So unfortunately the weather forecast today was correct it had forecast rain and rain it did. As we were having breakfast the heavens absolutely opened but luckily it eased off as we were loading the car. It was then time to set off for Otorohanga which is actually only about 2 hours away but we have a scenic drive planned so it may take longer. As it turned out it rained most of the way so we didn’t get to see much of the scenery, however it was interesting seeing the waves of rain coming across the hills. We arrived in Orotohanga around lunch time and after a quick visit to tourist information and a coffee we went to the Kiwi house where we actually finally saw Kiwi’s in the nocturnal house. As kiwis sleep for about 20 hours a day and only come out of the burrow when they are looking for food they are not easy to see but we arrived at feeding time so actually saw both the small and large Kiwis. They are very strange looking birds who’s eggs are actually about 80% of their body and take 5 days to hatch. We walked all the way round the enclosure then went back to the nocturnal house and one of the kiwis was running round in circles occasionally digging for worms with his very long beak, we watched is for a while then walked back to the car to set off for the accommodation. We are staying in he middle of nowhere in a cottage on a ‘homestead’ which as it turned out is rather nice, it has a lounge downstairs and a mezzanine bedroom and we are totally self contained with fantastic views if only the rain would stop! After getting what we needed out of the car, we settled down for a well earned drink and hoped for a nicer day tomorrow.
