We left Masterton early as we wanted to be at the Mount Bruce Wildlife Sanctuary in time to see the Tuataras being fed. We had heard about these creatures when we went to the Kiwi sanctuary in Motu and here was a chance to see one.
It didn't take us long to reach the sanctuary and having paid we were delighted to see an endangered bird species the Takahe. A very nice warden gave us an interesting talk on the Takahe, and it transpires that there are only 240 left in the world. A hunter recently shot two by mistake, thinking they were another species and he is now very unpopular with the bird loving fraternity in NZ.
After the Takahe talk we wandered around for a bit and then returned for the Tuatara talk, which was given by the same warden. Tuatara are lizard like creatures which have been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth but they too are endangered. Like lizards they don't move around a lot and therefore they require very little feeding. So we watched a female being fed a live locust.
After the talk we walked over to the Kiwi enclosure, where they have a white Kiwi in a glass fronted enclosure so that you can see the birds vaguely as inside the enclosure it is night time.
The female white Kiwi led a smaller brown male Kiw a pretty dance chasing him all over the cage, he must have been exhausted, in the talk we stayed for, again given by the same warden, she said she hoped the female Kiwi was pregnant so they were all keeping their fingers crossed.
After the talk on th Kiwis we left to make our way to the Tui brewery where we had planned a visit but as the visit cost twenty dollars and the tasting twenty five dollars we decided to give it a miss. We did however stop at the brewery for lunch.
It was then off to Sally's sister's for the evening. She looks in a farmhouse in Fremlington which is reached by travelling off the main road for some considerable time. It is in a beautiful spot but I am not sure I could find it again easily by myself.
This was also in sheep country, the hills rolled around the property and he drive to it alone was very worthwhile.
Rex and Beth made us very welcome and we enjoyed a good meal and some decent conversation with them. Another fine day in North Island.