IBATD Franz Joseph and Okarito

Day 11
Another driving day. No Blue Ducks, yet again. Thought I saw a Weka on the side of the road, but didn't tick it. Arriving at Lake Manipouri I was given 30 minutes to look for Weka. Not really enough time IMO considering this was the only spot I'd be able to see them... At one point 3 Weka were calling, one within 20m of me, but due to thick undergrowth finding it was impossible. Even so, this was a nice spot with Grey Warblers, Brown Creepers and Bellbirds all showing well.

We arrived at Franz Joseph and went for a short walk up to the glacier. No Long-tailed Cuckoo, yet again. No Yellow-crowned Parakeet, yet again. It was starting to seem like I’d miss those 2 common (or at least reasonably common) birds…

Day 12
The morning was taken up by a guided tour onto Franz Joseph Glacier. This was fantastic, looking at all the ice caves, crevasses, etc, etc. This took up most of the day.

Next came the highlight of the trip. At 6:00, my mum and I headed out to Okarito, to go on Ian's Okarito Kiwi Tours. The Rowi is the worlds rarest Kiwi, with only 350 left in the wild (it used to be a lot lower, around 100). Now, I didn't realise how difficult finding a Kiwi would be until I went on this tour. Ian had a tracker, so he could get the locations of all the birds in the area who were radio tagged. His tour operates on the basis of seeing a Kiwi as it would be naturally, so he doesn't use tapes, and he doesn't let the birds know people are watching them.

The trip started great, as Ian had tracked a Kiwi to just 3m off the path! The group of 8 people sat on the ground and waited... and waited... and waited some more... We could hear him rustling in the bushes 3m away, and we had to sit making no noise so he would come out. I had hay-fever, and since I couldn't blow my nose, or sniff, or make any noise whatsoever, I sat on the ground with my hand holding my nose... After 20 minutes the Kiwi walked away without showing. lol. This shows how difficult it is to observe these birds, when you can not see one that is 3m away from you.

Ian headed back up the path, and quickly found a pair. Everyone stood in a line, listening to more rustling in the bushes, then an OKARITO BROWN KIWI ran across the path in front of us! Wow can they move quick! Less than a minute later, the second Kiwi poked it's head out of the bush and ran across the path too. About an hour later, we got much better views of one them, as it foraged just off the path in some vegetation. The whole time, it didn't know we were there (we observed him with a red torch without making a sound). If anyone is in that area and hasn't done this tour, make sure you do it! Unfortunatley, cameras aren't allowed or you get a hefty fine from DOC, but this is such a great experience you don't need cameras to remember it ;)

 Brown Creeper

 Juvenile Kea

 New Zealand Bellbird