Nga Manu day 1

A tuatara -silky smooth!

rumohra spp.

My first full day at Nga Manu nature reserve was full on! I followed the head keeper on his morning rounds, helping where i could and trying to take in his knowledge. Reece was a mine of information about plants, birds, reptiles and native fish species including eels. 150 children came through the reserve during the morning as a group booking and Reece gave them extensive info on the kiwi and then fed the long finned eels. We fed tuatara  and weighed and fed 10 or so kiwi. We prepared food for most of the caged birds and had a chat to the talking tui. it is an enormous procedure and our walk in the afternoon focussed  on the many ferns present in the reserve...Reece is also very knowledgeable in this area. I will have a good opportunity to collect from here and then Hemi Matenga...the ridgeline beckons. Nga Manu had filmy ferns/ asplenium/ rhumora/ blechnum/shining spleenworts/ cyathea/ dicksonia ...to name but a few common ones.
Ghekos have smooth skins/ skinks have scales.