# Tyrannosaurus Tourist

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 16 Mar 2026, 16 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70592867/at478_tyrannosaurustourist_mixdown.mp3

A Tyrannosaurus takes a trip to New Zealand. Written especially for this podcast by Simon. If you enjoyed this story, please do leave us a review. And, if you'd like to suggest an animal for a future Animal Tales story, you can do so by emailing podcast@animaltales.uk. We would love to hear from you. Animal Tales Books! Collections of Animal Tales children’s stories are available to buy exclusively at Amazon. Simply search for Animal Tales Short Stories or follow this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CLJQZ9C9?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi Become a PREMIUM Subscriber You can now enjoy Animal Tales by becoming a Premium Subscriber. This gets you: • All episodes in our catalogue advert free • Bonus Premium-only episodes (one per week) which will never be used on the main podcast • We guarantee to use one of your animal suggestions in a story You can sign up through Apple Podcasts or through Supercast and there are both monthly and yearly plans available. Discover a brand new story every Monday, Wednesday and Friday – just for you! You can find more Animal Tales at www.animaltales.uk A Note About The Adverts In order to allow us to make these stories we offer a premium subscription and run adverts. The adverts are not chosen by us, but played automatically depending on the platform you listen through (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc) and the country you live in. The adverts may even be different if you listen to the story twice. We have had a handful of instances where an advert has played that is not suitable for a family audience, despite the podcast clearly being labelled for children. If you’re concerned about an advert you hear, please contact the platform you are listening to directly. Spotify, in particular, has proven problematic in the past, for both inappropriate adverts and the volume at which the adverts play. If you find this happening, please let Spotify know via their Facebook customer care page. As creators, we want your child’s experience to be a pleasurable one. Running adverts is necessary to allow us to operate, but please do consider the premium subscription service as an alternative – it’s advert free.

## Transcript

[0:12] Speaker 1: Yeah. Hello, My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
[0:18] Speaker 1: Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
[0:23] Speaker 1: There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
[0:26] Speaker 1: with a third premium only story every Friday. Please continue
[0:31] Speaker 1: to share Animal Tales with your friends and leave us
[0:34] Speaker 1: reviews where you can. Joshua is from Derby in England
[0:40] Speaker 1: and he would like a story featuring a Tarannasaurus rex.
[0:44] Speaker 1: You can learn more about these creatures in the animal
[0:46] Speaker 1: facts after the story. Okay, are you ready? That's good,
[0:52] Speaker 1: then I'll begin. Taranasaurus tourist Whoo shouted the t Rex
[1:00] Speaker 1: out of the truck's window. He was driving down a
[1:04] Speaker 1: coastal road on New Zealand's South Island, enjoying the beautiful
[1:08] Speaker 1: landscape and seaview. It was such an amazing place and
[1:13] Speaker 1: he was enjoying every moment of it, but that enjoyment
[1:17] Speaker 1: was suddenly shattered by flashing blue lights in his rear
[1:20] Speaker 1: view mirror. The t Rex obediently pulled over safely to
[1:25] Speaker 1: the side of the road, and the police vehicle pulled
[1:28] Speaker 1: in behind him. A moment later, a female police officer
[1:33] Speaker 1: approached the truck's window Good morning, officer, said the t
[1:38] Speaker 1: rex politely. Um, yes, good morning, said the police officer,
[1:45] Speaker 1: somewhat sternly. We've had reports of an illegal animal being
[1:50] Speaker 1: released into the wild. Oh I'm sorry to hear that,
[1:55] Speaker 1: said the t rex. Is it serious, Oh, yes, said
[2:01] Speaker 1: the police officer. New Zealand is home to many creatures
[2:05] Speaker 1: found nowhere else on planet Earth, including many flightless birds.
[2:10] Speaker 1: We can't allow any animals from outside New Zealand to
[2:14] Speaker 1: threaten them. Quite right, agreed the t rex. So what's
[2:21] Speaker 1: that got to do with me? Exactly? Um, well, you see, sir,
[2:26] Speaker 1: said the officer, stumbling over her words. You're an animal
[2:31] Speaker 1: and you're out in the wild. So I'm afraid it's
[2:36] Speaker 1: you that's the illegal animal. No, that's not right, insisted
[2:43] Speaker 1: the t rex. I'm not an illegal animal that's been released.
[2:47] Speaker 1: I'm a tourist. The name's Joshua, a tourist, repeated the officer.
[2:55] Speaker 1: That's right, said Joshua, the t rex. I'm visiting your
[2:59] Speaker 1: one country. I've always wanted to come, you know, it's
[3:03] Speaker 1: my favorite place in the whole world. So you're not
[3:08] Speaker 1: going to stalk the country side and eat all the animals,
[3:12] Speaker 1: asked the officer. Goodness mean, no, laughed Joshua. I'm just
[3:18] Speaker 1: here to enjoy the scenery. Oh, said the police officer.
[3:23] Speaker 1: Well in that case, you'd best be on your way.
[3:27] Speaker 1: Joshua did just that, but not before shouting nice to
[3:32] Speaker 1: have met you as he went. Joshua had decided to
[3:37] Speaker 1: visit Arthur's Pass National Park, surrounded by amazing snow capped mountains.
[3:44] Speaker 1: He parked his truck outside a pretty lodge where he'd
[3:47] Speaker 1: booked a room, then walked inside. The man behind the
[3:51] Speaker 1: desk spilt his coffee when he saw a t rex
[3:55] Speaker 1: enter the reception area. Oh good, good afternoon, he spluttered
[4:01] Speaker 1: as he brushed at the hot liquid on his trousers.
[4:04] Speaker 1: Good afternoon to you too, smiled Joshua. I have a
[4:09] Speaker 1: reservation under the name Joshua tar Annosaurus. Oh yes, said
[4:16] Speaker 1: the man nervously. We were thinking that was some sort
[4:19] Speaker 1: of joke. A joke, why, asked Joshua innocently. Well, ha,
[4:28] Speaker 1: you see, we don't get many dinosaurs staying with us,
[4:32] Speaker 1: said the receptionist. Well perhaps that will change now I've
[4:37] Speaker 1: been said Joshua. I'm taking lots of photos. I plan
[4:42] Speaker 1: to show everyone I know how great it is. That's nice,
[4:47] Speaker 1: said the man. Look, I have to ask, while you're
[4:51] Speaker 1: staying at the lodge, is there any chance you might
[4:54] Speaker 1: eat some of the staff or other guests. Oh no,
[4:59] Speaker 1: chuckle Joshua. I'm a tourist, so I want to do
[5:04] Speaker 1: all the things a tourist does, and that includes enjoying
[5:07] Speaker 1: the very best for the menu in your restaurant. Oh,
[5:12] Speaker 1: said the receptionist as he handed over a key card. Well,
[5:17] Speaker 1: in that case, welcome to our lodge. Thank you, said Joshua,
[5:23] Speaker 1: and went off to find his room. Joshua was very
[5:27] Speaker 1: keen to experience as much of New Zealand's wonderful sights
[5:31] Speaker 1: as possible, which meant he just had to visit Charleston
[5:35] Speaker 1: Glowworm Caves, and so it was that he found himself
[5:39] Speaker 1: entering a cave entrance along with several other visitors. The
[5:44] Speaker 1: roof of the caves was covered with thousands upon thousands
[5:48] Speaker 1: of glowing strands, each one made by a tiny creature
[5:53] Speaker 1: called Oraknakampa luminosa, the New Zealand glowworm. It was like
[6:00] Speaker 1: staring up into a galaxy full of stars. Excuse me,
[6:06] Speaker 1: said a little girl to Joshua. All the visitors on
[6:10] Speaker 1: the tour were wearing a caving helmet with a light
[6:13] Speaker 1: on the front, although hers were slightly too big and
[6:17] Speaker 1: she kept having to push it up so she could
[6:19] Speaker 1: see properly. Are you a dinosaur? I am nodded Joshua.
[6:27] Speaker 1: I'm a Tyrannosaurus rex. Is this the cave where you live?
[6:32] Speaker 1: Asked the little girl. Oh no, replied Joshua. I'm not
[6:38] Speaker 1: from New Zealand. I'm just visiting. I'm a tourist like you,
[6:44] Speaker 1: so you're not going to eat me and my daddy.
[6:46] Speaker 1: Then she asked, no, laughed Joshua. I'm just here to
[6:52] Speaker 1: see the wonderful glow worm display, just like you are.
[6:57] Speaker 1: That's good, decided the girl. I hope you like it.
[7:02] Speaker 1: Oh I do, grinned Joshua happily. Joshua's next stop was
[7:10] Speaker 1: a night time guided tour to see a very special creature.
[7:14] Speaker 1: He made sure to get then nice and early, and
[7:17] Speaker 1: was met by a very surprised looking tour guide. Yikes,
[7:22] Speaker 1: said the tour guide, unable to help himself, Hello, said
[7:27] Speaker 1: Joshua with a friendly wave of his tiny arm. Are
[7:32] Speaker 1: you what I think you are? Gulped the tour guide.
[7:36] Speaker 1: I am nodded, Joshua, I'm a tourist, Oh, replied the
[7:43] Speaker 1: tour guide. That's not what I thought you were going
[7:46] Speaker 1: to say. Well, it looks like you may be the
[7:49] Speaker 1: only one to night. Shall we get on with it?
[7:53] Speaker 1: The pair of them marched off along a narrow trail
[7:56] Speaker 1: into the darkness, with the tour guide suggesting they be
[7:59] Speaker 1: as quiet as possible. They'd been walking for a few
[8:04] Speaker 1: moments when the tour guide lifted his hand to signal
[8:07] Speaker 1: that he'd seen something over there coming out of the
[8:12] Speaker 1: long grass. He whispered. Joshua looked over eagerly and was
[8:17] Speaker 1: delighted to see the shaggy brown feathers and long whiskers
[8:22] Speaker 1: of a flightless kiwi bird. It was inspecting the ground
[8:26] Speaker 1: with its long beak as it slowly walked forward. Um
[8:32] Speaker 1: can I just ask something? Said the tour guide, looking concerned.
[8:37] Speaker 1: What is it? Asked Joshua. You haven't come on this
[8:43] Speaker 1: tour so you can gobble up the kiwis that we see,
[8:45] Speaker 1: have you? What with you being a Tyrannosaurus rex and all?
[8:50] Speaker 1: Oh no, chortled Joshua. I could never do that. Tyrannosaurs
[8:57] Speaker 1: and birds are pretty much the same thing. Me and
[9:00] Speaker 1: this kiri are practically cousins. That's all right, then, said
[9:05] Speaker 1: the tour guide, looking relieved. Come on, let's see if
[9:09] Speaker 1: we can find another one. Sounds good to me, smiled Joshua.
[9:16] Speaker 1: The t rex had been very keen to see some
[9:18] Speaker 1: of New Zealand's marine life too, but this required him
[9:22] Speaker 1: hiring a kayak. The trouble was nobody had a tyrannosaur
[9:28] Speaker 1: a sized kayak available. In the end, he had to
[9:32] Speaker 1: use a large rowing boat instead, which sat very low
[9:36] Speaker 1: in the water, but it worked, so Joshua was able
[9:40] Speaker 1: to paddle with a group of other tourists around Tonga Island,
[9:44] Speaker 1: part of Abele Tasman National Park. It was an astounding experience,
[9:50] Speaker 1: with them seeing plenty of penguins and even a pair
[9:53] Speaker 1: of dolphins in the first fifteen minutes. However, Joshua soon
[9:59] Speaker 1: realized that one of their tour group, the teenage boy,
[10:03] Speaker 1: was far more interested in him than the creatures of
[10:06] Speaker 1: the sea. Are you enjoying it, Joshua asked the boy politely.
[10:13] Speaker 1: You're a dinosaur, mumbled the boy. Well spotted, said Joshua,
[10:21] Speaker 1: are you like part of the tour? The teenager asked,
[10:26] Speaker 1: I mean like, are you going to suddenly dive into
[10:29] Speaker 1: the water and attack the first seal that we see.
[10:34] Speaker 1: Oh no, said Joshua, visibly horrified at the thought. I've
[10:39] Speaker 1: come to look at the seals just like everyone else.
[10:43] Speaker 1: That's what being a tourist is all about. Oh, said
[10:48] Speaker 1: the teenager. So you're not like going to battle a
[10:52] Speaker 1: mossasaur or something. Goodness me, No, laughed Joshua. That would
[10:59] Speaker 1: scare the seals away. Then we wouldn't see anything, would
[11:03] Speaker 1: we guess? Not, agreed the teenager, appearing to be satisfied.
[11:10] Speaker 1: Oh oh, there are some seals, said Joshua, suddenly pointing
[11:15] Speaker 1: with his oar just above the shoreline. Together they paddled
[11:20] Speaker 1: a little closer to get a better look. Joshua had
[11:25] Speaker 1: been making the very most of his time in New Zealand,
[11:28] Speaker 1: seeing and experiencing as much as he possibly could, but
[11:33] Speaker 1: there was one thing he was still determined to do.
[11:37] Speaker 1: He'd heard of a Maori owned whale watching tour based
[11:41] Speaker 1: in the coastal town of kai Kura. He pulled his
[11:45] Speaker 1: truck up in sight of the sea and headed down
[11:48] Speaker 1: to the tour boat. A Maori woman greeted the big
[11:53] Speaker 1: dinosaur on the dock gazing up at his large head.
[11:57] Speaker 1: You're a big fella, aren't you, she said, I was
[12:01] Speaker 1: hoping to see some whales, said Joshua hopefully. Is there
[12:06] Speaker 1: any way you can fit me on board? The Maori
[12:10] Speaker 1: woman gestured to the whale watching boat beside them. Our
[12:14] Speaker 1: boats are big, she said, I think we can work
[12:17] Speaker 1: something out. So after much pushing and shoving, squeezing and squashing,
[12:25] Speaker 1: Joshua found himself on the top deck of the boat,
[12:28] Speaker 1: being blasted by salty sea spray as the boat raced
[12:32] Speaker 1: across the waves. The Maori tour guide was good enough
[12:37] Speaker 1: to sit with Joshua, telling him how her ancestors had
[12:40] Speaker 1: come to New Zealand on the back of a whale
[12:43] Speaker 1: long ago. What whales will we see? Asked Joshua excitedly.
[12:51] Speaker 1: Every day it's different, she explained, but you won't be disappointed,
[12:56] Speaker 1: and Joshua wasn't. He saw jo and sperm whales, leaping
[13:02] Speaker 1: humpback whales, and best of all, a gigantic blue whale,
[13:07] Speaker 1: the largest animal on the planet. Wow, said Joshua with awe.
[13:14] Speaker 1: It's not often I see a creature that's even bigger
[13:17] Speaker 1: than me. Joshua took lots of photos and was thrilled
[13:22] Speaker 1: to bits by every moment. Did you enjoy that, asked
[13:27] Speaker 1: the tour guide as they headed back to shore. Oh, yes,
[13:32] Speaker 1: beamed Joshua. I have seen so many amazing sights in
[13:38] Speaker 1: New Zealand, but the whale watching just has to be
[13:41] Speaker 1: the most impressive of them all. I'm so glad I've
[13:45] Speaker 1: saved it until last. I'm so pleased to have shared
[13:49] Speaker 1: it with you, grinned the woman. Do you know, said Joshua,
[13:55] Speaker 1: Suddenly you're the first person on this trip who hasn't
[13:59] Speaker 1: asked me if I'm about to eat someone or something?
[14:03] Speaker 1: Is that? So? Smiled the woman back at him. You
[14:07] Speaker 1: just looked like another happy tourus to me. Joshua grinned
[14:12] Speaker 1: at that, because that's exactly what he was. Animal fact,
[14:22] Speaker 1: Tyrannosaurus rex is quite possibly the most well known of
[14:26] Speaker 1: all the dinosaurs. This is despite the fact that we
[14:30] Speaker 1: only have around thirty skeletons and a selection of other
[14:34] Speaker 1: odd bones. T Rex is a North American dinosaur that
[14:39] Speaker 1: was alive at the end of the Cretaceous period, so
[14:42] Speaker 1: right up until the dinosaurs were wiped out by the
[14:45] Speaker 1: asteroid impact. Like other two legged carnivorous dinosaurs. It is
[14:51] Speaker 1: from the group of dinosaurs known as theropods, which is
[14:55] Speaker 1: where birds come from. They were large predators, growing up
[14:59] Speaker 1: to twelve meters that's almost forty feet in length and
[15:04] Speaker 1: standing six meters high that's around twenty feet So would
[15:09] Speaker 1: a t rex eat you if it ran into you?
[15:13] Speaker 1: Quite likely, although you'd be little more than a light snack.
[15:19] Speaker 1: Thank you for your suggestion, Joshua. We hope you enjoyed
[15:22] Speaker 1: the story, and thank you to all of you across
[15:25] Speaker 1: the world for listening to it. Remember, if you prefer
[15:29] Speaker 1: your stories advert free, then please consider our premium service
[15:34] Speaker 1: through Apple or supercarst for a tiny fee, the stories
[15:39] Speaker 1: are advert free. Join us next time for another great
[15:43] Speaker 1: animal tale. Goodbye,

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.