Send Me Home!

Winging it to Napier

The weather forecast for most of New Zealand was for rain and wind, but the one area to escape this was the south east coast of North Island which was exactly where we were heading! We had breakfast in our motel room before collecting the whale photographs (which have turned out really well) and setting off. Our first stop was at the Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center which is not far from Masterton.

Click here

for larger picture of
'Jack', the Tui, at Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre.

This is run by the Department of Conservation, and in addition to the usual Visitor Center and audio visual displays, there was an excellent woodland walk along which were a number of large aviaries containing some fascinating birds. The Center is playing an important part in the country's captive breeding program, and is breeding a number of endangered species for release back into the wild. Sadly, even at the Center, they are fighting a constant battle against predators such as possums, rats, stoats and cats, and it was heartbreaking to read that two kiwis they had raised and released had been killed by dogs.

We have managed to tick off several more native birds, found in our bird book, which we had not previously encountered in the wild, but without a doubt, the biggest thrill was when we went into the darkened kiwi house. The kiwi house is darkened during the day and artificially lit at night so the nocturnal birds are awake and visible during the day. Visitors are separated from the enclosure by a plate of glass, but a brown kiwi was shuffling around and digging for food right up against the glass. We were able to watch it from a few inches away, so even in the dim light we had a really good view of it.

We both felt afterwards that one thing this trip has done for us is strengthen our love of wildlife, especially in its natural environment. It is tragic that about the only way you are likely to see or even hear a kiwi is in centres such as Mount Bruce, when once the woodland we walked through would have been filled with their night-time calls.

Click here

for larger picture of
a Takahe at Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre.

The rest of the trip to Napier was fairly uneventful. The countryside is pleasant enough, but lacks the breathtaking views we became accustomed to in so many parts of South Island. What is extremely obvious is how serious the drought is in this region. Every field is parched, and the livestock are virtually grazing on dust.

The route into Napier is past a massive fertiliser plant, so our first impressions of the town were not good. We hadn't booked anywhere so had to drive around a bit until we found a motel, but have ended up with a sea view and a huge spa pool in our room and all for twenty pounds a head! Once we were settled in, we hopped back in the car to cruise around the town, since the motel is a bit of a hike from the town center. We found an interesting Indonesian restaurant that we will dine at later which is an easy walk from the motel, but didn't see too much else which excited us.

We had planned on doing some wine tasting in this area, but having enjoyed ourselves so much in Blenheim, neither of us was really in the mood for it. In fact, we haven't really seen much indication that this is a wine growing area, so maybe it is located on the opposite side of town and we will see it tomorrow when we leave.

P.S. You may have thought we had an unadventurous day, but just wait until you read the menu for the meal for two people we had at the Indonesian Restaurant. The meal was called Rijsttafel No 2 Supreme:

• Krupuk Singkong - fried cassava crackers
• Krupuk Udang - prawn flavoured crackers
• Nasi Putih - steamed white rice
• Sate Ayam - chicken sate
• Sate Dageng Sapi - beef sate
• Sate Udang - grilled tiger prawn sate
• Sayur Lodeh - vegetables cooked in coconut milk
• Gado Gado - mixed vegetables with peanut sauce and egg
• Sayur Bunjtes - beans and mince in tomato and coconut sauce
• Rendang Sapi - spiced beef
• Ikan Bumbu Bali - red cod in spicy sauce
• Babi Panggang - grilled pork in sweet and sour sauce
• Pergedel Jangung - spiced corn fritters
• Atjar Tjampur - (cold) sweet and sour mixed vegetables
• Sroending - (cold) roasted coconut and peanuts
• Mangga Besengek - mango in a curry sauce
• Pisang Goreng - pan-fried banana in clover honey
• Ayam Kecap - chicken drumsticks in sweet soy sauce
• Kecap Manis - sweet soy sauce for dipping crackers in
• Sambal - VERY hot chilli sauce for dipping crackers in
• Iced Tea and lots of water!!

Tomorrow

Send Me Home!