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TALKING of wild and endangered species which can sometimes become tame and come in from the wilderness such as the kea, I recall how I once visited the South Westland Salmon Farm & Café in the tiny settlement of Paringa (pop. 27), near Lake Paringa in remote South Westland. Part of the World Heritage area of Te Wāhipounamu, this is an area incomparably more wild than the domesticated landscape of Christchurch, even though it's practically on the same latitude.
At the café, we could drink coffee and look out on ponds full of the farm’s stock splashing about.
Earlier, I had caught a glimpse of the highly conspicuous yet seldom-seen kōtuku, which appears on the New Zealand two-dollar coin and is a by-word in Māori culture for all that is rare and special.
So rare is the kōtuku in New Zealand that it is thought that only 100 to 120 of them live in the country at the present time, a smaller number than the numbers of the flightless kākāpō. Thankfully the kōtuku (Ardea alba modesta) is not confined to New Zealand, and also lives in flocks of thousands in Australia and Asia, where it is known in English as the eastern great egret. But in Māori tradition, you only see it once in a lifetime. And, these days, only in super-out-of-the-way places like Te Wāhipounamu.
So, I had thought that glimpse was, indeed, my lot for a lifetime.
Well, imagine my surprise when a kōtuku looking very much the one in the next photo (of a specimen in an aviary), actually dropped in and landed on our table, hoping for salmon scraps!
From the sublime to the commonplace, as you might say!
If you liked the post above, check out my new book about the South Island! It's available for purchase from this website.
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