After leaving Fox Glacier, we traveled north to Hokitika and then Greymouth, where the TranzAlpine Train would take us back to Christchurch, completing our loop around the South Island. However, in Hokitika I had read about a small place called the National Kiwi Centre that I thought might be fun to stop by since we had a little extra time. Kiwis are, of course, one animal that I really wanted to see in New Zealand, but since they are nocturnal they can be hard to find in the wild. At the National Kiwi Centre they had a nocturnal room with only dim red lights where you could go and watch for kiwis in their enclosure. There was also an aquarium portion of the center, but we didn’t spend much time there since we were so excited to see the kiwis. We did see a tuatara, though, which is New Zealand’s “prehistoric reptile” since they’ve been around for over two hundred million years.
There were two kiwis in the enclosure and we could see both, but one was much more active and came closer to us. We decided to call her Kiki the kiwi and loved watching her run back and forth by the glass, peck at the ground, and fluff up her feathers. The other kiwi, who we called Floyd, was much bigger (females are generally bigger, but he was overweight) and not as active. He mostly stuck towards the back of the enclosure, so we only saw him from a distance before he went back into his little house. We couldn’t take any photos in there, so you’ll just have to believe me- they were really cute! Kiwis are flightless birds, so their wings are vestigial and so small you can’t see them. So, they look like just bodies with legs and a head running around, kind of like Mr. Potato Head missing some parts.
This is what the kiwis we saw looked like!
After leaving Hokitika, we kept going north to Greymouth, where we stopped at Monteith’s Brewing Company for lunch. Then, we dropped off our rental car and got on the train back to Christchurch. This train goes through the Southern Alps and Arthur’s Pass, so the ride is very scenic. Along the way there was commentary that told us about the different areas across the South Island and the history that goes along with them. After about four hours on the train, the sun had set and we reached Christchurch, where we had a relaxing evening at our hotel and dinner at a nearby restaurant. Here are some photos from the TranzAlpine Train:
Hammond Adventures 