Keen as mustard! Queen Maxima wears bright yellow coat and excitedly pets fluffy kiwi in New Zealand

Dutch royals are embarking on a three-day tour of New Zealand

Netherlands royals — King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands meet a kiwi named Elvis during a visit to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand Kai Schwoerer/ Getty Images

Fresh from a state visit to Australia, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are embarking on a three-day tour of New Zealand taking in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.

The Dutch queen, 45 – who is renowned for her unique and often garish colour choices – was clad in a mustard-hued collarless coat which she wore over a nude dress with pillar box hat and stilettos when she visited Willowbank Wildlife Reserve today (8 November).

The mother-of-four wowed onlookers with her eye-catching ensemble as she stepped out of a silver car in Quake City, Christchurch.

While at the zoo, the royal couple met a kiwi named Elvis and Maxima was not coy when it came to petting the flightless fluffy bird. Maxima and Willem-Alexander – who were married in 2002 after first meeting in Seville, Spain – were also spotted giggling together on a tram ride. The couple are often seen playfully joking with each other and appeared in good spirits.

The couple had just completed a two-day trip of Perth which coincided with the 400<sup>th anniversary of Dutch skipper Dirk Hartog arriving at an island off Western Australia's coast.

While in Sydney they attended a concert at the Opera House where Maxima donned an unusual colour block satin gown and joined Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy.

Maxima and Lucy appeared to get on famously as they chatted among the audience before the show began.

The Dutch royals later boarded a ferry to Cockatoo Island, taking in landmarks including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Queen Maxima channelled 1960s style on this outing (3 November) sporting a satin headdress over her sleek up-do. She also wore a light brown long-sleeved blouse tucked into a multicoloured striped A-line skirt.

While on Cockatoo Island, the king wore a cattleman's hat when he gave a speech at the Rabobank Farm2Fork summit. The couple were also shown fertilisation methods used in farming.