of this part of the course and had to call out to marshals for directions. It took a while to get some rhythm going as my legs were still in bike mode. The heat made it tough going and I was glad of the drink stations. I worked out a plan. At each station there were three tables. I took an electrolyte drink and a water to pour down my neck at the first table, then at the last  I took two more waters - one for a sip then to tip over my body again as well as the other. I avoided my head as in the past when I poured water on it the sweat had run down into my eyes and stung like mad. Being nice and wet refreshed me and I was able to pick up a little pace. The course was two loops along the waterfront. There people everywhere to cheer you on. Twice my coach's truck with supporters in it drove by yelling encouragement out the window. which lifted my spirits. I completed the first lap feeling good. I picked up my pink arm bungey to indicate as I went past transition and completed the first lap. As I went to head out again I noticed a table with ice available. A kind lady filled my hat and stuck it on my head then shovelled a decent scoop down into my bra. That was certainly a wake- up call! I forced down another gel and sucked ice from the supply down my front. My hat began to leak cool dribbles of water down my neck which also kept me alert. Runners were approaching me, almost finished. I envied them as I had ten kilometres to go. Then first one, then another almost finisher was struck down with cramp. I decided to be a saviour and offered them a shot of Cramp Stop. This is a little bottle of something that you spray under your tongue. For most people the cramp will go in thirty seconds as the magnesium component hits the muscles. I hate cramp so had carried this in my side pocket. At the beginning of the run I had had a bit of stitch in my side and Cramp Stop had helped with that. The two blokes grabbed at my little bottle like drowning men finding a life raft and squirted themselves in the mouth. I did not wait to see how effective it was. I needed to stop wasting time and get going once more. The ice was doing a great job of keeping me cool and the supply from my bra was perfect to suck on and keep my mouth moist. At the drink stations hoses had been added - just lovely. Without that I would have been tempted to trot down to the lake and jump in for a few minutes.
Before the turn around was my last hill. I started up and passed an athletic young man who was at that point reduced to a struggling walk. Once passed I heard him calling out 'Mum! I want a carry! Mum! Mum!'
'No,' I said.
'Aw please - I need a carry!'
'No,' I said, laughing.
'I am so gutted,' he cried.
I considered saying 'If you run to the top of the hill I will give you a treat.' If he caught me up I would delve into my cleavage and give him some ice. Then I thought 'No - its my ice and I am going to be selfish. I need it for myself.'
His humour had cheered me up no end and I chuckled all the way to the next drink stop, pondering on how I am always seen as Mum these days and never as a potential date. However he could have quite reasonably been calling out 'Granny' so I had nothing really to complain about.
To my satisfaction he never caught me up.

Perked up and looking forward to finishing

At the last two drink tables they were offering flat coke to give a caffeine boost  to get you over the line. Since I had not tried this I kept away from it and stuck to the electrolyte drink and water plus getting a hose down at every opportunity. By this stage I was feeling quite free and was running well. I was pleased I had not walked at any stage. The last part was up a hill then into the park to the finish line. I had enough energy to keep my head up and to put on a little burst to cross the line.

Finished under seven hours - just

I can stop running at last

I got my timing chip off, my participation medal on then gratefully stood under the shower to cool down. I was pleased with my time as I had made it under seven hours. I found my squad members who had already finished and cheered the others as they came in.

My participation medal - but the shower at this point was the most rewarding thing - as well as being able to stop.

Exhausted I then went back to our cabin for food, rest and a stand in the nearby lake to ice my legs.

Later I discovered I should have stayed for the prize giving as I was third in my age group. There was just six minutes separating us first three out, and I mused that with a little more focus I could have picked up that time and got a better result. Never mind, with the third I have qualified for the World's long course at Weihai, China in September. This is a daunting thought, as the race I had just completed was my first half ironman. At this point I will just think about it - more than that  is way too scary!

The celebratory dinner in the evening put on by supporters - thanks guys, and thanks to coach Shane standing on right who said I was up to the challenge.

A half ironman is lots of fun - when it is almost over!

Glory be for New Zealand Trees

The mauve flowers of the poroporo plus developing fruit

My most recent run was a tired affair so I allowed myself time to stop often and view my surroundings. What mainly attracted me was the poroporo which is looking absolutely gorgeous. It is flowering at present and is covered in beautiful mauve flowers which  glisten in the sunlight. In fact flowering of all trees seems to be prolific this year. The ti kouka or cabbage trees have been a mass of bloom with sprays of tiny buff coloured flowers. All this bounty is beginning to make people excited as it may indicate we are going to have a mast year. Flowering and fruiting in New Zealand trees does not happen every year. Every second or third year heavy flowering and fruiting occurs. This is called masting. Some of our endangered birds will only breed in mast years and this is true of our wonderful kakapo or night parrot. There are only about one hundred and twenty five of the green flightless parrot left in the world. For the last two years the males have made their bowls or leks then boomed and chinged all night in the hopes of attracting a female. The females said no and no babies have been born for two years. Unless they can be sure there will be plenty of food for their young they will not mate. The fruiting of the rimu tree seems to be the key. So here's hoping that way down on Codfish Island the kakapo decide its time to reproduce and we get an increase of these amazing green flightless parrots which wander around the bush at night. Before man arrived kakapo were the third most common bird in New Zealand. It must have been an amazing sight at night to see these fat green parrots ambling around and to hear the boom and ching of the males echoing throughout the islands as they tried to entice females to their leks.
Kakapo information

When the rimu fruits heavily the kakapo will breed.

I stopped often to photograph different trees as I ran. We have had a wet warm spring and the growth is positively lush and the smell poignant. Away from New Zealand it is the smell of the bush I miss most. Alas not many birds were present as I ran due to rats, cats, stoats etc. It makes me value Zealandia even more as it shows what we could have with a little effort. Maybe one day even kakapo can once again roam through the bush and its odd sounds will echo in people's back yards.

A poroporo shrub glistening in the sun

A nikau palm - the only palm in the world that does not produce a nut.

A lemon wood or tarata. When the leaves are crushed a delicious lemony smell is released.

The mahoe or whiteywood glistens in the sun.

The kawakawa produces an  edible yellow peppery fruit. Its leaves can be infused to make a pepper flavoured tea.

The makomako (meaning like shark's teeth in Maori) or wineberry in its juvenile form. Settlers used its fruit to make wine.

Honey produced from manuka flowers has antibiotic properties and is highly sought after.

A young totara pine. In 500 years it will be one of the dominant trees in the Ngaio Gorge

A totara tree looking lush with spring growth

Hangehange is a shrub that fills niches in the undergrowth, covering banks wherever it can get a foothold.

Whau looks strangely tropical with its large soft leaves

Banding the Babies.

My first nest of kaka chicks to be checked, chipped and banded

Our first nest of kaka babies have been banded. I was privileged to be able to attend and help out. As our kaka North Island parrot population has done so well since the first birds were were brought from Auckland Zoo they are no longer going to be individually banded (not enough colour combinations). The 500th chick has just been banded. From now on they are going to wear a band depicting the year of their birth only. 2013 is going to be light blue.

Bronwyn with the 500th kaka chick to be banded at Zealandia.                               Photo by Alfred Kaka

I was volunteering when the first cohort of about fourteen birds were brought to Zealandia in 2002. They were held in an aviary as they adjusted to their new surroundings and I was a part of the team to care for them. I took food in, counted them and checked they were OK. I heard their 'wolf whistle' alarm call for the first time. A zoo keeper had taught it to one kaka who taught to his mates. They have taught their mates and their kids and now it is known as the 'Wellington dialect' and  rings out daily throughout the city.

There were five in the nest ready to be checked, chipped and banded. My job was to be ready with a bag to pop over the chick's head as the handler brought it out. Once the chick was in the bag the handler took over. He carried it up to the person whose job it was to hold the chick while the handler got statistics and feather samples. My job now was to be recorder.
Linton called out measurements and I repeated them as I wrote them down. He measured the beak's width and length, the length of the wing and tail and the length of a tarsus or toe. Then feather samples were collected for DNA and disease analysis. A blue band was placed on the handiest leg and a check for mites was done. Then last but not least a microchip was inserted under the skin in the neck. I had imagined a tiny square biscuit shaped thing but of course that would be uncomfortable indeed. In fact it is a tiny glass vial which is placed in a syringe gun and injected. Monitoring will occur at feeding stations. When the kaka comes in for sugar water it will poke its head through a plastic circle which will record who is who. The chip was checked and I wrote the number down.

The preferred band of fashion this year is of a sky blue colour

The chicks, other than wriggling a bit, coped well with the intrusion. They got their own back by pooing on tJudi whose job it was to hold them still. Their Mum, BY-W was an interested bystander. She perched on a branch quite close to us and watched. She did not worry about her chicks being handled and remained happy and calm. This is not always the case. Some mothers vocally let the handlers know their disapproval which can set the whole valley off screeching and wolf whistling.

When all the information needed had been gathered the chick was popped back into the nest box and the next one was lifted out. It took awhile to do our five chick checks but I thoroughly enjoyed being part of it.

I also learned that 2013 has been an extra successful breeding season with nests of four, five or six chicks being reared. As a result of this, for the first time, chicks are being transferred elsewhere before they fledge. Young kaka are being transferred to Mt Bruce in the Wairarapa to enhance that population.

A Zealandia kaka chick having a medical check at Pukaha Mt Bruce which will be its new home.
Photo from Alfie Kaka's Facebook page

It is wonderful to think that Zealandia's kaka population has grown so much that we can now start translocating them out. Many of our founding birds from Wellington Zoo are still going strong, the most well known one being Alfie. Now their progeny are helping to reverse the endangered status of  kaka throughout the North Island.

The chicks will now be left in their nest boxes to fledge with no more human intervention.

Ship tours and owlets.

A putangitangi duckling

It is the tourist boat season so I am once more taking guided tours in Zealandia. I love showing off New Zealand's natural beauty and that of Zealandia in particular.
This weeks tour started with a rush as I had misread my email and had not realised I was down to be lead guide. I managed to get there with ten minutes to spare thank goodness.
Our first stop is usually at the lower dam and today we were rewarded with the sight of a pair of putangitangi or paradise shelducks and their flock of gorgeous black and white ducklings. They are New Zealand's only shelduck and are endemic. This family had been born outside the sanctuary but Mum and Dad brought their young brood to the gates and hung about until they were let in. Evidently they did this last year as well which I think is very clever of them. It would be smarter still if they made their nest on the inside to start with. They were quite happy to have their family photographed  and oohed and aahed over.

Dad and kids

Mum and ducklings

We headed into the valley and had a very happy two hours as I pointed out the various birds about as well as giving snippets of information on the trees and our hopes for the future. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. Maybe summer is finally on its way.

A pair of fantails or piwakawaka flitted about our heads as we made our way out. The group had a few minutes to shop and see the exhibition before I farewelled them and made sure we had not lost anyone. As all were present and accounted for I waved them off and the bus departed.

I had decided to make a day of it in the Sanctuary so had a quick lunch at the Rata Cafe before setting off to check my kaka nest boxes. First though, I had another  nest site to check. Next week is kaka week and for the first time we are taking guided tours to see almost fledged kaka nestlings. I am to be involved this weekend and thought it would make sense to track down my nest box before I had a group trailing along behind. My ability to read maps and know where things  in space are including myself tend to be a challenge so being prepared is a necessity. The new site was on the way to my normal nest boxes so I found it quite easily which was a relief.

My first nest box had chicks looking quite mature now. They are a bit scruffy as they lose down and gain flight feathers. Very soon they will be banded and we will no longer check on them as they could tumble out of the nest box when it is opened, due to overcrowding as they jostle for space.

Our oldest chicks are ready for banding

The next box has been taking over by interlopers - an owl or ruru. I approached carefully but Mrs Owl heard me and popped her head out to observe me. I slowly moved closer and she opted to fly to a nearby branch and sat there 'churring' to reassure her little chick born less than  week ago. I opened the box to see a little white fuzz ball with tiny eyes just starting to open. I took a photo but as I closed the door I heard a commotion. A tui and two kaka had spied the mother and were on to her in a second, screeching and chasing her away. Other birds seem to know that ruru are silent killers of the night and do not like them much. Given the chance they will get their own back and attack them. I backed off and watched. The little ruru made her way back cautiously, flying low to the ground. Getting closer to the nest box she started to 'chur,' making a quiet buzzing sound. Immediately a kaka screeched a reply. It perched above where the sound had come from but was unable to spot her. I decided to back off at this point hoping she would make it safely back to her chick.

Our tiny ruru chick

My next nest box had three growing kaka chicks in it. One was a lot smaller than the other two but it seemed healthy and strong.

Three chicks at different stages of growth

The runt of the litter is looking pretty healthy

The last nest box had eggs recently laid so I settled down to wait for the mother to appear. After ten minutes she flew in to the top of the box. I quickly checked the nest before she entered and found three newly hatched chicks and three eggs. All was well so I departed to allow Mum to get back to her babies.

The newest chicks on the block

On the way back I stopped to photo a tree fern displaying a lovely set of new fronds unfolding. Representative of the unfurling of new life, I am always taken aback by their artistic beauty.

Beautiful new koru unfurling

This weekend is going to be exciting as I mentioned before that we will be taking visitors up to see young kaka chicks which are at the not quite fledged stage. People will get to see them as part of Kaka Week. The North Island parrot was extinct in Wellington until they were brought back into the environment at Zealandia. The exercise has been hugely successful and now they are spreading into the suburbs. People curious to learn more about them will get their chance over the next week as various activities are run.

Kākā Week

A volunteer checks in with kākā at Zealandia

Photo By Janice McKenna

A volunteer checks in with kākā at Zealandia

Photo By Janice McKenna

A volunteer checks in with kākā at Zealandia

Photo By Janice McKenna

Join us for special activities as we celebrate these boisterous and charming natural ambassadors of the sanctuary. Meet our volunteer kākā monitors, find out how we support kākā in the valley,  and learn what you can do at home to help too.

Activities for all ages, 11am – 3 pm, Sundays, 17 & 24 November.

• barbecue
• bird monitoring with binoculars
• tracking with telemetry antennae
• make your own pest tracking tunnel
• a peek at kākā chicks in a nest box
• … plus lots more.

Themed talks and clue trails all week, 17 – 24 November.

 Meet Allison the kākā volunteer & Telling a kākā’s age from its bands