It was at about 10:45pm and we were doing a night hike from our Department of Conservation campsite in Trounson Kauri Park. We'd already been very surprised and pleased as we'd seen eels (small, medium, and LARGE), crayfish, glowworms, and the giant snails. Fortunately we did not see any large weta - only small ones (they are the sometimes GIANT cricket-type insects that look terribleawfulnasty but are not).
I remember laughing to Keir that there is no way anyone could actually see a kiwi in the pitch dark of the forest night. "They must be kidding." I snickered, "It has got to be a money grab for the folks who run the 'official' night walk" (that we were officially NOT on).
We had bumped into our new German friends Frank and Eva coming the opposite direction and were whisper-chatting on the kiwi spotting boardwalk when we heard a rustling in the bushes. Couldn't be, we thought. With our dull red lights (so we wouldn't hurt their sensitive eyes) we started scanning the bush, and there, just plucking along, was the brown kiwi. I had to clamp my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't squeal with excitement (I just get SO excited!). The four of us tracked it, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly, along the boardwalk. It was completely nonplussed by us which is part of the problem - they are not predator wary. BTW the photo below is NOT ours! I'm not sure how anyone gets a photo of these little creatures given that they are nocturnal and tend to live in PITCH BLACK FORESTS!!!!)
Returning to the camper van and snuggling down into bed I wondered how I was ever going to get to sleep knowing that there actually were kiwis out there! I could hear them calling as I closed my eyes.
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