Sparky the Kiwi

The other day our bus driver asked us if we wanted to do something that most people (tourists and new Zealanders included) won't get to do in their lifetime.

Of course the whole bus was more then eager so off we went to a bird recovery center...

Here we met Robert (the man who started and runs the bird recovery centre) and a bunch of birds native to new Zealand. They were all amazing to see but...

The highlight was Sparky the kiwi.

Robert with sparky (whom he treats like his baby)

YES, A REAL LIVE KIWI!

Sparky looking for worms

For those of you that are confused by my excitement the Kiwi is New Zealands national bird as well as the bird that New Zealanders are named after.

Yes new Zealanders are actually called kiwi’s.

Not only that but Kiwi’s are extremely rare to come by as they are nocturnal, only live in secluded areas and are incredibly shy.

The chances of seeing a kiwi, let alone petting one are pretty darn rare.

So I was pretty darn lucky!

Thank you to Robert and our awesome driver for making my New Zealand trip 

that much more memorable!

baby kiwi - 29 weeks old
almost ready to be let back out into the wild