All the wildlife were out and about on such a sunny day!
Highlights include:
- Watching the takahē and kākā feedings
- Seeing tuatara chillaxing (these guys can live to be over 100 years old!)
- Observing a rare white kiwi chase her brown kiwi mate (this was quite amusing because she seemed to be making a game of running after him until he hid behind something and then she hid behind something until he emerged...as soon as she noticed him she'd pop out and start chasing him again)
- Feeding ginormous eels (watch me feeding the eels in the video below - I was a smidge worried that one would slip into the waders I was wearing!)
I highly encourage visitors to make a day out of their trip to Mt. Bruce - it can really help stretch the $20 entry fee. There are feedings and talks spread throughout the day, so there's plenty to see and do between the center's opening and closing times.
We arrived around 10am and had coffee at the cafe. This was great because we could watch takahē strut around as we sipped long blacks on the patio:
Next, we walked around the educational indoor exhibit and made our way outdoors to the walk around the aviaries.
I met this kokako and thought it was the cutest bird ever (and so friendly!):
After a bit, we ate a picnic lunch that we had brought along and then continued walking around until it was time for the eel feedings. Feeding the eels was a great experience because I could see them up close. I was a little apprehensive that so many eels were swimming between my legs and leaping at the spoon of food, but it was still a pretty darn cool opportunity. So, if you're at least 15 years of age then I highly recommend putting a hand up to volunteer.
There's a two-hour walk around the native bush that I did to stretch the legs a wee bit and then it was time for the kākā feeding:
Next post will be about a day trip to Cape Palliser. Stay tuned!
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