In the middle of nowhere: Fox Glacier or kiwis and fireflies

The cities in New Zealand are, with very few exceptions, quite small. But even that is too much to say when it comes to Fox Glacier. This place consists basically of only one street. On this street, there are some hostels and motels, 2-3 cafes, and a 'General Store' that sells everything. At exorbitant prices, of course. However, the landscape here in the area is very beautiful. Green, many cows and sheep. Lakes, forests.

In our hostel room, there are three German girls who are lying on their beds and staring at their phones every time we enter the room. They seem to have a lot of fun. They also seem to be extremely shy creatures because as soon as we are in the room, they don't speak anymore. Or maybe they don't speak at all, but limit their communication to chatting? Anyway, we are not only surrounded by silent Germans, but also by huge mosquitoes.

In the evening, a special highlight awaits us: the firefly path. We all walk together to the last hotel on the main street, behind which a small path leads into a little forest. We turn off and are excited to see if we will spot some fireflies. But first, we get annoyed by idiotic tourists who shine their flashlights on the fireflies. They probably have nothing in their brains... Finally alone in the darkness, the first little lights start to flash... and more and more appear! Like miniature fairy lights, the creatures light up inside hollow trees, over the rocks by the creek, and form whole networks of light over the mossy tree trunks that glitter like walls in the darkness. We walk through the night in awe and feel like we are in a fairy forest.

The next morning, we have breakfast together with Wolfgang and Marlene before we head to Lake Matheson, another famous mirror lake. We hike through green fern forests that always remind me a bit of the prehistoric times. Today, the wind is playing tricks on us again and makes the water surface tremble, so the dark lake doesn't create a clear reflection for us.

For this evening, a very special travel highlight is on the program: kiwi watching. Lisa has been looking forward to this for days! With a bit of luck, we will see a kiwi in its natural habitat today, but our tour guide has already announced that we need to bring a lot of patience. Loud clothing is taboo, rain jackets have to stay in the hostel.

We drive to Okarito, where about 400 brown kiwis live, the rarest kiwi species. Our guide Ian, who speaks quite good German, starts with a detailed briefing because to see the shyest creature on the island in the wild, teamwork, patience, and absolute silence are required. Ian's kiwis have their territories and live monogamously. In order to locate them and, above all, for the sake of species conservation, they are equipped with small transmitters on their feet. Ian can roughly determine their whereabouts with his locator device. And then we start. With our 10-person group, we enter the kiwi territory and are equipped with mosquito hats and flashlights. Fortunately, we are all wearing long clothing.

So we walk through the undergrowth until we reach one of the territories... and the two kiwis are not far away from the path. However, the forest is so incredibly dense that our only chance to see the birds is from the path. So we all line up so that if one of the kiwis shows up, everyone has a good view. We stand. Motionless. Listen. Ian locates. We walk a few meters further, line up again. Stand. Wait. Listen. Again and again, we hear the two birds running through the undergrowth because their huge feet cause loud rustling. And then suddenly: a mixture of sniffing, purring, and grunting - a sound that only a kiwi couple makes. The two are very close. We patiently endure the poking of the small thorn bushes on our legs. Around us, the loud buzzing of the greedy mosquitoes. Pitch-black night.

Unfortunately, not all participants in the group manage to stand completely still, so the kiwi couple doesn't show up. Change of plans. We go back to the road where BZ (a male kiwi) has his territory. It's already very late, some tour participants give up and leave the group. We stay determined. And we are rewarded for it: very close to the road in the forest, there is rustling... Ian points his red light into the thicket and bullseye!!! There stands BZ, a large brown kiwi, as big as a rooster, with his long kiwi beak. Unbelievable!! We follow him a little further through the underbrush, and right in front of Lisa, he raises his beak again under the fern leaves, as if he wants to sniff us. Then he stomps back towards the forest and suddenly, in the absolute silence, he starts his kiwi call. Shortly afterward, a response comes from a distance, his chick replies. And so, we finally got the opportunity to see a kiwi in the wild. However, the wilderness did not pass us by without a trace, as Lisa's leggings were unfortunately no obstacle to the mosquitoes. So the next morning, she has 65 mosquito bites on her legs. But it was worth it!

With fireflies and kiwis, our journey in New Zealand comes to an end, as tomorrow we will return to Christchurch to fly on to Fiji from there. New Zealand, you picturesque, green, mountainous, sunny, rainy, foggy, sometimes a bit monotonous country! We enjoyed traveling through you, even though, after our experiences during our South America trip, we cannot share the hype around you one hundred percent.