Night Tour

The observant among you may have noticed that I’ve been spending quite a lot of time at Zealandia over the last few months. In fact, since doing a number of training sessions in August and September last year, I have been a volunteer guide at the sanctuary, working at weekends. This involves helping people out around the sanctuary, pointing out the wildlife (which some people walk right past without noticing), feeding some of the birds, and also giving short talks on various subjects around the valley. 

As summer moves into autumn, one of the events at Zealandia is an Open Weekend. This allows Wellingtonians to visit the sanctuary for a measly $2 per person instead of the usual cost of a 2-day pass, $19.50. Which is still a bargain, by the way. But Wellingtonians love a freebie, and there is a positive stampede on this weekend. Naturally, they need as much help as possible, and so all volunteers and other staff are roped in to help. As a reward for this, they offer a free night tour to volunteers.

On a windy Wednesday evening, therefore, Nicola and I arrived at the Visitor Centre at the allotted time of 4:45pm. They actually start the tour in the dusky twilight as there are some crepuscular creatures to be seen. At the beginning there is a health-and-safety briefing, then we’re kitted out with earpieces and red-light torches (which don’t disturb night-time animals). Before we set out we’re subjected to the Zealandia film, which is basically a guilt-trip about all the damage done by humans to New Zealand since arrival, but culminates on an upbeat note with the building of Zealandia and the release of native species within.

There are six of us on the tour – one couple from Auckland, one visiting from the USA, and us. The tour is led by Katie, who does all the talking, and assisted by Julie, who scouts out ahead, looking for kiwi. Kiwi are the main attraction and objective of the night tour; they are nocturnal so, despite being in the valley in reasonable numbers (130 is the current estimate), they’re not seen by the public on a general admittance ticket. Indeed, I’m often asked where they are when I’m working during the day, and explain that you’ll need to come on a night tour to see them. Some species of kiwi are still found in the wild in remote areas of New Zealand, but the species we have at Zealandia, little spotted kiwi, are only found in reserves and on predator-free islands. They owe their existence to a far-sighted conservationist, who transferred five birds to Kapiti Island in 1912. The species was already extinct on the mainland, and shortly afterwards became extinct on all other islands. Since the 1980s populations have been established on other offshore islands, and in Zealandia.

Kiwi are supposed to be nocturnal. This one didn't get the memo.

Katie led us on the usual tour along the Lake Road, down to see the takahe, and through the jungly Te Mahanga track, where we saw cave weta, glow worms, and heard the night-time activities of kaka. But no kiwi. We could hear them calling in the distance, but couldn’t see any. At this point, Julie left our group to go and scout for kiwi in likely locations. And it was as we walked back along the Lake Road, with Katie giving us some further information on something or other, that she was interrupted by a call on the radio. Kiwi ahead! We strode purposefully forward as quickly as possible without making a noise, and sure enough, foraging on the cliff by the side of the road, was a little spotted kiwi! Despite being highlighted by Julie’s red light, it seems unconcerned by our presence, and continued snuffling through the leaf litter and undergrowth, in search of worms, beetles and other inveterate invertebrates, for around five minutes.

So we saw a kiwi in the wild! Mission accomplished, we headed back to the Visitor Centre for a cup of kawakawa tea, returned our equipment, and headed back home.