Sunday in Nelson and Squid in Wellington

Nelson in South Island is a fine place to be. On Sunday when we got there we went to call in at this fine establishment. This was a chapel but it's now a pub going by the name of the Free House and it's been voted one of the best bars in New Zealand. We were very lucky to be able to sample the fine ale that was on tap including beer served from the only handpumps in this part of the country. This felt more like a proper pub than anywhere else we've been to - very relaxed and a real mix of clientale (sorry I'm sure that should be spelt clientele!)

 

This is the New Zealand Fantail! A bright chirpy bird - these little so and so's seemed to follow us everywhere when we were walking in the bush on North Island. Apparently what they do is go for the little insects that we've disturbed as we brush against bushes. They then swoop down with a very erratic flickering flight - very difficult to photograph cos they move so quickly. And then in South Island, right outside our balcony in Nelson I saw a bunch of fantails swooping around. But they were jet black! I couldn't find them on the Wikipedia list of NZ birds or indeed anywhere else until I googled

'Nelson' and 'fantails' - and there they were - the same species but a variant that seems to occur only in that area of South Island. Well this is clearly designed to confuse foreign twitchers like me. However we've seen lots of other weird and wonderful wildlife like pied stilts, pied shags, great black shags and various indigenous birdies.
And so to the New Zealand's Te Papa Museum in Wellington, not just interesting on account of it being a big (free which was good!) all encompassing museum of everything Kiwi, but it houses a big bath containing the 'squid'. Oh yes this is a big squid!

The largest example of a 'Colossal Squid' on display anywhere n the world - it's nearly three time as long as I am! Only about 5 metres, but others twice the size have been found in NZ waters. The captain of the fishing vessel who found this a few years ago could have obviously made a fortune supplying all of the restaurants in Wellington with squid for a month but we think he chose the best option - he is now commemorated in the Te Papa museum along with this very well preserved specimen.

And while this is happening there is history in the making - we then went to Golding's Dive Bar (handpumped beer again!) round the corner and the barmaid told us about the really big one found last week. I'm afraid there has been a bit of a seafood theme this week but that's the way it goes!This new big big big squid (7 metres in length) is apparently on ice waiting for six scientists to jet in from Japan (the expert six squid seekers) to come and probe it with endoscopes, etc., to see what sex it is. Well where do you start?  (Footnote to all this - pie of the week was a Thai Green Curry pie eaten 'al fresco' on the seafront at Petone! Delicious!)

I'm a sick squid!