Wellington Zoo and Botanic Gardens

Neema and VJ were appalled that I had been in New Zealand for 3 weeks and had not seen a kiwi bird yet. Kiwi are nocturnal animals that are practically blind, have few defenses, and struggle to look after their eggs and their young. Without the help of humans they would currently be extinct. Because New Zealanders view the Kiwi bird as a national symbol they have taken great care in preserving the endangered species. The exhibit at the Wellington Zoo has flipped the kiwi bird's day around (ha - something I can relate too). In their building the lights are off during the day and the kiwi birds are awake and running around. At our night - they turn on flood lights and the kiwi birds sleep. We walked quietly into the exhibit - which is pitch black except for low red lights and listened for the shuffling sounds of the kiwi birds. There were two birds up and moving along with some owls that would swoop right over your head. I felt (and possibly acted) like a small child - trying to catch a glimpse of the kiwi. A family with small children came in to the exhibit and it was so much fun helping them spot the birds. Because it was "night" in the exhibit and the kiwi are practically blind - I did not take any pictures in respect that the flash would shock them. But I can say that I officially saw a Kiwi Bird while in NZ.

Because of my mom's love of giraffes - we headed to the giraffe exhibit next. My first comment was that the spots on the giraffe look darker than the ones I have seen in the states. VJ's cheeky response was that their hole in the ozone layer really does help those giraffes tan. Ha.

Love you Mum! :)

I also got my fair share of Australian animals. We visited the Kangaroo and  exhibit and then watched a "Little Creatures" show at the Pavilion where you could pet an Australian lizard and bird. Once again - I stood in line with all of the small children :) And VJ took my picture for me. :)

After the zoo we visited the Botanic Gardens. My favorite part of New Zealand is how green and beautiful all of the native plants and trees are. Very few are deciduous so even as we are heading into the winter season - it looks like an Indiana spring. The Botanic Gardens has kilometers upon kilometers of walking tracks; however, we were short on time so we just walked through a little part of it.

Duck pond for Grandpa! :)

Entrance to Botanic Gardens

After a delicious Indian meal cooked by Shanta, VJ dropped me back off at Angela's friends house to begin my return trip to Clive. We took the "winding" way back an for the first time in my life I truly felt carsick. Angela was wonderful and didn't make fun of me when I fell asleep twice. I was a pretty pathetic supportive passenger. As we were driving Angela suddenly got really excited about "the Kiwi bird in Eketahuna." And told me we would be stopping to take pictures. As a tourist - there is nothing in Eketahuna for you EXCEPT this MASSIVE Kiwi Bird statue and gift shop.

See if you can spot me under that massive Kiwi Bird -
Angela had to cross the street just to get the picture!

ALMOST FORGOT
Peter Jackson is a New Zealander filmmaker famous for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong. Parts of both of the movies were filmed in Wellington. Below is a picture of the "camera" that sits on a corner street by the theater where all four movies had their world premiere in honor of the King Kong movie.