Chill Sweets!That is a Giant Weta, it is the size of a mouse and they eat dead wood and can be found in wood piles and leaf litter in the forests of the South Island. they are infact rather rare because they are hunted by short-tail bats which unlike normal bats like to land on the ground and dig in the leaf litter like hedgehogs. The Giant Weta are very docile and I have to admit that though I have occasionally seen the smaller common tree weta... I have never found a Giant one... Yes I would love to. I think they're rare because of domestic cats that hunt them...Sweets this is our short-tailed bat... his dinner is the same size as he is

EEEEEEEEK! BATS...WTF???????? Debz you said come on down to NZ nothing creepy crawly here!! LIARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Konifur these are our native bats... they are a bit cofused and 'Batty' because unlike other bats these ones get down on the forest floor and crawl around like hedgehogs... except they are the size of bigish mice, about 3inches long... and they eat bugs, especially wetas. You would like them if you ever come face to face with our nippy little tree wetas... and inch and a half of attitude if you try to push them around.

agh maaaan it just gets worse.i bound to get stung, bitten or nipped by some dodgy critter.

Hey I love these guys... I have seen grown men stand on chairs when these fellas come in the house but they just nip if you tackle them... I live on the size theory... Big shoe meet squishy bug... game. set and match!