New Zealand - The Critters

Did you know that New Zealand has barely any native animals?  A few native birds but all other animals have been introduced.   Huh.  Who knew?!

Of course there is the Kiwi Bird.  Which we paid to see but didn't.  They were sleeping apparently.  I'm not convinced.  We saw some horrid 100 year old giant eels at the same place and a lizard.  Didn't love it there.  We did see the native Kea though.  (See the picture with the mans legs)  They're cheeky and inquisitive bids that seem quite plainly coloured but have bright shades of red under their wings.  We also spotted a few penguins in the wild but we were on a boat at the time so my photos of them are average if I'm being kind to myself.  

We spotted lots of gorgeous fur seals on the same boat trip in Milford Sound but the one who features in this post bumped into us on a beach on the East Coast.  He didn't seemed thrilled to be there so we tried to stay out of his way.  But then who knows, maybe he was saying hello?

There were lots domesticated animals.  Sheep.  Sheep.  Sheep.  Oh, sheep!  And lambs! Heavens above but the lambs are precious.  There were even some darling black ones that I didn't get to photograph.  I know nothing about sheep except that they make cute babies and warm clothes (previous to turning vegetarian I would've also said delicious dinner!).  

Pigs.  In Australia people farm pigs in big awful shed things.  In New Zealand they just wander around in paddocks and sleep in little huts.  Brilliant.  If I was a pig I'd move there.

Chickens. This particular one was at a lovely roadside vegetable store.  The second lamb and its mum were at the same place.

Cows.  Deer.  Heaps of deer actually.  But we never seemed to take a photo of them.  And some deer sort of thing that was bigger than a deer and smaller than a moose and we don't know what it is but they farm it and it was cool and we didn't get a photo.  Anyone from New Zealand know what I'm talking about??

There were amazing how worms and tiny little bugs that only bit Joel. No spiders.  No snakes.  Just nice farm animals and some birds.  

New Zealand is a happy place for animals. 

(If you forget that most of them will get eaten...!)