NZ Tours Tauranga

25/08/2025

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/570093/wild-facts-about-the-first-all-blacks?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExR043c2RBN3RJWGNJZ3htagEe9huH1bmrvONI3JE-yCxMh1ENlTQxN3socOOqCDDhnVCfAnR7SWHqvcDzhi8_aem_g617aS_gcpQSaLYOxBLJeg

Jonty Dine looks at some incredible stories about the team's first members.

25/08/2025

Guardians of the Ground: New Zealand’s Four Famous Flightless Birds
New Zealand’s unique wildlife has evolved in isolation for millions of years, giving rise to some of the world’s most remarkable flightless birds. Four of these species are still with us today, each with its own story of survival.
The Kiwi, New Zealand’s national icon, is a shy, nocturnal bird with a long, slender bill perfect for probing the soil for insects and worms. There are five species of kiwi, and although their numbers have declined due to introduced predators, conservation projects across the country are working tirelessly to protect them.
The Kākāpō is the heavyweight of the parrot world — nocturnal, moss-green, and critically endangered. Once common, it was nearly lost due to habitat destruction and predation by stoats and cats. Today, thanks to dedicated conservation on predator-free islands, the kākāpō population is slowly increasing, with each chick celebrated nationwide.
The Takahē, thought extinct for nearly 50 years, was rediscovered in the remote Murchison Mountains of Fiordland in 1948. This striking bird with deep blue and emerald plumage is a strong walker, using its large red bill to pull up tussock grasses. Intensive breeding programmes have brought it back from the brink.
The Weka is a cheeky, curious rail often found near coastal areas and bush edges. Known for its bold personality, it has a habit of stealing food and shiny objects from unsuspecting campers. While common in some regions, weka are vulnerable in others due to habitat loss and predators.
Together, these four flightless natives are living treasures, each a reminder of New Zealand’s rich natural heritage and the importance of conservation to ensure they remain part of our wild landscapes for generations to come.

25/08/2025

New Zealand was one of the very last major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans. While people had already spread across most continents tens of thousands of years ago, these islands stayed untouched until around 1280–1350 CE—when Polynesians, the ancestors of the Māori, navigated across the Pacific in large waka (canoes).
This late arrival means New Zealand’s landscapes and wildlife evolved almost entirely without human influence—leading to unique species like the kiwi bird, the kākāpō parrot, and giant moas, which unfortunately went extinct soon after humans arrived.

25/08/2025

For over 80 million years, New Zealand evolved in isolation from other continents. The only native land mammals were two species of bat—everything else was birds, reptiles, and insects.
This gave rise to one of the strangest ecosystems on Earth. Birds filled roles usually taken by mammals: the kiwi became a nocturnal ground-forager like a hedgehog, the kākāpō a giant flightless parrot like a rabbit, and the Haast’s eagle grew into the world’s largest eagle, preying on the giant flightless moa. With no mammalian predators, many birds lost the ability to fly—until humans brought rats, cats, and stoats, which devastated these unique species.

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16/07/2025

The Lost Giant of the Skies: New Zealand’s Haast’s Eagle

Once soaring above the forests of the South Island, the Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) was the largest eagle to have ever lived. With an estimated wingspan of 2.5 to 3 metres and weighing up to 15 kilograms, this apex predator dominated the skies of Aotearoa, and preyed on one of New Zealand’s other extinct giants, the moa.
The Haast’s eagle evolved in isolation, with no large land predators and an abundance of slow-moving prey. Its talons were the size of a tiger’s claws, capable of delivering a fatal blow in one strike. According to Māori oral tradition, the fearsome bird may have been remembered as the Pouakai or Hokioi, a great bird of legend said to sn**ch up children and livestock.
But this king of the skies vanished just a few centuries ago. The Haast’s eagle became extinct around 1400 AD, roughly 200 years after Māori first arrived in New Zealand. The reason? Its primary food source, the moa, was hunted to extinction by early Polynesian settlers. With no moa to eat and habitat loss from deforestation, the Haast’s eagle had no chance of survival.
By the time Europeans arrived in the late 1700s, the Haast’s eagle was already long gone, but fossil evidence found in South Island swamps and cave systems revealed just how massive and powerful this bird once was.
Its story is a striking reminder of how quickly ecosystems can collapse when balance is disrupted. The skies of Aotearoa may never see its like again, but the legacy of the Haast’s eagle still soars in legend, science, and spirit.

16/07/2025

The Story of Kupe – The First Explorer
One foundational story is that of Kupe, a great Polynesian navigator. According to tradition, Kupe was the first to discover Aotearoa. He set sail from Hawaiki (the ancestral homeland believed to be in central Polynesia) around 800–1000 years ago. Guided by the stars, ocean currents, birds, and clouds, Kupe’s voyage led him to the shores of the land we now call New Zealand.
Kupe is said to have named many places during his exploration, including Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) and Aotearoa, which is often translated as “Land of the Long White Cloud,” referencing the cloud formations he and his crew saw as they approached the islands.
The Great Fleet Migration
Generations after Kupe, several waka (canoes) followed, including Tainui, Te Arawa, Mataatua, Tokomaru, Kurahaupō, Aotea, and Takitimu. These waka carried entire communities and were led by chiefs and tohunga (priests or experts), each with their own stories and genealogies.
Each iwi (tribe) traces its lineage back to a specific waka and celebrates the arrival and settlement of their ancestors in different parts of Aotearoa. These waka landed at various locations, from the Bay of Plenty to Northland, and became the foundation of Māori society, whakapapa (genealogy), and territorial identity.
Spiritual and Cultural Significance
These stories aren’t just myths, they’re deeply spiritual accounts of exploration, courage, and connection to the land and sea. They are passed down through waiata (songs), haka, carvings, and oral storytelling, and continue to shape Māori identity today.

16/07/2025

From the turkey-sized bush moa to the towering South Island giant moa, New Zealand was once home to nine incredible species of moa.
Swipe through to meet the extinct giants of New Zealand.

De la taille d'une dinde jusqu'au géant de 3,6m, les 9 espèces de moa de Nouvelle Zélande, disparues avec l'arrivée des premiers humains

09/07/2025

The Fall of the Giants: How the Moa Vanished from Aotearoa
Long before sheep grazed the hills of New Zealand, the land was ruled by colossal, flightless birds—the moa. Towering up to 3.6 metres tall and weighing as much as 230 kilograms, these gentle herbivores once roamed forests, valleys, and alpine regions across both the North and South Islands. There were nine known species of moa, ranging in size from the turkey-sized little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis) to the colossal South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus). Each species had adapted to a unique ecological niche, forming a remarkable example of island evolution.
But their reign ended swiftly.
Around 1300 AD, Polynesian navigators, ancestors of today’s Māori, arrived in Aotearoa. With no natural predators and no fear of humans, moa became easy targets. Armed with spears, traps, and fire, Māori hunted them for their meat, feathers, and bones. Massive communal hunts saw dozens of birds slaughtered in single expeditions. Their eggs, too, equivalent in size to 50 chicken eggs, were a highly prized food source.
Archaeological sites littered with moa bones and charred remains tell the tragic story: within just a couple of centuries, the moa were gone. By the mid-1400s, all nine species, including the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus), crested moa (Pachyornis australis), and eastern moa (Emeus crassus), had vanished. The giant Haast’s eagle, which relied on moa for food, also disappeared shortly after.
The extinction of the moa is one of the fastest megafaunal wipeouts ever recorded and a haunting reminder of how human arrival can drastically alter an untouched ecosystem. Today, their legacy lives on in museum bones, ancient Māori legends, and the dense forests where they once thundered through the underbrush.
Would New Zealand be different if the moa had survived? We’ll never know, but their story remains a powerful symbol of balance between people and nature.

09/07/2025

The 8th Wonder of The World.
I actually thought that they were the Pink and White Terraces As in Singular... But There was a White and Pink ...2 Terraces.

Named by Maori 'Nga Atua o Waiariki" - The God's Of Geothermal Waters"
"Otukapuanui" -"The Fountain of the Clouded Sky" (The Pink Terraces)
"
Te Tarata" - The Tattooed Rock (White Terrace)
Located on Rotomahana in Rotorua
James Anthony Froude,
an English historian and travel writer, stayed with his friend, Sir George Grey, at Kawau Island in 1885. He drew both the Pink and White Terraces a year before they were destroyed June 10 1886.

20/02/2025

20/02/2025

The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. They originated from settlers who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages from East Polynesia between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures.
The Māori were divided into fierce tribal groups, each defined by their unique weaponry and fighting style. They were known for their distinctive warrior’s culture. The warriors were trained in the arts of war from an early age, in the usage of several unique weapons, fighting techniques, and the now famous Haka dance. The Māori also built defensive fortifications (Pa) on strategic positions to defend their tribes.
The Māori warriors excelled in the art of ambush and surprise raids, appearing and disappearing swiftly and noiselessly into the thick New Zealand natural rainforest environment. They usually attacked at dawn. The aim was to kill all members of the enemy war party, so that no survivors would remain with the risk of "utu" (revenge).

20/02/2025

The people of New Zealand, commonly known as "Kiwis," are renowned for their warmth, friendliness, and laid-back attitude. New Zealand is a multicultural society, with a blend of indigenous Māori culture and influences from European, Pacific Island, and Asian communities. This diversity is reflected in the country's rich cultural tapestry, where people embrace inclusivity, mutual respect, and a shared love for the outdoors.
Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, make up a significant part of the population, and their culture plays a crucial role in the country's identity. Many New Zealanders are proud of their Māori heritage, and Māori language, art, and traditions are celebrated throughout the country. This connection to the Māori culture can be seen in aspects like the haka (a traditional war dance), tribal tattoos, and the importance placed on family and community.
The European (mainly British) influence, along with a growing presence of Asian and Pacific Island cultures, has shaped the modern Kiwi identity. English is the predominant language, but te reo Māori (the Māori language) has been gaining recognition, and some New Zealanders are bilingual.
New Zealanders are known for their outdoor lifestyle, and many Kiwis take part in activities like hiking, rugby, surfing, and cycling. There’s a deep connection to nature, with a strong focus on sustainability and environmental conservation. Kiwis are also incredibly sports-minded, particularly when it comes to rugby, which is a source of national pride.
Generosity, openness, and a relaxed attitude toward life are characteristics commonly associated with New Zealanders. Their approach to life is often described as "down-to-earth," and they tend to value work-life balance, community, and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.