ANIMALS you’ll only find here Kiwis (both ourselves and the feathered lot) are a rare bunch, but we’re not the only small-numbered inhabitants unique to Aotearoa. KEA PARROT Most likely to: DO TIME If they’re not pinching your sandwich, they’ll be stealing the wipers off your windscreen: kea, the world’s only alpine parrot are unique to the South Island and notoriously naughty. They are natural-born burglars, blending into their surroundings with a mix of olive-green plumage which hides a striking orange underlay, most visible when they’re in full flight. FIND THEM: South Island ski-fields and mountain huts. Arthur’s Pass is also a good spot, in particular, the Viaduct Lookout at the ominously named Death’s Corner (on SH 73).
18
YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN Most likely to: GIVE BEADY SIDE-EYE One of the rarest penguins you’ll ever (hopefully) clap eyes on is the yellow-eyed penguin: small, elusive and only 65-centimetres tall. The bright yellow stripe from where they get their name runs between the eye and the back of their head, but perhaps most noticeable is their crafty expression, which can often look like they’re plotting world domination. FIND THEM: There are no yellow-eyed penguins in captivity, but they do breed on the south-east coast of the South Island, notably Banks Peninsula, North Otago, Otago Peninsula and The Catlins.
TOP: Kea, Arthur’s Pass ABOVE: Yellow-eyed penguin, Otago BOTH IMAGES © Getty Images TOP RIGHT: Hector’s dolphin © Black Cat Cruises RIGHT: Tuatara, Zealandia © www.visitzealandia.com FAR RIGHT: Albie the English springer spaniel, Akaroa Dolphins © Chalita Aommy Klumjui
