The Kiwi is New Zealand’s most ancient living bird. It is also a biological oddity. Kiwis are flightless and mostly nocturnal, they more like a mammal than a bird.
Kiwis have hair-like feathers, whiskers like a cat, heavy marrow-filled bones and strong muscular legs, a soft claw at the end of its wings. Kiwis have a lower body temperature than most other birds, fleshy footpads, and a beak like a nose. Female kiwi have two functional ovaries. Kiwis are the only birds with nostrils at the end of their long beak. Kiwis build burrows just like a badger, and lay big eggs. After incubation of several months, fully-feathered and almost independent chicks are hatched.
According to many Maori traditions, the kiwi is the eldest child of Tane Mahuta, god of the forest, and offers protection to Maori.
You can spot a Kiwi by listening to its distinctive repeated whistles or guttural calls at night. Kiwi also leave a calling cards. Check for beak probe holes in the ground, large grey and white smelly droppings, feathers snared in hookgrass, burrows, and footprints (provided that the terrain is soft).
Kiwi numbers are decreasing rapidly on New Zealand’s mainland. In 2005 kiwi numbers were about 60,000 birds. They were counted in millions (!) in the past. About half of all kiwi eggs fail to hatch, and of those that do hatch, only ten percent of chicks survive to the age of six months, and less than five percent reach adulthood. Kiwis suffer from the New Zealand’s introduced predators such as stoats, ferrets, dogs and cats.
Department Of Conservation does everything in its power to save the Kiwis. Their predator management and control programs have proven successful in reversing the declines.
Here is what tourists can do to help saving kiwis:

A word is out that Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit” will be divided in two parts and filmed as two films during the period of four years starting next year.
The director of the films will be Guillermo del Toro. For those who aren’t familiar with Guillermo del Toro I can say that another film he directed - “Pan’s Labyrinth” won three Oscars in 2007, another his famous film is “The Devil’s Backbone” (El espinazo del diablo).
Being a fan of “Lord of the Rings” (mostly due to the beauty of the nature in the film, and I also liked the actors) I was glad to know that Sir Ian McKellen has expressed an interest in playing Gandalf. Let me remind you that Sir Ian McKellen played Gandalf in “Lord of the Rings”. I think it would be great to see him in “The Hobbit”. I hope that this film will be nothing less than “Lord of the Rings” and even more, and can’t wait to see once again a magnificent beauty of New Zealand with this spark of magic that fantasy films ignite.

Hi guys,
Bad news I’ve read on the net. The Tasman Glacier is shrinking pretty fast. It shrank 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) in the last 18 years, and its melting pace these days is the fastest comparing to recent times! As a result of the meltdown a lake has formed near the glacier, and now it is 7km (4.4 miles) long and 245 meters deep. More bad news is that the ice cliff at the glacier terminal is receding fast - about 180 meters each year, which is partially because of the lake. Scientists say that lake enlargement will speed up the glacier’s melting pace to 500-800 meters per year.
The good news are that Tasman Glacier won’t disappear completely since after loosing another 9km lake will hit the side of the mountains and will be forced to stop.
Of course there are many different opinions on this issue and some scientists say that melting rate will drop because of several factors but this whole shrinking issue gives me the creeps.
I hope that Tasman Glacier will stop melting, and will start expanding… but not too much
If anyone has an idea how we can help make it happen, please leave a comment or send me an email.

As their name implies New Zealand Sea Lions found only in New Zealand. They are one of the rarest seals in the world, with total population under 12000 and declining. Currently New Zealand Sea Lions can be found on the south and southeast coast f the South island and at Stewart Island.
Sea lions are usually feel confident around humans. They will generally ignore people if they are resting on the beach, but be careful and don’t approach too closely as they might just have a change in their mood (for example during a breeding period) and chase you. People often think that sea lions are playful in the water, but if you are diving or swimming in the vicinity of sea lions be always prepared to move away.
Generally you can smell sea lions from a long distance since they have a very strong and distinctive smell. And if you see sea lion cough, sneeze or vomit - don’t worry, it is normal for them to do so. They vomit to get rid of undigested food.

There are many tramping clubs in New Zealand. One of their main purposes is to promote people’s participation in tramping and other outdoor activities. So in those clubs people who like the outdoors gather together and participate in different outdoor activities. But this is not the only thing that tramping clubs in New Zealand do. They also care greatly about New Zealand’s environment. They donate funds for maintaining tramping tracks and backcountry huts, and they may even donate enough funds to build a new hut. People who are members in tramping clubs of New Zealand improve their outdoor skills and their awareness of the different aspects of tramping and caring for the environment.
Tramping clubs in New Zealand usually have a written rules by which the club is conducted. Those rules are written in a very official language and from the first glance you may think that this is some “frightening” government organization. But in fact they are very friendly and fun. Every tramping club in New Zealand has it’s colors and badge.
Here are some of the many tramping clubs of New Zealand:

Auckland Catholic Tramping Club
North Shore Tramping Club
West Auckland District Tramping Club
Waikato Tramping Club
Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club
Tararua Tramping Club
Avon Tramping Club
Christchurch Tramping Club
Waimea Tramping Club
Otago Tramping & Mountaineering Club