BoomerGirl Diary

The drive through the middle of New Zealand’s North Island from Napier to Wanganui takes us south along the Raukawa Mountain Range to Palmerston North, and then back north to the west coast. This is an active rural area with very little noticeable tourist development.

I am still struggling a bit with the driving on the left side of the road and adjusting to two-lane highways, but the peaceful lack of roadside billboards more than makes up for this. Imagine driving all morning without passing a single McDonald’s!

The city of Wanganui has about 45,000 people spread out along its most famous feature, the Whanganui River. The Whanganui River flows through Whanganui National Park, most of which, we are told, is only accessible by boat or on foot. After reading about three-day hikes into this park, and jet boat rides to the “Bridge to Nowhere”, we decide to take a ride up the river on the Waimarie Paddle Steamer.

The Waimarie was built in England in 1890 and sent to New Zealand where it traveled up and down the river until it was retired in the early 1900’s. It sank in 1952, but was salvaged and restored in 1993, and now daily takes tourists eight miles up the Whanganui.

We enjoyed traveling on this beautifully rebuilt piece of history, but were a bit disappointed in the scenery along the trip. After reading descriptions of the area along the river that made us expect a “Heart of Darkness” environment, we were surprised to spend the trip looking at very lovely landscaped backyards. No doubt a trip further up the river would be different, as the Whanganui National Park is the North Island’s second largest tract of natural bush.

The next morning we are on the road back south, through the mountains and again we marvel at the wind farms that generate electricity for the area using enormous windmills. Our goal is the Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center, but before we reach our destination, we are sidetracked by the Tui Brewery. Rising up out of the now rather flat countryside is the “local equivalent of the Taj Mahal,” a seven-story high brick brewery and Tui Headquarters, “a shrine to all things Tui.” We had not tried this beer yet, but we had been enjoying the humor in their advertising. Also, their mascot and corporate symbol is the Tui bird, and as a bird lover, this had already made Tui beer my local favorite. (Tui birds are black birds with a white band on each wing and two white wattles. We are told that Tui have two sets of the bird equivalent of vocal chords and are the only bird that can sing harmony with itself. We are not sure if we should believe this…)

The brewery tour was not available, but I did stock up on some Tui souvenirs. Back on track, we arrived at the Mount Bruce Wildlife Center in time to see the feeding of the eels. Not just eels, but very large eels ... a little bigger than swimming softball bats, these freshwater creatures are endangered now, due to decreasing habitat and, we are told, tastiness.

Eel is not on the menu at the Center’s café, but very good toasted cheese sandwiches are, and after a quick snack we head back along the trails of the Center to see the results of efforts to restore endangered bird species including Kiwi, Stitchbirds, Kokako, and Takahe.

Kiwi are nocturnal, so in order for us to be able to see them out and about during the day several are kept in a Kiwi House that is dark during the day and lit at night. We have our first Kiwi experience, and I am surprised at how big the Kiwis are: almost chicken-sized.

Back outside, we go to the Kaka feeding area where we find the Kakas are already gathering. Kakas are a large parrot; at first glance they seem rather drab, with a gray-brown head and a rust-brown body. But in flight, you can see the red feathers on the underside of their body and wings, and the yellow highlights in the brown feathers. They are quite handsome birds.

In 1996, nine Kakas were released into the Mount Bruce forest, and they now number over 90. Each of the original nine birds was equipped with a tracking device and a small antenna. This now large and rowdy flock is fed every afternoon, not just to give them an extra food boost, but also so that they can be counted and checked on. Most of them have been found while still in the nest and banded, but a few well-hidden nests have produced offspring that have not had their legs banded.

As the feeding time approaches, more and more Kakas arrive, as do tourists. When the park ranger with the food appears, we are all eager to see what is on the menu. The Kakas are given fruit and vegetables, mostly corn and apples it seems. They are also given drip-feed bottles of diluted raspberry jam.

Parrots are my favorite birds, so I am thrilled to have dozens of them swooping around our heads as they fly to the raised feeders and then back to the surrounding trees. There is much parrot-discussion about the food and who should get what piece on which feeder. During this, the ranger quickly takes notes on which banded legs are in attendance. We stay until the last kernel of corn and drop of jam is consumed, and then wander back through the park and then back to our car. I purchase a CD of bird songs recorded in the Mount Bruce Forest to play for my two parrots back home.

Next we visit the North Island’s southern port, and the country’s capital, Wellington.