Kiwi Bird

New Zealand

December 15, 1995

When is a Kiwi Bird Not a Kiwi Bird?

Frustration is when you run around with your camera trying to get the perfect picture and later see a photograph of a Weka bird that looks an awful lot like your Kiwi. Okay, so it wasn't a Kiwi, we still got a good picture.

Kiwi birds are apparently very difficult to see despite their being the national bird. They keep to the bush and are nocturnal. In fact many native New Zealanders have never seen one. So you can understand our excitement when, in broad daylight, we saw a round-bodied bird with a long spear-like beak and big feet running along the coast. We thought for sure we'd spotted a confused Kiwi. "Quick, where's the camera? Follow that bird."

Even the German girl in the tent across the clearing got in on the hunt. She'd been in New Zealand for two months and hadn't yet seen a Kiwi either. Later of course we didn't want to spoil her excitement, so we decided not to show her the book with the photo of the Weka.

One more shot. The Weka has jumped onto the picnic table. Hey, what's film for anyway?

Marlborough Sounds

The entertainment of running after a Weka is hard to beat. But after dinner, at the recommendation of the campground host, John and I took a stroll to a lookout above the town of Portage. "The last ferry passes that point at 8:15," he told us. And right on cue we watched it glide gracefully between the hills through the Marlborough Sounds.