Yesterday was an interesting one for me as a guide. I had my first big assignment. My job was to show six French tourists plus a translator through Zealandia for six hours.
I made a big effort and welcomed the group in my best French. The group looked decidedly pained but relaxed when it became obvious that I would make use of the translator for the rest of the day.
We spent the first twenty minutes in the exhibition then headed out into the valley. The group were keen walkers and wanted to get into the depths of the valley. They also wanted to see as much of the animal inhabitants as possible and in this respect they were to be in luck.
We started at the gecko cages and for the first time I saw the native forest gecko which had so far remained elusive. They are beautiful little animals with colouring like a tapestry carpet. When I was young we kept them as pets which is illegal now. They were delightful to observe as their patterning is very varied. Being ovoviviparous they give birth to live young, usually a pair.
We continued on to the takahe who were their usual friendly selves, looking like dinners on legs as they poked about near us.
We watched the the kaka and kakariki at their feeding stations, then found a sunny spot to sit and have our own lunch. I was pleased that I could pick up on most of the conversation and one lady sat next to me and conversed in French. Mostly I could keep up. As we sat eating we were harassed by a couple of very demanding ducks. If you kept your eye on them they stayed by your feet but as soon as you looked away they would jump on to your lap and try to nab your sandwich. They had no shame whatsoever and are obviously into taking advantage of unsuspecting bird lovers. Terribly bad mannered!
After wandering out on the upper dam and discussing the merits of keeping water supplies in earthquake prone fault lines directly above a city, we headed to the Discovery Area where we watched hihi (stitchbirds) and korimako (bellbirds) contentedly using the feeding stations and flitting about the trees. The hihi made their 'tse tse tse' sound as they flew. The early settlers thought they sounded like their treadle sewing machines hence the name stitch bird.
We then indulged in some concentrated tramping on tracks normally too far in for the time restricted ship tours. They were a group that had stipulated a long walk was to be part of their itinerary so I hoped this fitted the bill. They were a quiet group who did not give a lot of feed back but I hoped they were enjoying themselves as much as I was.
We dropped back via the Round the Lake Track so that we could take in the Swing Bridge. We stopped here a moment to look at the view and discuss what we had seen. We had a basic map with us which also listed the birds and insects we might see. We congratulated ourselves on doing pretty well, then dropped down to the main track again to head home. One eagle eyed tourist spotted a kereru (wood pigeon). This is a stunning bird which has become more common around Wellington in the last few years. They are large glisteny green birds with white fronts and very endearing. Their wings 'squeak' as they fly overhead and when they land on a branch it can be a bit of a clumsy effort. They also get a bit drunk on overripe berries making them crash prone and vulnerable to flying into windows and falling out of trees.
'There are only three birds on the list we have not seen or heard,' I said and almost immediately there were the three species on trees in front of us. A popokatea or whitehead, a piwakawaka or fantail and a tieke or saddleback introduced themselves to the group and hung about for photo opportunities as if I had paid them to turn up and show off.
We then visited the gold mine, a folly of the gold crazy late 1800s. No gold, but lots of cave weta to observe. These French were of a stoic mind, no screaming or stressing for them, they took it all in their stride though I noticed one had a faint sweat on his brow when he reappeared from the mine's entrance.
I got them back to the visitor centre with five minutes to spare. The translator told me they were very happy with the experience and I received a $5 tip which I added to the metallic donations tuatara sculpture.
So - all good!
Here is a list of the wildlife we saw today:
Green gecko
Forest gecko
Pateke (brown teal)
putangitangi (paradise shellduck)
Kawau (pied shag and little black shag)
Papango (scaup)
Tui (parson bird)
Takahe
hihi (stitch bird)
kaka (North Island Parrot)
kakariki (red fronted parakeet)
korimako (bell bird)
toutouwai (North Island Robin)
tuatara (ancient reptile)
kereru (wood pidgeon)
Wellington weta
popokatea (whitehead)
tieke (saddleback)
piwakawaka (fantail)
cave weta
We also heard the little riroriro or grey warbler but did not catch a glimpse.
Here is a link to allow you to see and hear the birds, insects , lizards and reptiles we saw today.http://www.visitzealandia.com/wildlife/birds/
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