New Zealand in Aly´s Words

Hello Friends!

Aly here - Erin and Drew offered for me to write a guest blog. I've experienced so much in my short time here that I'll try to narrow it all down to my top 5 favorite experiences. Here we go:

5. As I was learning about NZ before my trip, I was excited to find that the Royal Albatross, an amazing seabird with a 10 ft. wingspan (our Bald Eagles have a 6-7 ft wingspan), nests on one little teeny piece of land on the Otago Peninsula. We went here, to the Albatross Center, and I did the tour. Fun fact: after the Albatross chick fledges from the Peninsula, the young birds don't set foot on land for about 5 years! They fly with the Anartica winds and finally land (very ungracefully) to have a "teenage party" 5 years later to find a mate for life on the Peninsula! I saw an Albatross chick (they're freakin huge!) sitting on the nest and as the tour was about to leave I finally saw the magnificent adult glide in - breathtaking.

Albatross wingspan

4. As we drove from place to place, I was always struck with the beauty of the landscape but especially the tall mountains shooting out of beautiful blue lakes. The west coast of the South Island gets a ton of rain and its a combination of the rainfall and the presence of glaciers from 14,000 years ago that created this majestic landscape. Lake-surrounded mountains are a refreshingly soft contrast to the very dry, sharp mountains in the Rockies.

Erin swimming/bathing in a refreshing mountain lake early morning.

3. One night, we went to a small beach (near the Albatross Center) because we were told that the very rare and endangered Little Blue penguin (the smallest of all penguins - about 10 inches) wanders up the beach and you can possibly catch a glimpse of one in this short window of time. We arrived around 8:30pm and it was quite dark already and we weren't supposed to use flashlights, or torches as they call them here. There were maybe 10 people waiting there and some areas were roped off. I asked a volunteer if many of the penguins had already walked past, did we miss them? She said most of the penguins had already come out of the water (they're in the water most of the day) and just a few were hanging out on a part of the beach we couldn't see. Then she spotted one walking towards us. As it waddled slowly past us, we fell silent and watched it intently in the dark. I had tears in my eyes as this little magical being crossed our path to head to its burrow for the night. One more waddled by about 10 minutes later, this one a bit more apprehensive of us. I felt blessed.

2. Okarito - a tiny little town, population 35, on the west coast about half way up the south island of NZ. Erin and Drew were told about a campground there by other backpackers so we decided to check it out. It had showers (a rarity for a campground), great drinking water, spacious grassy spots for our tents, and a hut to escape from the pesky sandflies. We spent 2 nights here and chillaxed on the beach between a lagoon and the ocean. Just in the distance were snowcapped mountains and the New Zealand bush home to the rare Okarito Brown Kiwi...

Okarito Campground

Sunset at Okarito - a bit of the lagoon and the Tasman Sea and its crashing waves is just beyond that strip of beach in the background.

1. When we arrived in Okarito (and thought we only had one night there), I discovered that there is one tour guide there (in partnership with the DOC or Dept. of Conservation) who offers experiences in the bush to hear or possibly see the very rare and endangered Brown Kiwi - New Zealand's national bird. I walked over to the tour guide's office/home and asked if I could join the tour that night. He had a limit of 7 people and it was full. Though he thought twice about letting me in b/c I spoke english well and there were some non-english speaking people in the group and he may need my help. I told him I have experience doing wildlife monitoring and I wouldn't let him down. He let me in for the tour that night and promoted me to co-guide! I was thrilled!

As we walked out into the thick forest at dusk with our light reflecting vests on, walkie talkies in pocket, and netted bug hats in hand, we learned more about the Kiwi bird. I was shocked to learn that the Kiwi has nostrils on the tip of its long bill, whiskers on its face, a body temperature close to humans, fur instead of feathers, and a few other features that make it more like a mammal than a bird! Ian, the guide, told us where to patrol - we all had our own 30-50 yard long space to listen for the vocalizations or the heavy footsteps of the Kiwi. After about 10 minutes on my own, (listening to Moreporks or owls call and the cloud of sandflies above my head) Ian called on the walkie-talkie and told us to come quick. I ran down the trail about 120 yards to find the group already there, standing quietly still. A Kiwi called loudly and we waited and waited listening to the pair in the bush. We went down to another spot where somebody else heard another Kiwi. Ian went back to the first spot and after a few moments, he called my walkie-talkie and told us to hurry to where he was. I motioned for the group to go! quickly! and I ran down the trail again. As I ran, I realized how funny I must have looked - I was wide eyed with excitement and thrill and trying to see as much as I could b/c it was pitch-black in there. I was also trying to run softly so I wouldn't scare the Kiwi's once I got there so I ran with a softness and my arms bent out at my sides. I also had a big goofy grin on my face as my heart pounded and I felt so alive! I arrived to see a male and female Kiwi pair sniffing around on the trail looking for grubs and worms. Ian shined his red flashlight behind me and asked if the group was coming I said they should be and we saw them waddling down the trail slowly. By the time they arrived the Kiwi pair disappeared in the bush. We waited here for awhile and the female came back out. We watched her sniff around and she delicately and sweetly walked across the path into the bush again. It was an amazing night and I left the bush feeling exhilirated and alive.

I came to NZ to be with my friends in another country but more importantly to feel alive again...to step out of my winter rut and step into some challenges. I head back to Colorado with plans to keep this aliveness awake and plans to travel more frequently. I'm sure I'll fall into my humdrum schedule again but I have my memories to tap into when needed. Erin and Drew are off to South America tomorrow riding the intensity of life's potential's and adventures. They are an inspiration to me and a gift. I am honored and humbled to have had this time with them.

Lots of love and light,

Aly