Middle Earth Tour Day 16 The day went to the birds!

Middle Earth Tour Day 16 The day went to the birds!

I had actually went to bed early the night before as I was feeling pretty tired for some reason ad I found it to be a really good idea to get some sleep. Could be that I was up early in the morning, but had gone to sleep late at night. I could have gone earlier than I did, but wanted to get stuff done first like eat dinner. I was looking at the weather and it was overcast and I was not sure what sort of day it would actually be. I always take my wet weather gear with me in my day pack along with a brolly and I wasn’t too cold when I walked to the shop for breaky. The weather was unchanged once I had eaten and gone back to the room.

I wandered up to the kiwi house as it is not far from where I am staying and I did find where the museum that is only open on Sunday have a canoe that had been found in a bog or something, but was preserved. I never realised the town had something like this and I went on up the road feeling the first drops of rain and I was hoping it wasn’t going to be that wet either. I found the walk right outside the kiwi house that the lady from the info centre had told me about and I was going to check it out later. Once inside the building i showed off the taxi card that I had been given and the lady at the counter took $2 off the price of the ticket though not much but it was worth doing. I was directed to look at the kiwis in their enclosure first and then move onto the enclosures outside. Before going into the darkroom we could see the different things about the kiwi including the size of the egg and their distribution in New Zealand. In the dark room the kiwis were active though 2 of the four that are in there and they are all different species. The spotted kiwi was huge and ignoring us all and doing its thing. One of the handlers did come in to feed them too so we got to see them being fed.

Once I had gone outside though the door there was a display for the Tuatara, but I could not see any at all. The whole park was interesting as there were birds from all parts of New Zealand from the Morepork owl to the Kea. Some of the birds could not be released as they had been injured for one reason or another like one of the Kea was blind in one eye or the Kaka had been shot at so could n longer fly. It was funny watching them being fed as the Kaka and Kea both liked eating cheese as I was told its like chocolate to them. Within the woodpigeon enclosure I ended up with a very happy bird who came to say hello. First he landed on my arm and chewed my fingers, which was funny but no parrot. I got pictures of the bird sitting on my head though he ended up annoying other customers. There were some other animals that had personalities like a duck hissing and squeaking trying to attack us as we were near its girlfriend to the plover who was very happy to walk around and help the keeper feed the other birds. There were ducks like the striped duck that was becoming rare and breeding with the introduced Mallards also they were mistaken for the Mallard during the hunting season. I never seen the eels that were there though I did not stick for too long as it was becoming cold and was raining. When I went through the huge Tuatarium I was being stalked by the parrots as in the little ones not the big kea type ones. One of the parrots actually landed on me and then took off again.

Once I left I ended up looking at the track that I was thinking of walking up and decided to turn back and head to town as the rain was becoming unpleasant. The Rotary Park area did have small aviaries though they told you not to feed the birds bread and to feed the ducks instead. I headed to town looking for food and stopped at the cafe where I got food and free internet from the library that was next door. Think everyone used that and I think I was lucky to get some food as a little bit some buses stopped spewing out the passengers who all came in with the same idea. Though at least it wasn’t bus after bus like at Waitomo as that had been interesting watching. I was looking for thongs so that  didn’t need to wear shoes at the park, but the only pair I could find were at least $40 each. Even the local supermarket never sold them either so I think I would have to do without. The wind had picked up too so I thought I would head to the park though a sign I had seen pointed out the cemetery though I didn’t think I would get there in the rain. I was getting annoyed as there was wind and rain, but I knew I needed to do my washing before I headed to Matamata the next day. I didn’t want to leave that for too late.

After I had left the supermarket I turned into the other end of the street I was staying on and I had not been this way before. I was wondering if I would come across this Huipurea Reserve that I had seen posted. I found the sign and wondered about the historic tree. I found the reason as in front of a tree it said ‘Around this tree in 1822 after their victory at Matakitaki, a section of Ngapuhi had an advance base where they were surprised and annihilated by a party of Waikato and Maniapoto. Captive Waikato women aided the attackers. Soon after this reverse , all Ngapuhi returned north.’ I never knew there would be historic trees like this and do wonder where there would be other locations in New Zealand like this.  Nearby I had wanted to see the giant Pukeko on my way and I did get to see it even though it had been raining. Once I made it to the caravan park I decided to drop my bag off and head out as anything I wore needed washing regardless. I went hunting the cemetery. It was actually up the hill from where I am staying on the main road though it was raining so I didn’t get to look at too much. I did however get a surprise with a headstone within the cemetery. One family member I am pretty sure I know o was a Huia Lissington that was on a clean headstone unlike many of the others that surrounded it. I need to look at my records to see where he happens to be, but I couldn’t see others due to the rain.

I waited around when the washing was being done and once that had been done I relaxed a bit in the room though I don’t have much. I knew the time had come where I needed dinner before dark and once I found that I went to look at the map of town near the bus stop. It was funny as nearby to where I was staying there was a Pa called Te Keeti that had me wanting to visit before dark. A Pa is a defensive structure built on hills by the Maori a good way to see enemy coming. When I ended up 10 mins down the road I found it wasn’t a Pa, but a Marae, which is a Maori meeting place or hall. That didn’t worry me as I knew what was in that area now. I don’t think I could have gotten it out of my mind if I had not gone looking. I knew I wanted to get back before it became dark so that I could pack my bag o I could be ready for the morning without rushing to the bus. I wanted to have time to get breakfast and slowly make my way to the bus. I am hoping the weather would be a little bit better though it does feel like I am getting a cold or its just a headcold. I don’t think I need to worry too much. There are questions that are raised as I keep passing the sign for my cafe that I do like and that is what on earth is Kiwi Kai and does that mean raw food like with sushi? They have a website so I could find out eventually.