On a hot January afternoon, I took a stroll alongside Whakatāne’s river – and saw 10 kiwi. Small, dark brown, beautifully expressive birds, they were standing on rocks, by buildings, under seats. Tracking them down made for an entertaining hour. Before you start Google searching the changing habits of wild kiwi, these Whakatāne birds aren’t [...]
The Dunes Trail has made quite an impression since it was officially opened in mid-2012. It’s now journeyed by around 20,000 cyclists per year, plus many walkers and runners. Intrepid travellers, fitness enthusiasts, families, a Thursday-evening ‘bike, beer and BBQ’ group, youth groups, motorhomers, e-bikers, hand-bikers – they’re all out there enjoying it. Trail counters [...]
We had planned to take a helicopter trip to the active volcano in November last year, but life and work intervened so it never happened. However, with the opportunity of two spare days in which to get from Auckland to Martinborough in our motorhome RocknRobyn following the Covi Motorhome Caravan and Outdoor SuperShow, we took [...]
We don’t have long to wait before seeing something special on Whale Island (Moutohora). Within a couple of minutes of disembarking from our boat, the Moutohora Cat, our lead guide Jenny kneels down on the sand and points out kiwi footprints meandering through the tussock. “You’ll never find a kiwi walking in a straight [...]