Thank you, @mino, for the affirmation. I agree: this looks like the sort of illustration one might see in a bird identification book. It is precisely for this reason that I have mixed feelings about it. Nevertheless, it is a real photograph (you can have a play-raw of it if you wish) and the misty clouds made for benign lighting.
On the same short trip to NZ I captured another Tui in a wildlife reserve: https://discuss.pixls.us/t/preachin-parson-bird/57019 - which is a more natural depiction, but the complex lighting of that one is more of a distraction.
Thanks, once again, for the compliments!