Day 312: November 8th – Skippers Canyon and the Kiwi Wildbird Park

Bright sunshine, temps in the high 60s, calm winds

       

       Our good fortune with the weather continues as we head out to Skippers Canyon under bright blue skies and warm temperatures.  Several years ago when we visited Costa Rica, we made our way up to the Monteverdi Cloud Forest via a long windy and narrow road (somewhat of an overstatement) where on most of the turns we looked out the window to see a sheer 600 foot drop with no guardrail to prevent our sudden decline should the driver make the smallest of driving errors.  Well, today, we revisted the same scenario, only this time we are in the Southern Island of New Zealand.  In Costa Rica, we traveled in full size coaches, but here the roads are too narrow to accommodate such vehicles, so our group has been split up into two mini-vans.  This is s photo of the view looking out the side window of the van as we rounded one of the corners.

       We eventually made it down to the floor of the canyon and prepared for our journey up the rapids via jet boat.  The boat draws no more than 2 inches of water and in certain areas, the cushion of water flowing over the boulder strewn bed of the river was not much more than that in depth.  Check out the following video clip to get a feel for what the experience was like!

       Following the trip on the rapids, we ascended the canyon walls to a flat area where we embarked on a helicopter to take us over the Remarkable Mountains to Bob’s Peak. 

       Once on top of Bob’s Peak, we came back down into the town of  Te Anau by way of the cable tram and visited the Kiwi and Birdlife Park at the foot of the tram.  I’ve mentioned before that zoos and wildlife parks are great places to see wild birds that are attracted to the birds in the cages and on display in open enclosures.  We did get to see the rare and elusive Kiwi in a special enclosure in which they simulate the night for folks visiting in the daytime.  It was great to see this rarity even if it was a captive bird.

               My prized catch of the day was the up close and natural view of the Paradise shelduck seen above.  I’ve been frustrated by seeing these beautiful ducks from a distance but had failed to get close enough to get a nice photo.  Well, today I had one almost walk across my feet as it scampered by calling out and looking for its mate and their young.  Unlike most birds, it’s the female that is the most attractive in this species.  Eventually, she did find the rest of the family and they hung around for a while, bathing in the open pond on the land and feeding along the shore.  It’s becoming more and more obvious that I really have to return to New Zealand and spend time concentrating on the birds.  With one day to go, I’ve photographed more than 35 new species not counting the considerable number I got in Australia.  Not bad for a tour of the country not really concerned with the avian life.  Times drawing short, however, and I would really love to grab a few more shots tomorrow.  We’ll see…..