Zealandia

We went to visit the Zealandia ecosanctuary a couple of weekends ago. As you you might know, New Zealand has no native predators (hence why there are lots of flightless birds, like the kiwi, because they didn’t need to get away from any threats). However, the Maori brought dogs and pigs with them to New Zealand, and Europeans brought rats, rabbits, possums, stoats and weasels, all of which unbalance the ecosystem. Zealandia has a fence that no predators can get through, creating an untouched piece of native wilderness. I was a bit sceptical about how much wildlife we would see in such a large area, but it was great! We saw lots of native birds up really close, such as saddlebacks, tuis, kakas, takahe, hihi, pateke, and a colony of pied shags.

Some assorted highlights:

I’ve been trying new crafts recently – I made a cross stitch and went to a painting class.

I saw this guy walking a ridiculous amount of dogs through the town centre.

I bought myself a hybrid bike and have been on a couple of rides so far. Here’s a nice view of the coast near our house.