On the Flora and Fauna of New Zealand

One of the most striking and characteristic elements of New Zealand, and a topic I have not spoken enough of, is the multitude of unique plant and animal species that have evolved here.

As an isolated island in the vast Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has, unsurprisingly, developed some very interesting species of flora and fauna. On a given day, the native bush is reminiscent of Crichton's prehistoric dinosaur park, complete with stilt-legged mini dinosaurs and enormous ferns.

New Zealand was an undisturbed pocket of isolation until around 800 years ago, when the Maori arrived from distant Polynesian islands.Until that point, the only mammals to reach its shores were those that could fly (bats) or swim (seals). For this reason, many of the birds evolved to be flightless - like the endemic Kiwi - and, since they never had to deal with large predators, they themselves filled the evolutionary niche usually filled by mammals.

Take, for instance, the now-extinct Moa, a tall, flightless bird, reckoned to have exceeded 12 feet tall and 500 pounds - one hell of an ostrich. And, since Nature never lets that much meat go to waste, these enormous emus were, in turn, hunted by a species of enormous eagle, now also extinct, which was the largest eagle known to have existed.

Haast Eagle hunting Moas

This all changed with the arrival of humans in the 1300s. The Maori could feed families on the Moa, and in pursuit of them, they burned hillsides and drove them over cliffs, much as Indigenous North Americans hunted buffalo. However, the Moa was not a resilient species, and when Abel Tasman "discovered" New Zealand 300 years later, only their enormous bones remained.

Today, while most of the country has been cultivated for farmland or pasture, pockets of native bush can be seen in parks and protected areas.

In the native bush, ferns rule. New Zealand has more than one hundred species of native fern - most famously, the tree fern, which can grow to be twenty feet tall, and the silver fern, an iconic symbol of New Zealand nationality.

Fern frond

Tree ferns from below

But New Zealand has other iconic flora as well. For example, the Pohutukawa, or Christmas Tree, blooms with red flowers in summer (just in time for Christmas, in the southern hemisphere). Unfortunately, this tree is under threat from introduced species. Recently, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has begun a program to eradicate the Australian Possum, a species that was originally introduced for its fur, but has since devastated the Pohutukawa. Now the little guys are being trapped and hunted, in the hope of eliminating their entire population from New Zealand. I can't help but feel sorry for them.

Christmas flower

Australian possum

When John and I hiked the Cape Reinga Track, we found a type of flowering bush helpful. We didn't know it then, but this was New Zealand flax, another endemic species. It grows almost anywhere, but especially near beaches; it was used by the Maori to weave baskets and clothing. We used it differently: the tough flowering stalks are often seven feet tall, and make marvelously light, sturdy walking sticks.

Another plant that I noticed growing in abundance, and one that you will probably recognize: the Toetoe, which has been exported as an exotic, to grow in gardens all over the world.

Throughout my time here, I have grown to recognize and appreciate the diverse bird life. I am not a bird watcher at home, but it's hard to ignore them in New Zealand. When Captain Cook first landed to explore New Zealand, he said that he'd heard the racket of birdsong from the open ocean, long before he even saw land.

Well, me too, Cook. My first morning in New Zealand, before I even opened my eyes, I knew that I was no longer in Canada. I awoke to an alien birdsong that reminded me of a lush jungle - a loud, hollow, diverse and haunting song. I believed that the bird was some kind of introduced species - a blackbird, thrush, finch, or magpie. No so. I didn't realize it then, but I was hearing the iconic song of a unique honeyeater, the Tui.

Tuis are like starlings (another introduced species), in that they imbed songs from their surroundings. They have actually picked up their diverse and complex vocal displays from other birds, especially the Bellbird, a little green thing that's also endemic here, and suits its name in shape and sound.

Bellbird in Clianthus plant

Tui in Kowhai tree

Birds like these, which sip nectar, thrive in New Zealand because of the abundant flowering plants that grow wild in the native bush. There are wild fuchsias, pink and blue hebes, yellow trumpet flowers, red monocots, climbing daisies, and flowering legumes, to name a few. Combined with the careful hand of humans, New Zealand in the springtime is really something to see. In the North Island, Calla Lilies are weeds, and they erupt under palm trees like a commercial for cocoa butter. There are flowering orchards humming with honeybees, rose gardens on picket fences, and lemon trees that seem to bear fruit all year.

But we were speaking of birds.

My favourite is the endemic Pukeko, which reminds me of a dinosaur - its long legs seem reptilian, and it's got monstrous chicken feet and a big, red beak. Here is the mischief-maker of Maori legend, but he seems harmless to me. Pukeko forage in packs, like little raptors, white tails flicking with every regal step. Takeoffs and landings are always awkward, though, and I spent months believing them incapable of flight.

I also adore the cheerful, bouncy Fantail, which tends to follow people through the forest, supposedly as an omen of good luck, but actually to snap up the delicious insects we stir up. A Fantail's charm can't be captured in a picture, because it's all in the way it moves: as if its long tail threatens to unbalance it, and it needs to constantly hop around and readjust itself in the most curious way just to stay afloat.

Since it's so close to the Antarctic, New Zealand is home to several species of penguin, including the smallest penguin in the world, the Blue Penguin, and the rarest, the Yellow-eyed Penguin. I only saw Blue Penguins at the zoo, but here is my photo of a Yellow-eyed Penguin we saw nesting on the southernmost beach in New Zealand.

New Zealand is also home to the famous Royal Albatross, which, I am disappointed to say, I have never seen yet. Since reading the epic poem The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, I have longed to see this enormous and near-mythical bird for myself.

(Well, I suppose there's still time.)

We did see a Gannet colony at Cape Kidnapper's, which was almost, well, who am I kidding, not nearly so good. We have also seen Keas (frighteningly intelligent mountain parrots), Wekas (delicious-looking wood hens), Kererus (hilariously clumsy bush pigeons), and Wetas (grasshoppers of freakish size).

Gannets at Cape Kidnapper's

Kea at Milford Sound

too bad it's endangered

Giant Weta

Clumsy pigeon

Finally, this past weekend I saw a Kiwi. With all of the amazing, colourful, and interesting birds New Zealand has to offer, they chose to select the nocturnal, flightless, blind, and dowdy Kiwi as their national animal. I suppose they looked around and chose the one bird that wasn't beautiful or charming as a declaration of spirit.

The Kiwi wouldn't last one day in the Canadian forest, but I guess since Moas are extinct, they went with the next best thing.