New Zealand Trip 2014: Wednesday

Until the 1980s, the island of Tiritiri Matangi was used primarily for farming and sheepherding, but after a few centuries of such use the land was worn out. Some conservation-minded New Zealanders (and there are many) decided to buy the entire island and turn it into a bird refuge.

The only problem was that cultivation and overgrazing had decimated the island's original flora, so native plants had to be restored. Volunteers planted more than 200,000 trees and shrubs to provide a habitat that would attract native birds back to the island. Some rare species were imported from other bird sanctuaries with the hope that they would thrive on Tiritiri Matangi--which they have. The nature conservancy that administers the refuge works tirelessly to make sure that the island stays free of predators such as rats, stoats, weasels, and fire ants. No dogs are allowed, either.

It had been raining when we left the apartment and drove to the ferry landing at Gulf Harbour, about 80 km northeast of Takapuna. Because there is only one outbound ferry to Tiritiri Matangi in the morning and one inbound in the late afternoon, we had to be on time. Traffic through Auckland was heavier than we expected, so even though DeEtte was driving as fast as she safely could, we were afraid we might miss the boat. We had already purchased our tickets, so Michael called the ferry operator to ask if they would hold it for us, which they agreed to do. We have found the Kiwis to be very gracious and accomodating to visitors; they seem genuinely interested in making sure that we have a pleasant experience.

As it turned out, the ferry itself was late arriving in Gulf Harbour, so we were there in plenty of time to meet it. Before we could board, however, each passenger had to thoroughly clean his or her shoes to ensure that no "foreign" microbes or insect eggs would be taken to the island. (Several devices that looked like open shoeboxes lined with brushes were provided for that purpose; they worked very well.) We also were not allowed to bring any open bags or equipment that might harbor ants, rodents or other vermin. Michael's zipped-up daypack passed muster, but Nancy and DeEtte had to enclose their drawstring packs in tightly sealed plastic bags before they could go aboard.

During the forty-minute ride to the island, we realized that some of our fellow passengers were not just day- trippers. Several had loaded a number of well-taped cardboard boxes, presumably full of food and other vermin-free supplies for a longer stay at Tiritiri's camping facility. One man was carrying a carton containing a toilet tank top. A small trolley was waiting at the end of the long wharf to trundle the heavier cargo onto the island.

Marie, DeEtte, Michael, Nancy, and Peter

Those of us who had signed up for the guided tour were then divided into several small groups, each led by a volunteer from the nature conservancy. Our guide, Marie, was an older woman who had grown up across the bay and knew the native birds very well. Besides the three of us Americans, the only other member of our group was Peter, a bearded Scot with leathery skin who now lives in Switzerland because he prefers climbing mountains to playing golf. Michael was really impressed when Peter told him that he had climbed all 53 of Colorado's "fourteeners" (peaks over 14,000 feet; Michael is proud to have climbed one of them). Apparently Peter is also an avid birder, because he was hoping that today's bird sightings would help him reach 100 species on his New Zealand list. Obviously, we were way out of our league in this company. We like to think of ourselves as "minor birders" because we can identify most of the birds that visit our backyard feeder--but it's a good thing no one asked how often we remember to fill it.

Marie led our little group across Hobbs Beach and then up the Kawerau Track into the woods. Where it crossed wet areas, the narrow track was covered with wooden planks, and stairs aided long ascents and descents. Part of the trail goes through the only area of old-growth forest left on the island, so it is home to birds that prefer to live in dead, hollow trees. In the areas that were replanted only thirty years ago, the forest canopy is lower, making it easy to spot birds in the treetops.

By lunchtime we had returned to the trailhead and reached the end of the guided tour. After consuming the chicken sandwiches DeEtte had prepared for us, we struck off on our own toward the lighthouse on the other side of the island. By that time, we seen five species of birds and were eager to check a few more off our list.

The East Coast Track from the lighthouse followed the edge of a cliff far above the water, then turned and went across a grassy meadow. The variety of vegetation on the island was pretty impressive--especially when you consider that most of it had been hand-planted.

We were enjoying the scenery, but as the afternoon wore on we realized that we had not added any new bird species to our list. We were especially keen to see a red-crowed parakeet before we left the island, so we headed back into the forest on the Kawerau Track.

We leave Tiritiri Matangi in the wake of the ferry.

Michael found the pool a little chilly.

We must have become more adept at spotting the birds ourselves, because in the next half-hour we added four more species to our list--but no parakeet. Then, just before we reached the end of the track, we saw a flash of green above our heads. The parakeet settled on a branch and allowed us to admire it for several minutes. We were thrilled!

After we got back to the apartment, Michael decided to try the pool in the yard downstairs while Nancy cleaned up some of his blog posts and DeEtte prepared a delicious salmon salad for our dinner. When the salad was gone, we began identifying the various species of sorbet in the freezer (lemon, lime, and a rare mango). It went very well with some dark chocolate-dipped ginger cookies DeEtte urged on us, and the macadamia shortbread we hadn't consumed the day before.

Ahhh . . . .

For the benefit of our birder friends: Below are the species we sighted today. There are kiwis on Tiritiri Matangi, but we didn't expect to see any today because they are nocturnal and extremely shy. (DeEtte has lived in New Zealand for over a year and still hasn't seen one.)