In a somewhat surprising yet not uninteresting turn of events in the middle of our journey through New Zealand, we ended up at a farm stay in the central part of the North Island. We arrived at the Big Bird B&B in the afternoon on Christmas Day, after flying into Auckland and then driving two hours south. We were welcomed by our friendly hosts, Ann & Russ. Previously unknown to us, it turns out that they live on a farm with a large assortment of animals, all used to interacting with people. None of said animals are native to New Zealand, with the exception of the statue of a 12 ft. Moa (which is extinct), but it was still a great time!
Guests are invited on a free farm tour every night at 6pm; visitors are charged $5. Ann was busy tidying up the rooms for a full house of guests so Russ was in charge of the tour. We started off in the ostrich pen. Russ shared that you typically wouldn’t be able to get so close to ostriches as they tend to be very territorial, so we were a bit timid at first. However, he could tell they were very welcoming at that moment with no signs of aggression… so why not.
While we walked around the lot, the two ostriches (who seemed to think they were also human) weaved in and out of the group as they followed us across the field. One of them was not fond of the farm cat and took an aggressive stance upon spotting her, but the cat was quickly shooed away and all was well again. They were very up close and personal – at one point pecking Brittany on the back of the neck (noticing a shirt tag) and at Nico’s shoelaces.
From there, we visited miniature breeds of bulls, cows, pigs, cats, donkeys, horses and many other normal breed animals. Afterwards Ann informed us that this was Russ’s first attempt at giving a tour, but he did a fantastic job answering questions and entertaining us with jokes.
The rooms were nice, rustic yet clean. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying our previously made egg sandwiches (made in anticipation of store closures on Christmas) and wine with our hosts and the rest of the B&B guests (a family from Hawaii and mother/son from NZ), which made for a memorable Christmas dinner with great conversation. In the morning, we were treated to a fresh ostrich egg scramble that was simply superb – another first.
We were only looking for a place to spend the night on our way to the glowworm caves in Waitomo but ended up having a really unique, memorable experience!
This B&B sounds awesome! Strolling around with ostriches, miniature animals (the hairy cow photo is adorable), great hosts, and an ostrich egg scramble…sounds like a treat. I have yet to make my way to New Zealand, but when I do I will be sure to contact you for some trip planning details.