TUESDAY 15 MARCH - Kia Ora! Willowbank Reserve and Ko Tane Maori Village

My second visit of the day was to the Willowbank Nature Reserve just outside Christchurch which offers a great opportunity to meet New Zealand flora, fauna and other wildlife, including in a darkened enclosure the rare and shy genuine, and very rare Kiwi. The national bird is slowly but surely being supported by breeding programmes to become re-established in the wild throughout the country.


The centre also comprises the Ko Tane Maori village where I was able to gain my first experience of the traditional Maori welcome ceremony. The intimidating greeting by a Maori warrior in full war paint and regalia was followed by a much more agreeable face to face greeting by our guide.


Sadly the eartquake has caused the tourist trade in Christchurch virtually to dry up and I, along with two Japanese teenagers were the only visitors to the village that day. Normally they would expect between 60 and 100. This gives a stark reminder of the importance of tourism to the local economy in this part of the world. Nevertheless the villagers continued to perform their ceremony for us including audience participation!

Location:Christchurch