Being a ‘frequent flyer’ member at Zealandia, it means we can make last minute decisions to visit at any time. Our original plan was to visit a local park to see if there were any pukeko chicks but unfortunately not only where there not many pukeko but their food source, the oxygen weed was all but gone too. 
So plan B became a visit to Zealandia. I wanted to get to the discovery area and if the boat was running to shorten the trip, I might just be able to walk there. It wasn’t but I still made it with the aid of a crutch and lots of rests along the way. I am suffering for it today but am glad I managed it.
I took my new lens to see how it would perform in the bush and in retrospect it was probably no better than my other big lens. No light is still no light regardless of what glass you use. I am not keen on using the flash with birds so left that at home.
One thing the big lens did do, was slow me down and make me sit in one spot to get the images (a good chance to rest my feet). It is so heavy that I have to use a tripod and gimbal to use it. And if it wasn’t for my long suffering husband, I wouldn’t have been able to get it up there at all.
I spent an hour and a half with the Hihi and Bellbirds before heading back home to check out my images. Nothing outstanding but I managed some nice images of the hihi males and I am happy with that. The females were a little more coy and avoided the camera. Enjoy! 
