We took too many photos on this day for one page. This page is just the cute animals we saw at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. The rest of the day’s are here.
After a brief guided tour of Christchurch, we arrived at Willowbank. We paid (discounted rate for sponsors) and headed in. The first thing we saw was the eel feeding station. Here, small children were feeding raw hamburger to freshwater eels using long straw-spoons. The eels would rise 6 inches out of the water to get at the food. This close contact set the tone for the whole visit. Many of the animals were in cages - some birds, the reptiles and anything that could easily draw blood. But a great number of the animals were just hanging out behind a low fence. Most of them were entirely tame, and would come over to beg. Many animal glamour shots were taken. Highlights include the deer, which were very friendly (one even rubbed against Jer), the goats, which were cute despite the disturbing pupils, the ducks and shelducks (which look like duck/goose hybrids), which were plentiful and tame, and of course the kiwi birds, of which we saw 5 or 6. We got literally within 2 feet of the kiwis, watching them snuffle around the forest litter, pace, and even squabble. After a circuit of the grounds, we had a decent lunch at the cafe, which was cut short to catch the 2:40 bus back into the city.