I have almost run out of my own photos to post about Kiwiland.  Fortunately I have friends with cameras who are much better photographers than I am.  These pix were all taken by Kevin Bracey, and with him or Chris taking pix, I will appear in them more often.  That’s a mixed blessing at best.

On my first afternoon on the South Island, Kevin introuduced me to a man Named James Trollee. He's a fishing guide among other things, and he knows his way around the waters of the West Coast of the South Island. I'm the old guy in the hat.

James took the three of us (Kevin, Chris, and Ken) aboard his small boat for a photography expedition. We started on a lake and headed down through marshy country searching for white herons.

Typical South Island weather as far as I could tell in 2 days. It threatened to rain. I have a terrible memory and didnt take notes, but this is Lake Ruatapu where a famous battle took place in the 19th century--about ten miles southeast of Hokitika.

Ruatapu River, kind of a swampy park. This is all protected land, and should be full of wildlife, but on such a cloudy day, I think the birds were staying home watcing television.

This is exactly the kind of wild country I imagine to be inhabited by goblins.

This is Chris Bracey, my gracious hostess. We were never in any danger, but safety-conscious James had us all wearing life-jackets anyway. They helped keep us warm.

White hunter, New Zealand style. In New Zealand they mostly hunt birds and fish, although deer have been introduced to the forests and are a meat source for islanders.

Camelback Mountain as seen from Lake Ruatapu. We went hunting for spoonbills at the end of the lake, and saw a black swan, but most of the birds were still hiding.

Some of the trees grow incredibly high. Their wood is both hard and water resistant and they were much prized as masts for the British Navy 150 years ago.

On the following morning, Kevin and I walked a mile on the beach of the Tasman Sea from his house into town.

This is what a happy Ken looks like. I wore the new hat that day.

This is a good place to end today’s episode.  Next time I’ll take you to an aminal rescue farm and introduce you to a real kiwi bird.

If you would wear your new hat to go beachcombing, or ever found anything really cool when doing so, leave a comment.

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