I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the birds. Now, IANAO (“I am not an ornithologist”) but even I was gobsmacked by the sheer variety of birds throughout New Zealand. I saw more species of birds in two weeks in New Zealand than I had in my entire life up until that point.
Before the coming of man, these islands truly were a paradise for birds. And birds filled every ecological niche, even those that are filled by mammals in other ecosystems. It’s fascinating.