February 27: The Kiwi Thing

Look up in the air, is it a bird, is it a fruit, no it's a KIWI...

What is all this infatuation with the Kiwi? How did New Zealanders pick up the nickname? And how did it become the national symbol? These questions we have pondered since arriving. Today we got some insight and formulated a theory.
The kiwi bird is flightless and nocturnal, venturing from its den for only a few hours each night in its forest home to search for food: delectibles such as earthworms and insects. It is about the size of our domesticated chicken, but that's where the similarity stops. Typically brownish in color, its feathers are small and coarse, giving it a ticked, furry look. It has short, strong, legs and 3-toed feet and a long, thin, distinctive bill with nostrils at the tip for foraging. And it is endangered, due to habitat elimination (logging, mining) and the increased populations of introduced predators such as the possum and stoat (weasel). And it is soooo cute!

So this morning, the Ralfs find themselves walking the oceanfront boulevard in downtown Napier, headed for the National Aquarium of New Zealand, with BIG kiwi expectations. We weren't disappointed. In addition to all sorts of fat fish, flat fish, red fish,blue fish, turtles, skinks, tuataras (a native lizard), eels, rays, sharks and lobsters, and the frenzied fish feeding and silly children entertainment session by David the Diver, and a few more giant moa exhibits, we found our kiwis... Their exhibits are encased in soundproof glass and lit to simulate nighttime illumination, but after our eyes adjusted there they were, huddled in the corner, their light colored beaks plainly visible. Then the dashing started as they began foraging and chasing each other thru their artificial forest setting, like a couple of gnomes, popping up here and there to sense (kiwis are almost blind but possess enhanced smell and hearing). Then Kellan Kiwi jumped atop Karen Kiwi and the adults gasped, hid children's eyes and hoped for perpetuation of the species. Fun times for all...

The rest of day sorta bubbled by. First the Filter Room, a local brewery and cidery poured a lovely 6-pak of samples, including a fine ginger beer. Then at the Brookefield Winery, owner Sarah Ferguson poured us tastes of several reserve-quality wines, explaining the subtle differences and in between glasses fitting in an almost passionate defence of the small wineries struggle vs. the giant foreign-owned megawineries of the South Island (Indeed, 83% of NZ wine is produced by the big boyz. Sound familiar??) By the time we showed up at the historic Mission winery we were looking for naps more than more fine wines, but persevered... Don't remember the evening at all. I think we slept mostly.

Theory of the day: The kiwi bird is cute, unique, endangered and diminutive. That's how New Zealanders view themselves. That's why it was adopted as the national symbol. What does that say about Americans and the eagle?!