ZEALANDIA, Wellington, New Zealand

Zealandia in Wellington, New Zealand, is the world’s first urban fenced sanctuary.   Their plan is certainly  ambitious – to restore 225 hectares of forest as closely as possible to its pre-human state.  To do this they have built a 8.6 kilometers long,  2.2 meters high fence to keep out predators such as cats, weasels, ferrets, and dogs.  Started in 1995, this is a 500-year vision. In 2010, Zealandia was listed in the Top 75 Green Attractions in the World by the Guardian, U.K.  It draws more than 90,000 visitors a year

My husband Richard and I are here to spend a day as volunteers.  Zealandia has 450 volunteers, but gladly welcomes anyone who wants to spend a day in this fascinating and beautiful valley.   The place is chattering with bird calls.  That is because Zealandia is made up mainly of birds.  Before the Maori  People and European settlers arrived in New Zealand the only mammal was a tiny bat.  The only predators were airborne like the giant eagle. 

We are assigned to a lovely volunteer named Faye who handed us binoculars and off we marched to check the nest box of a HiHi bird.   The sanctuary has 20 pairs of this endangered bird.  It is about the size of a sparrow with a black head and a distinctive upright tail.  Faye told us that the HiHis were the only birds that mated face to face and they were very promiscuous.  They usually lay three to five eggs and each egg can have a different father.  Hmmmmmmm.

I am quite enjoying this volunteering business.  We’re walking along a paved path with a gradual incline and Faye is pointing out all sorts of interesting things.  We spot a Takahe, a large bird with a red beak, black head and greenish feathers that has left wet tracks along the pavement.   I stare at a tuatara, a miniature dinosaur-looking creature that is called a living fossil.    Suddenly, Faye veers off the trail and it is through the brush, uphill on a steep and slippery climb.

After about five minutes of steady climbing, we spot a nest box and Faye warns us to be quiet. We watch the small hole in the lower right corner of the box and in about 10 minutes, Mama HiHi sticks her head out , takes a quick look, then darts off to find something to eat for the little ones.  We note the time in the journal, then quickly go to the box, lift the lid and gaze at three silvery colored chicks who are loudly calling for food.

We hurry back to our watching perch.  We don’t want to scare the mother.  While we are noting in the journal that the chicks are fine and healthy, Mama HiHi comes back and we make another time notation in the book.  The HiHi nests are checked often in case a mother abandons a nest and the chicks have to be rescued.  Our HiHi family seems just fine.  No sign of the Papa, though.  He’s supposed to help feed the three chicks, but he’s probably off philandering.  

A lovely day spent in a lovely spot. 

Submitted by: Janet Webb Farnsworth, writer and Bernadette Heath, photographer and writer for "Grandma Needs a Four-Wheel Drive, Adventure Travel for Seniors." web page: www.grandmaneedsafour-wheeldrive.com