Kiwi Spotting in the Trounson Kauri Park

A night walk in the Trouson Kauri Park

Before setting off on our night walk, we are equipped with a torch each to point at our feet to see where we are standing. Chris has a red-filtered hunting lamp of 500 watts to shine into the forest and reveal any nocturnal creatures without dazzling them. We follow Chris to a huge information shelter at the entrance of the Trouson Kauri Park, which is the perfect setting for Chris to tell us more about what makes this forest great, from the ancient kauri trees – the largest type of tree in New Zealand – to the native creatures that live here. He also explains about the threats to these species, like the introduced pests of dogs, cats, stoats and possums, as well as the kauri dieback disease which can be spread on hikers’ footwear. With that, we brush and spray our shoes at a cleaning station before entering the deep dark forest.

Walking among the forest giants

Now, the seven of us walk as quietly as possible on a mix of gravel and boardwalk, which Chris is upfront scanning the forest with his powerful red torch for kiwi. We’ll stop every so often at places of interest, for example at good examples of epic kauri trees through different stages of their life cycle.

Kiwi spotting #1!

All of a sudden, we hear a loud high-pitched call into the night followed by what sounds like a constipated monkey. That is the call of a male and female kiwi (and the female was the latter) and they’re right behind us! We quickly and quietly backtrack. With a bit of patience, we see one! A kiwi is feeding, probing its long bill into the ground. We get this encounter for about 20 seconds before it realises we are there and quickly scurries into the forest. Wow! We can’t believe we have seen a kiwi bird in the wild! Not many New Zealanders themselves can say the same thing (only about 3%).