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Tuesday 24th of October 2017 and time to leave for yet another adventure. I was booked on the 28th of October. But as I have planned to have a (MAYBE) beer on the 27th I cancelled. I  booked Habitat Tours for the 24th and 27th and I told them that I can pay double and go on my own. So I have been hoping that they won't get any bookings since back in April. But we will be 7 people going, I save money, but I would have preferred to pay extra and to go alone.
I'm surprised with the weather, one month ago it was OK during day time, maybe a wee bit nippy during the late afternoon/ evening. Now, a month later and it is colder even though we're approaching summer. And looking for the  Kiwi and we will not be back until midnight tonight. So I might need a jacket/ wind breaker.
I checked internet and I found a shop, Beggs Big & Tall Menswear and I took a taxi there. I found what I needed, I also bought a pair of sweatpants that I can pull over my shorts and shoes without having to go through the trouble to “change” clothes if it gets too cold.    I walked back to my hotel and I had tea and smoked salmon while waiting for the pick up at 13:50 and I'm looking forward to our Kiwi bird trip.  And I will hopefully have more luck than I have had on Fiji and Tonga. I went down to the reception at 13:45 and the car was already here waiting. We took off to pick up 6 more passengers at two different places.
 Habitat Tours comes to pick me up
Can't say that I was happy to spend one hour in the car waiting for the other passengers, driving around looking for other passengers before we could finally take off towards the Tawharanui Regional Park on the Tawharanui Peninsula. We expect it to take one and a half to two hours to get there. We will make 2 stops on the way, first stop at the Parry Kauri Park to look at an old tree. Second stop at Matakan, a small town/ village where we will have tea.
We left Auckland behind and we were making good speed on the highway and the spirit was high. We drove through a beautiful landscape and we were soon driving through the Johnstones Hill Tunnels. We were 8 people in the car and I was happy to sit up front with the driver. The only thing I missed was a bottle or two of MAX gottisar. I will go have a look at the Parry Kauri Park, according to our Guide there is no restaurant, but I souvenir shop so I might find something there. We were soon coming to a sign saying Parry Kauri Park and we turned right leaving the highway.  Leaving Auckland behind
  Approaching Johnstones Hill Tunnels
 Johnstones Hill Tunnels
We stopped at the Parry Kauri Park and I went to look for a MAX first thing coming out of the car. I had no luck and I went out to look at the Kauri tree. A huge tree and 800 years old. I had a look and I took the opportunity to have a look for some birds while in the area. I spotted the Common Blackbird and the Welcome Swallow.  Soon at Parry Kauri Park
 800 years old Kauri tree
  Common Blackbird
 800 years old Kauri tree
 Sign for Tawharanui Regional Park, we're on the right way
 We stop at Matakana river front and I see a White-faced Heron
We left Parry Kauri Park and we continued towards North. We reached Matakana and we went down to the Matakana River to have a look for birds. I spotted a White-faced Heron even before we had got out of the car. And it was very hard to see sitting in a bush/ tree at a picnic table. I  went out and I sneaked towards the White-faced heron. Yes, Porky the human balloon in stealth mode and flabby managed to get all the way to the White-faced Heron without scaring the bird.
Amazing, the bird, a juvenile, didn't mind me and my camera. And there was another White-faced Heron just below the bush down in the river. I managed to get a few very good pictures of the White-faced Heron before I discovered the very beautiful Australian Pied Cormorant, going under the name Pied Cormorant here on New Zealand. A gorgeous bird with blue eyes and yellow between the bill and the eyes. And a beautiful back plumage. We spotted a couple of Mallard Ducks sleeping on the mudflat and there was a Kingfisher sitting in a tree. I went to the bridge and there were a group of Red-billed Gulls eating some dead fishes they had thrown on the mudflat.  Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 White-faced heron
Also known as the white-fronted heron
 Also known as the pied cormorant or pied shag. Older sources may refer to it as the “Yellow-faced cormorant”
 Australian Pied Cormorant
Also known as the pied cormorant or pied shag. Older sources may refer to it as the “Yellow-faced cormorant”
 Red-billed Gull once also known as the mackerel gull
 Red-billed Gull once also known as the mackerel gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus
 Red-billed Gull once also known as the mackerel gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus
 Red-billed Gull once also known as the mackerel gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus
We stayed at Matakana river front longer than the planned 20 minutes. We need to be at the Tawharanui Regional Park so we can take a bird watching walk while we have day light. Then a picnic dinner and a walk in the dark looking for Kiwi birds. We spot a New Zealand Pigeon, a huge pigeon in the tree above our car. We were finally in the car and we could continue to Tawharanui Regional Park our final destination. The stop at the Matakana River had been very good. A beautiful place and many good bird pictures.  New Zealand Pigeon
 Matakana River
 Matakana River
 Mallard Ducks
 We are on the right way to Tawharanui Regional Park
 Driving on Tawharanui Peninsula towards the Tawharanui Regional Park
 Driving on Tawharanui Peninsula towards the Tawharanui Regional Park
 Driving on Tawharanui Peninsula towards the Tawharanui Regional Park
 Driving on Tawharanui Peninsula towards the Tawharanui Regional Park
 Reaching Tawharanui Regional Park
We left Matakana behind and we were driving through a beautiful landscape on the Tawharanui Peninsula towards the Tawharanui Regional Park. We had to drive through a gate when we reached the Tawharanui Regional Park. There is a wall, maybe 1 meter high cutting off the peninsula and we had to enter via a gate. The birds on New Zealand, many of them by now extinct don't have any enemies. The only predator they know of is the bird of prey. So they look up but they are not afraid of any mammals as there is no mammals on New Zealand. At least not until the Maui arrived here 800 years ago bringing dogs and the Europeans arrived 200 years ago bringing rats, cats etc. These animals ate all the birds as they were just standing there not afraid as they didn't had any enemies, pretty much like the whales. Anyway, now New Zealand are full of the birds enemies and they have to block the peninsulas and the birds can live there as they have done for thousands of year without having to be attacked by “intoduced” predators.  Male and female Paradise Shelduck - Tadorna variegata
 Female Paradise Shelduck - Tadorna variegata
The first new bird we saw was the Paradise Shelduck. We stopped at a pond to have a look at some shore birds before we continued to the end of the road where we parked the car. We continued out on the peninsula by foot. We walked past the beach before we came in to something that looked like a forest. But it looked more like bushes than tree. I was soon to hear a very strange bird sound, yes, bird watching in new exotic countries and you will run in to new and strange birds. The bird is called Tui and below you can click on the player to hear the sound. We can imagine me hearing this sound from a tree for the first time.   Common Blackbird
  Tui
Listen to the Tui
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
  Walking up the bush forest
 It is a beautiful area
 Grey Warbler or Grey Gerygone, also known by its Māori name Riroriro
 Grey Warbler or Grey Gerygone, also known by its Māori name Riroriro
 Grey Warbler or Grey Gerygone, also known by its Māori name Riroriro
 Grey Warbler or Grey Gerygone, also known by its Māori name Riroriro
 Grey Warbler or Grey Gerygone, also known by its Māori name Riroriro
  New Zealand pigeon or kererū
 New Zealand pigeon or kererū
 New Zealand pigeon or kererū
 New Zealand pigeon or kererū
 New Zealand pigeon or kererū
 New Zealand pigeon or kererū
I tried to walk ahead of our group as they were a wee bit loud. They catch up with me when I was taking pictures of the Tui and the bird flew away. I tried a new idea, I let them go ahead of me and I could hear them all over the park. But now I managed to get bird pictures. I caught up with them at the border to some special forest. We had to clean our shoes with some spray and we also had to brush the shoes. I decided to skip this and I started to walk back. I spotted the South Island takahē, looking like the Australasian Swamphen and at a quick glance it looks like the swamphen. But the South Island takahē is bigger, kind of green and blue instead of blue and black and the bill is much much bigger. The bird have an interesting history: It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on 20 November 1948. The specific scientific name commemorates the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter. There are only a very few birds remaining on New Zealand. The South Island Takahē disappeared in under the bushes before I got any good pictures.  South Island Takahē
 North Island Robin
 A failed picture of the New Zealand fantail
 A failed picture of the New Zealand fantail
 A failed picture of the New Zealand fantail
 Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
 Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
 South Island Takahē
 South Island Takahē
 South Island Takahē
 South Island Takahē
I continue on the walk path and I'm soon running in to a bird hiding in the bushes. Turns out to be a North Island Robin, but the rest of the group were catching up with me, loud noise and the bird got scared and disappeared. I was not happy and I asked them if they could please be quiet while we're walking in the park. I told them that I could hear them all over the park. I dashed off walking back towards the parking lot. I spot a beautiful New Zealand fantail but the bird is jumping around never sitting still even for a second so I never get any good pictures. But I was lucky to see two more South Island Takahē so I could get a picture. On the way back to the car and the picnic dinner I also see a Chaffinch and a Brown Quail, no pictures. There were also a couple of Eastern rosellas and a California Quail. I had a lot of bad pictures that went to the garbage bin from the walk. But I was very happy with the day. But now it was getting too dark for any bird watching and it is time for the picnic dinner.  Sun is setting over Anchor Bay
 Time for the picnic
 Sun is setting
 Sun is setting
 Dark enough to go look for the Brown Kiwi
It was pitch dark by the time we were ready with the picnic dinner. Our Guide handed out flashlights with red lights and we took off towards the same path we had walked before. We could hear the first Kiwi already at the car park. We left the car park behind and we followed the track to the shoe cleaning place where we cleaned our shoes. We continued in to the special forest and we could hear more Kiwis. But we only saw a Cricket, the only animal we saw during the night walk.  Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 At least we see a Cricket
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
 Looking for the Brown Kiwi
We left the Tawharanui Regional Park and we expect to be back in Auckland around midnight. So it will not be much sleep as my Guide from Wrybill will pick me up at 7 thirty tomorrow morning. There were not much traffic but here on New Zealand (Pretty smart) they do the road work during the night so we passed quite a few road works on the way back to Auckland. Our first stop was to drop the passengers we had picked up last and then we drove to my hotel. I will meet the Guide again next Friday so I said “see you again” and I went up to my room to have a quick look at my pictures before trying to get some sleep.  Approaching Auckland
 Approaching Auckland
 Approaching Auckland
To see the map in a full window click HERE
It had been a very good day and I was happy that I had have the time to buy my new jacket before we left for Tawharanui Regional Park as it got a wee bit nippy during the afternoon/ evening. But I never found any use for my new sweat pants. Anyway, I will bring my new clothes in my backpack when we go to Tiritiri Matangi Island. Click HERE to find out what kind of birds we will see tomorrow.
    
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
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