Made by the National Film Unit, New Zealand Mirror was a 'magazine-film' series geared towards the British market. Accompanied by nationalistic, upbeat narration, this first episode covers New Zealand Birds, and efforts to harness Rotorua's Natural Heat. It visits a game park to see kiwi ("definitely queer birds") where, in a Disney-esque scene, two children meet a one-legged kiwi with a bamboo peg-leg; and boats over to Kāpiti Island to meet rockhopper penguin, tūī, kākā and weka. Meanwhile the Rotorua segment features geothermal cooking, backyard geysers, and heated baths and pools.