The breakfast at the Travel Lodge did not sound appealing, so the previous evening we bought bananas, muffins and yogurt at the market and stored them in the fridge. Those foods served as our breakfast this morning.
Our goal was to reach the Otorohanga Kiwi House in time for the 10:30 AM kiwi talk by the keepers. We made it on time!
Kiwis are shy, flightless nocturnal birds who creep through the forest undergrowth in search of food. The Kiwi House has two brown kiwis on display - the large kiwi room has dim lighting and plenty of ground plants. The kiwis get "daylight" when it is night, and the lights are dimmed to simulate dusk during the day time, so their kiwis are living on a 12 hour shifted time. We were fortunate to spot one of the birds feeding near a log. On subsequent pass throughs of these darkened rooms, we could not spot any more kiwis. (Note: There are two rooms at the park, both open, though the map above shows one under construction.)
We attended three talks by the bird keepers: the kiwi talk, the kea/kaka talk, and the noon talk in the aviary about kakarikis (parakeets). At the aviary, they handed out little cups of seeds to the visitors, and the bold, colorful red-crowned parakeets landed on the hands of people holding the seeds in order to feed. The keepers told us how New Zealand used to be covered in forests that housed millions of birds, but European colonizers burned down the forests to make grasslands for raising sheep and cattle, and now many of the native bird species are in peril of extinction. Europeans brought weasels, cats, stoats and ferrets to the islands - mammal predators that the native birds had no defenses against. New Zealand now has established sanctuaries on offshore islands that are devoid of these predators; they hope that at least small populations of their birds can survive on these sheltered enclaves.
After our visit to the Kiwi House, it was still too early to check in to the motel. We drove out on winding Hwy 37 to see Marokopa Falls. The hike to the falls was only about a 1/4 mile, and the view was nice.
We also stopped for visits to see the natural sites of Piripiri Cave and Mangapohue Natural Bridge. I wanted to hike the short Ruakuri loop walk, which features limestone arches and gorges and the Ruakuri Natural Tunnel, but alas, the track was closed for repair work. We started out walking the Waitomo Walkway, but there wasn't much to see along the way, and so after just half a mile or so, we turned back.
We were surprised to see that our car in the parking lot was all wet - a brief rainstorm must have hit the parking lot while we were out on our short walk, even though we felt no raindrops ourselves. We checked into Woodlyn Park. Our room turned out to be located in an old WWII navy vessel. Although the idea of a room in a ship sounds fun, the old appliances, ancient mattresses and warped floors made the accommodations less than appealing. I was glad we stayed just one night here.
Videos: Kiwi House and Marokopa Falls
Still Photographs
