In search of the real deal

“When you’re a New Zealander, or ‘Kiwi’, as they like to call themselves, you seem to take that rite-of-passage world trip for a year or two — sleeping in hostels and living out of a backpack — more serious than any other culture,” Stephan Lorenz writes for Houston’s Culture Map. “Well, maybe just second to the Brits. After having met my fair share of kiwis during my own travels and eating the synonymously named fruit (fresh, with peel, without peel, in salads and baked goods) until it became as exotic as another apple, it was finally time to see the real deal.” Lorenz sets out to track down the elusive bird “spend[ing] hours at night wandering through New Zealand’s most pristine places”, travelling to Stewart Island and Trounson Kauri Park in Northland. “Did I manage to spot a kiwi in the wild? I am proud to say I saw three different kinds … All hail the kiwi.”