So here's a cool bit of NZ history. Apparently in the 1800s red deer were introduced from England for sport, along with all kinds of other animals like mountain goats and wild sheep, etc. Turns out the climate and habitat suited them so well that within a couple of years the deer numbered in the millions. Once the Europeans noticed they were destroying the native flora they decided to take some action towards limiting their numbers. This consisted of professional hunters setting themselves up in the more remote areas of the country, notably the West Coast and the South West, and attempting to hunt the deer to extinction. Business really picked up with the advent of airplane and helicopter hunting, allowing hunters to keep up with entire groups as they fled over the rough, mountainous terrain and pick them off one by one. Kind of a sad story, but seeing as the deer weren't meant to be there in the first place I guess it was for the best.

By the mid 1900s more than 2 million had been killed, hauled out of the wilderness, and butchered for meat. Around 1970 their numbers were so low that the prices for venison skyrocketed. That's when some bright entrepreneur decided it would be better to haul LIVE deer out of the wilderness to breed in captivity, ensuring a constant supply of venison. So what do the Kiwis do? They go out and fly around in helicopters till they find a deer, then the pilot maneuvers real close in and follows it within a few feet as it runs, until the hunter LEAPS FROM THE HELICOPTER ONTO THE ANIMALS BACK AND WRESTLES IT TO THE GROUND! Then they truss up its feet, string it to the helicopter, and lift it right out of the woods and land it in some nice, green, fenced pastures. Pretty crazy. I thought the guy who told us about it was making it up, until we watched a video of people actually doing it.. I think this has got our American cowboys beat. (This method didn't last for terribly long, as it was of course very hard on the hunters, and with the help of tranquilizer darts and net guns they now bring down the deer BEFORE grabbing hold of it.)

In the mid 90's a couple of Kiwi experts in the field even helped American conservation groups to round up American bison and moose with the same net-and-lift methods, in order to relocate them onto protected reserves. I imagine if someone had tried jumping onto the back of the bison and wrestling it to the ground, his trampled remains would've deterred the technique from gaining popularity in the States.

On our recent bus rides we've passed a few venison farms, and there's something pretty strange about going by a field filled with a couple hundred deer, just standing around in broad daylight like cows. Kelly says if that's the only thing she sees in this country she'll still be impressed. :)



Today we arrived in Franz Josef Glacier, after a couple of days in Greymouth. We're really in the wilds of New Zealand now, and the mountains are growing with every hour we drive south. The coast is beautiful but dangerous, with strong currents and rocky shores. On our way south from Nelson to Greymouth we stopped at a fur seal colony on Cape Foulwind (so named by Captain Cook for the strong winds which blew him off course) to attempt photos of the handful of seals basking on the rocks. Then we wandered among the pancake rocks and blowholes of Punakaiki. It was pretty awesome looking, and the sound of the ocean as it flows into and out of the natural rock formations is thunderous. Unfortunately my camera batteries were about dead, so I only got a handful of pictures.
Tomorrow we're going on a half-day guided kayak tour of Lake Mapourika, which is at the base of the Alps. It's a "black water" lake, darkened by the tannins leached into the water as it runs from the glacier down through the rainforest and into the valley, and known for its mirror-like reflections of the mountains. We'll also paddle up the river that feeds into it, getting a look at the temperate rainforest on either side. We're both pretty psyched about it.

Pictures soon, I promise!