Monday's Blog; Where to Begin?

With a head filled with the riches of our latest RV travel adventure to New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii, that answering so many requests to share stories and photos is a challenge. So many stories, where do I begin: especially after a long hiatus from blogging. I was just too busy "adventuring" to sit down and write.  It will take weeks to process and share the memories, so I will start at the beginning. 

First stop, South Island, New Zealand, the land of the Kiwis. Not the delicious fruit variety but the country's national bird and the loving term New Zealanders have chosen to refer to their nationhood. Kiwis are a loving, friendly, and enthusiastic people with a remarkable sense of humor and an expressed sense of isolation from the world outside. The Kiwi (bird) is a comedian in looks and behavior, elusive being nocturnal, bold and territorial, small chicken sized, with a tremendously long beak complete with an unusual presence of nostrils at the tip, sporting "furry" feathers, and have wings but cannot fly. Their sense of smell and acute hearing excel, their eyesight however, leaves lots to be desired. They forage in the night for food and actively defend their territory. They sleep by day and are very hard to find in the wild. 

The Kiwi indeed made an impression on me but to see one in the wild, at night, defies the traveler on a schedule. A visit to the Rainbow Springs Conservation center casts attention on Kiwis and many other Zealand critters to protect, rescue and display the less nocturnal among us. Hence this troublesome attempt in trying to photograph the creature under special nocturnal lighting, keeping the birds awake. 

Failing that attempt, I include two Kiwi posters from rainbow springs, the brown feathered and the white feathered birds. 

Visit my source for more Kiwi facts and stories; http://www.rainbowsprings.co.nz/kiwi-conservation/kiwi-facts/

Just for fun and to satisfy my desire to share soon, I offer a couple more critter images and some advice. If you are planning to visit New Zealand, do it via motor home, rent on your own (the campgrounds are wonderful) but better yet, sign up for an RV tour and see and learn more of this land than you can possibly find on your own. (you will also transfer your driving skills to the left side of the road.)  Both South and North Island are great destinations. South Island is among the top ten on my list of spectacular mountain scenery and North Island's Blue Mountains are not far behind. 

Now, back to the sorting of my 2500 images (after deleting reams of them plus my cell photos). I did try on purpose to shoot fewer images and remembered to cherish the visual images that remain in my head. It is hard, the shutter finger twitches. You know where my focus should be for the next few weeks.