Auckland Zootopia (February 22, 2026)
When Will Carmody arrived from New York yesterday, he was feeling a bit under the weather (so no SkyJump or SkyWalk for him). However, today it was Violet not feeling 100%, so Will, Elena and I checked out the Auckland Zoo together. We came to see the bird the residents of New Zealand are often referred to:
No, not “Cannibalism”: Kiwi. And Kiwi birds, not the kiwi fruit.
For years, I thought New Zealanders were named Kiwis after the fruit. It wasn’t until I first visited Austrailia a good decade or two ago with Elena when I was first informed of the endangered, flightless bird:
A great illustration of what Kiwi birds actually look like
The Kiwi bird has nearly imperceptible wings at 3 centimeters in length. Elena shared her observation that Kiwis look like a furry cantaloupe (with a beak). Some other odd facts about the Kiwi bird:
Kiwi bird fun facts. Enjoy!
The point here is that until today, I never actually saw a Kiwi bird live moving around. Elena took a video, but I’m not going to upload it here as it’s like watching really weak night vision video. Kiwis are nocturnal, so the zoo has their “night time” simulated during the day by keeping the space pitch black (and I imagine simulating daylight with UV lights at night). They are very cute and the first one we watched was terrified of being watched, but hungry enough to run out and grab food. The others didn’t seem to mind being observed.
Me: Let’s BE the monkeys and play in a similar habitat
Will: You bet. I like hanging out. But what about …
…being a meerkat! That looks like fun too.
We had a ball. Will was genuinely excited to go to the zoo. When Elena first suggested it, I felt like I was being a “good sport” and playing along, but I had just as much fun as Elena and Will. This zoo is one of the best designed zoos I can remember visiting. It had everything and we had so much fun we ended up staying 300% longer than we planed. Elena thought we’d stay for 2 hours, and we ended up walking around for 6 (and only felt exhausted in that last part of the last hour).
3 out of 4 Carmodys love the Auckland Zoo. (Violet was feeling sick).
A few visual highlights that I can share …
A picture I took of the tiger sleeping so close to the viewing glass
So, wonderful 6 hours at the Auckland Zoo today. Just one funny story before I wrap up. I’m finally adjusted to sitting on the right side of the car driving on the left. But even with all my adjustments, this sign sums up what it’s like to drive in Auckland. While the drivers are nicer than my fellow drivers in New York (and Boston), it’s mostly single lane roads and crazy ass signs like this one:
Google & Apple Maps: You’ve met your match in Auckland, NZ!
Regardless, we’re having a blast here in New Zealand and enjoying our last few days here until we head to Fiji on Wednesday (2/25/26).
