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New Zealand:
Where are all the (land) animals?

A sea lion threesome at Sandfly Bay, near Dunedin, on New Zealand's South Island

For all you animal lovers out there, here is a summary of most of what I lucky enough to see six weeks in New Zealand. Sadly, the Maori killed all the gigantic moa birds (more than 12 feet tall!) way back. On land, alas, the main attractions are sheep and cows and all the other invaders: rabbits, stoats, ferrets, foxes, pigs, goats, rats and whatever else eats everything in sight. I was surprised to learn there are more than 40 varieties of (very loud) cicadas here. At least there are no snakes. And the sea life? It’s second to none. Enjoy!

  • The one I missed: An invasive stoat, which scampered across the road on my way to the Motueka sandspit. If you tell a Kiwi you saw a stoat, they go absolutely berzerk, as there are traps everywhere. “Where! We must immediately notify the authorities!” I also missed a cute little brown wild boar on the bike trail from Cromwell to Clyde.
  • The one I (sort of) never saw: A real, live kiwi – not including the one in the pitch black (to simulate night) behind glass in the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika. I met people who saw several on Stewart Island in the far, far south. They are extremely difficult to spot in the wild, as they sleep all day and only move around in the forest at night.
  • The one I barely saw: Those danged sperm whales only stay up top for a few minutes before they dive thousands of feet into the canyons for up to an hour. Which means when you’re whale watching you might only get a couple of shots during your two to three hours out at sea. And then the only time you really see them is when they dive and stick their tails high up into the air.
The female Neo, a rare takahe, and her mate Orbel, have lived at the Zealandia Ecosanctuary in Wellington for 20 years
A noisy, obnoxious brown kaka, like the one that buzzed me down the Upper Valley path at the Zealandia Ecosanctuary in Wellington
A California quail at the Zealandia Ecosanctuary in Wellington
A very drunk keraru, or wood pigeon, which fell off this branch at the Zealandia Ecosanctuary in Wellington
The tui or parson's bird for it's white tufts on the neck (like a priest's), at the Hollyford Track trail head near Humboldt Falls
A black Hereford in a pasture above the fur seal colony at Kaikoura
A pied shag or cormorant in the South Bay area of the Kaikoura peninsula
White-faced egret at South Bay near Kaikoura
An adult New Zealand fur seal (kekeno) rests at the Kaikoura seal colony
A New Zealand fur seal pup at the Kaikoura seal colony
A baby New Zealand fur seal takes a nap at the Kaikoura seal colony
A common European greenfinch on the Stony Bay Peak trail near Akaroa
Mohio, one of the older resident sperm whales off Kaikoura on the South Island
A rare Hector's dolphin flies off State Highway 1, just south of Kaikoura on the South Island
Dozens of rare Hector's dolphins are on the move off State Highway 1, just south of Kaikoura on the South Island
Of 42 species in New Zealand, the most common is the chorus cicada, seen here at Cathedral Gully near Gore Bay
A baby seagull waits for supper in downtown Christchurch at the Cognitive Reorientation art installation on the former site of the PWC building, which was destroyed by earthquake
When you're desperate for wildlife, you end up with this – on a farm at Flea Bay, near Akaroa on the South Island
One of the invasive species at Flea Bay, near Akaroa on the South Island
Conservation efforts on the Pohatu penguin tour, at Flea Bay, near Akaroa on the South Island
Inside one of the unnatural homes a blue penguin at Flea Bay, near Akaroa on the South Island
It takes a blue penguin up to three years to build a house, so humans give them a little help so they reproduce more quickly at Flea Bay, near Akaroa on the South Island
This yellowhead or mōhua near the Stony Bay Peak trail in Akaroa
A strange insect cocoon on the Stony Bay peak trek in Akaroa
An invasive European rabbit on the grounds of the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo
Not-so-wild horses near the University of Canterbury's Mt John Observatory by Lake Tekapo
A large colony of Otago shags on the Sumpter Wharf in Oamaru
A closer look at the Otago shags on Sumpter Wharf in Oamaru
The odd cat known as Mr Miyagi on the patio of 1908 Restaurant in Portobello on the Otago Peninsula
A male and female sea lion snooze at Allens Beach in Otago near Dunedin
The massive wingspan of a royal albatross in flight on the Otago peninsula near Dunedin
Feeding the chic at the Royal Albatross Centre on the Otago peninsula near Dunedin
An oystercatcher on Awaroa beach in Abel Tasman National Park
The black swans of Otago, just outside of Dunedin
A brown swamp harrier, one of only a few birds of prey, in a field near Canoe Beach
White-faced heron near the Motueka sandspit
The world's smallest penguins, the little blue or Kororā, scamper up Pilots Beach at the tip of the Otago peninsula every evening at dusk
A closer look at one of the little blue penguins on Pilots Beach at the end of the Otago peninsula
A rehabilitating yellow-eyed penguin on the Otago peninsula near Dunedin
One of hundreds of little crabs on the mudflats at Tautuku estuary
A New Zealand fantail on the Lake Wilkie track in the Catlins
The tui or parson's bird, known for it's dual voice box and white tufts (like a priest's collar), at the Zealandia wildlife sanctuary in Wellington
A weka or Maori hen struts its stuff in the parking lot at Hokitika Gorge
A weird snake neck turtle at the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika
The tuatara, known as the world's oldest living fossil, at the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika