Caution: Kiwi crossing!

April 10, 2017 • 9:00 am

Only in New Zealand will you see these signs. This was taken near the village of National Park:

And some sad news from this country: beloved Kiwi comedian John Clarke (aka “Fred Dagg”) has died at only 68 while on a hike. Heather has posted a retrospective at her site.

26 thoughts on “Caution: Kiwi crossing!”

    2. It’s a sticker someone else put on the sign. It’s been there a while because it can no longer be read. Vandalism is alive and well!

  3. Jerry, I like your naked feet in sandals. For me from April 1 to October 15 it’s sandal time independent on weather conditions.

    1. They’re not sandals. This is NZ so he’s dressed appropriately in jandals (flip-flops)! 🙂

  5. The silhouette of that creature looks bizarre. The bird itself is egg shaped.

    I’m wondering if the tall grass is endemic or a cultivar. It resembles some I’ve seen at the garden shop.

    1. That’s an endemic genus, Austroderia. There are four species. The related South American genus Cortaderia is also represented in New Zealand by four naturalised species that are becoming major weeds. The native ones have flower heads that droop at the tips; the naturalised ones have straight flower heads.

      1. In a natural area here(NY) I saw (while flying overhead) a weird pattern. I later inquired and found out authorities had been spraying invasive grasses from the fields of natives. It’s a big problem, especially where oceanic shipping brings bits of things from all over the world.

      2. I find both equally decorative (and only experts can tell the difference).

        From Tangiwai to Ohakune to National Park there are long stands of them alongside the railway line and they look glorious when they’re all in flower (not sure if they bother hay-fever sufferers though).

        cr

  7. Tamaranui is the birthplace of the outstanding Kiwi expert on molecular phylogenies, David Penny (now at Massey University in Palmerston North). Thanks to David’s efforts and encouragement, New Zealand has more good work on phylogenetic methods per capita than anywhere.

    It is also the subject of a great song

    1. No snakes in NZ. (Something I find quite comforting when walking in the bush).

      I think those are Jandals (or ‘thongs’) that Jerry is wearing – a highly dangerous torture device in slippery conditions. If you step on a boulder or similar, your foot slips sideways off the sole into the gravel or other sharp objects, while the strap between your toes tries to twist your toes off.

      I once borrowed my wife’s jandals for walking on the reef in Rarotonga. After a few yards I took the horrid things off since they were literally worse than useless and came back to shore cautiously and barefoot – something I ‘never’ do on the reef.

      cr

        1. Well, seriously, Jandals are protective against sharp gravel or splinters on flat level ground. But on uneven ground, steps etc, they can be a tripping hazard and they’re not very protective. Because they’re only really anchored at one point, at the front between your toes.

          Regular sandals are far more securely anchored.

          cr

  9. We Australians, of course, like to claim John Clarke as one of ours. We do this with any Kiwi who gets famous – Russel Crowe, Tim Finn (Split Enz and Crowded House), Ernest Rutherford, Keith Urban – the list goes on. Clarke made Australia his home for almost 40 years, so we feel some justification. There are some lovely tributes on the (Australian) ABC website abc dot net door au.

    1. Clarke made his name first here as Fred Dagg*, and that’s how we remember him. You claim Rutherford!? Wow, some cheek! You can keep Russel Crowe, but Phar Lap and pavlova are ours.

      *A dag is a drop of hard dried poo and wool hanging from the tail end of a sheep, hence “Rattle ya dags!” meaning “Hurry up!”

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