The forest is making a racket. I pause to listen near a 400 year-old rimu tree with my Orokonui Ecosanctuary guide, Taylor Davies-Colley. The melodious flute, bells and whistles of the korimako/bellbird are the loudest, followed by the tūī’s rapid-fire flips between clicks, rattles and bleeps, which sound more like the labouring of an experimental composer than a forest bird.
“Can you hear that?” says Davies-Colley. “Can I hear what?” I reply. I can hear lots of things, but nothing I can name. After a fortnight feeling reasonably at home in Aotearoa New Zealand, this land suddenly feels very foreign.
