An Exquisite Shell and a tiny "dinosaur"

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Wednesday, 17th April - Day Fourteen: Upper Hutt to Napier 297km (179 miles).

Paua is the Maori name for abalone in New Zealand, and although California seems to have the largest shells, these ones have the most remarkable colours. After the contents have been emptied when freshly caught and maybe ground into patties or fritters, the shells are sent here to Carterton.

We tour the tiny, privately owned Paua Shell Factory where the outer part of the shell is ground down and the inner part polished. They can prepare up to 150 shells a day. Much of it is made into beautiful jewelry and sold throughout the country as well as overseas. Watching an interesting video of the divers' difficulties finding the shells, we see why this particular paua is so special and unique to these islands.

At Mt. Bruce National Wildlife Center in the afternoon, we view the feeding of a tiny kiwi. The national bird of NZ is an extremely unusual bird and also rare. This Center is helping to preserve them when they’re young and send them back into their natural habitat. They can’t fly and are subject to many predators, especially stoats.

The rain turns to sunshine in the afternoon by the time we arrive at Napier. What a pleasure to have two nights at one place - a rarity on this fast-paced trip.

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Photos

empty shells from the ocean
before grinding and polishing

Tuatuara
loosely translated meaning "peaks on the back"

baby kiwi
fed once a day

pumpkin soup
a lunch speciality at Mt. Bruce

Norwegian pines
driving into Napier