Today we took an exciting tour around the Otago Peninsula, a crenellated outcrop of land extending from the mainland into the Pacific Ocean. Our hosts were a pair of marine biologists whose job it was to expand our knowledge of New Zealand wildlife.
Before this gets going too far, I have to describe New Zealand Customs and Immigration. We got off the airplane in Auckland and headed for the immigration line. The guy in uniform glanced at our passports, asked us how long we were staying, and waved us through. Couldn’t care less. “Another pair of tourists. Great for our economy, just so they don’t stay too long.” That’s my authoritative read on what he was thinking.
Customs is a different matter.
On the way toward the long stainless steel tables you pass large yellow bins into which you’re supposed to discard any vegetable material for food before you attempt to get through. Wow, these guys are serious.
“Any fruit or vegetables?”
“No.”
“Any tents or camping gear?”
“No.”
“Any boots or hiking gear?”
“Yes, hiking boots.”
“Can you remove them from your luggage, please?”
We’d been prepared for this. The guidebooks and the New Zealand tourist websites inform you that NZ does not allow ANY kind of non-native animal or vegetable material to enter the country. And they are supposed to very strict about these matters. But I’ve driven to California several times, and you see the signs: “No Produce May Enter California,” “Cars Are Subject to Search,” “Prepare to Be Stopped.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve seen ONE checkpoint; every other time I’ve driven from Arizona to California all I’ve seen is a Love’s truck stop and a whole lot of sand. Governments say these things to cover their butts.
Not New Zealand. The guy checked the soles of my boots. Now, since I was a naïve newcomer, I’d heeded the warnings and scrubbed my soles with a toothbrush. Good thing I did! He approved of my clean Vibram soles and sent us on through. All this to display that while New Zealand welcomes human visitors, it welcomes no other species to its shores.
As we drove out the Otago Peninsula, our guides informed us that except for a few stands of native manuka trees, none of the plants we would see was native to New Zealand. All imported. Grass, fir trees, oaks, shrubs, gorse (gorse? You mean that stumpy, thorny bush from Scotland? Aye, gorse. Leave it to the Scots to bring gorse to a rainforest), all have been brought over from somewhere else. Oh, yes, and thistles. The Scots brought those over, too. And thistles are one of the most invasive species of plant in the world. And hard to kill.
There are a few species of animal left in New Zealand, which it was our specific task this afternoon to find and observe. But so many are non-native. Sheep, for one. Alright, so sheep are a necessity. But rabbits? Who brought the rabbits over? “The British who wanted something to hunt.” Wanted something to hunt? They come to pristine rainforest with their own supply of meat and wool, then let loose the little buggers so they can hunt? Sigh. Well, now New Zealand can’t get rid of their rabbits because they reproduce like . . . well, like rabbits.
“Oh, look! There’s a hedgehog!” Says one of the other tourists in her British accent. “Are hedgehogs native?”
“No,” says the wildlife guide.
“Why would they bring over hedgehogs?” My question exactly.
“To eat the slugs and snails that infested their English herb gardens.”
So they’re more than cute. Good thinking on the Brits’ part.
Well, now tourists pay top-dollar to go see the native species of New Zealand fauna that are coming back after years of devastation by hunters and collateral damage of colonization. To New Zealanders’ great credit, the government here is quite mindful of the unique ecology of this archipelago and spends a good deal of money annually to ensure that native species are not driven to extinction. Taxpayers and tourists foot the bill for these efforts, and we were glad to do our part as members of the latter group.
Good on ya, New Zealand!
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