Magical Getaway With Birds

Lochmara Lodge in Queen Charlotte Sound captured the magic of New Zealand for Penn Live blogger Ann Witmer. “One-time paua diver Shayne Olsen started the lodge to house backpackers tramping the 71km Queen Charlotte Track,” Witmer explains. “It is now a vibrant centre for the arts and a wildlife recovery centre as well as a lodge. In the lodge’s bird sanctuary, kakariki fearlessly fed from our hands. After dark, we followed a path to a cave-like damp wall that glistened with glowworms. It’s far away, it’s down under … New Zealand is a breath of fresh air.”