New Zealand (part two)
More Time (but not enough) New Zealand
For a map of New Zealand Journey Click here
It is the 9th April and another 3 weeks has flown by here. We are parked at Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula with the lights of Auckland gleaming across the sea over 20 km away. Tomorrow is our last day and is to be spent on a trip to the off-shore island of Tiritiri Matangi in the hopes of seeing some of the birds that no longer exist on the mainland due to imported predators.
Ed's note:-Tiritiri Matangi is an island in the Hauraki Gulf, 28 km north of Auckland. It is usually referred to as "Tiri" and has a long history of human use and habitation.
Since our stay in the Caitlins in the South East of South Island we have travelled up to Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. It's hard to say what we enjoyed the most there; the railway station itself with stained glass windows and floor mosaics (Royal Doulton porcelain); the rail journey through the Taieri Gorge to Pukerangi; the NZ film "Whale Rider" which explores Maori issues; the northern royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head (the only mainland colony in the world); the yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula. We travelled further up the east coast to Oamaru just to see blue penguins coming ashore - small, but noisy when back onshore!
Ed: Note from Department of Conservation (D.O.C) website:- Of all the species of penguins, the yellow-eyed is one of the world's rarest. Recent estimates consider that only 1200 -1600 breeding pairs remain, of which only 500 are on mainland New Zealand. Its Maori name is "Hoiho" meaning, "the noise shouter". It breeds on the south east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and as far south as sub-Antarctic Campbell Island.
We travelled back over to the west coast to see the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers; access to the terminal face of the latter was closed so we chose, rather than an expensive flyover by helicopter or plane or a guided ice-walk, to go on a track up to the Roberts Viewpoint. It was a lovely sunny day and a 3-hour walk up to the point where we could look out over the glacier. Well worth it. Up the west coast the scenery continued with lovely vistas of beaches and sculptured rocks. A lakeside stop afforded us the opportunity to speak to two Maori ladies who had been gathering rushes, to be dried and then woven into mats for a Marae (meeting-house) being built nearby. We turned eastwards through the gorge carved by the Buller river, and stopped to investigate the Lyell Walkway. This followed the route the miners took to the gold-workings. Jim was very interested in the ten-stamp battery whilst I was more impressed by the route back marked by a notice "Active landslide, one person at a time, move quickly"! The next excitement was crossing the Buller Gorge, first walking over NZ's longest swingbridge (110 m.), what we would call a suspension bridge, then returning on a "flying fox" harness! Heavy rain curtailed our exploration of the Abel Tasman National Park, but we were able to have a day's walk along the coastal track. Since there are no roads into the park we were taken by water taxi along the coast, and dropped on a beach enabling us to have a 4-hour walk back. The weather and scenery were lovely and we enjoyed a picnic and swim along the way. Soon it was time to take the return ferry trip from Picton on the South Island to Wellington on the North Island. Our first call was to the D.O.C. Information Office in the Government Buildings. These buildings are one of the largest all-wooden buildings in the world: built in 1876 and impressively restored recently.
Our route north took us through Napier to look at it's art deco architecture, then by contrast, to Te Urewera National Park.
Ed: Napier is surrounded by lush farmland with lots of vineyards and orchards. It is known as the 'Art Deco' capital of the world.
The 105 km. of gravel road was winding and uncomfortable but rewarded us with access to another attractive park of native forests and lakes. Historically a Maori stronghold, we were to come closest to seeing something of Maori life in this area. By chance in Murupara, at a takeaway fish and chip shop (!), we read a notice about an event at the local hall that evening. We found out that anyone could go, and in due course found ourselves (as part of a very small white minority) in what appeared to be the school hall. First young children performed Maori songs and dances, then following teenage youths on guitar, a group of 21 men and 16 women performed action song and dance rituals - their enthusiasm was matched only by the fantastic reception from the audience. This was not a manufactured performance for tourists but a vigorous expression of their cultural tradition that we felt lucky to have seen.
Another treat, at the river estuary at Albert Town, was to watch no less than six kingfishers feeding in the early morning sun. We were on our way, north of Auckland, to visit the Kauri Museum at Matakohe and the Koniri forests a little further north. The former had superb exhibits of timber processing and products, sounds boring but it wasn't. The Kauri trees, some over 2000 years old, were impressive.
Last night was spent at a D.O.C. campsite in the Waipoua Kauri Forest. It was ironic that the grounds were full of rabbits and we saw our first live possum there (there are 80 million possums estimated to be in NZ and most sightings are of dead ones on the road). Indigenous species have suffered to the point of extinction because of these and other predators that have been imported, either due to competition for food or to direct predation. D.O.C. are making various attempts to control the invaders by trapping or poison, and maintaining some areas as havens. We visited one such, the Mt. Bruce National Wildlife Centre, where we were able to see rare native birds including kokapo, kaka and kiwi (in a nocturnal house)
Due to a 5 hour delay for our Air NZ flight back to Tahiti, we can end our NZ report on a happy note. Our visit to Tiritiri Manamgi was an example of how wonderful the birdlife can be. Predators have been removed, and during a guided walk courtesy of Val, a volunteer member of the Tiri Supporters Group we heard and saw a profusion of birds. Saddlebacks, Stitchbirds, Whiteheads, Takahe, Bellbirds - several of these no longer found on the mainland.
Ed:- The Restoration of this island began in 1983, and has so far involved revegetation, bird translocations, and eradication of kiore. Tiri is part of the Department of Conservation estate, and there are three DoC staff based on the island. A lot of the restoration work had already been initiated and undertaken by the volunteer organisation called the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi.
The Stitchbird quickly disappeared from mainland New Zealand once European settlement began during the 19th century. It is now the rarest of the honeyeater family which includes the Tui and the Bellbird. Unlike these common honeyeaters, the Stitchbird roost in tree holes. This habit made it vulnerable to introduced predators which spread into the forests. Disease brought in with introduced birds may also have contributed to the decline. Stitchbirds have been translocated onto two offshore islands (Kapiti and Titiri Matangi) and Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua. Although breeding has occurred on these islands, numbers remain low. Staff at Mt Bruce are researching methods for improving the survival rate of birds bred in captivity. Mt Bruce is the only place with stitchbirds in captivity. These birds provide insurance against fire, rodents or disease wiping out the wild populations. The Takahe was thought to be extinct until re-discovered by Dr. W R B Orbell in 1948 high in the Murchison Mountains. Also known as the Moho, it belongs to the group of birds known as Gallinules. It is a large flightless bird, with brightly coloured plumage and a large bill which is scarlet at the base and on the frontal shield fading to pink at the tip. The feet are red.
Our visit to NZ has been most enjoyable. The weather was great, people friendly and scenery and activities superb. We managed to cover a fair amount of ground (7208 km.) in our comfy campervan; we stayed at commercial campgrounds, D.O.C. sites and various freebies (averaging about 8.00 NZ dollars per night, that is less than 3.00 pounds sterling). We didn't manage to see all we would have liked to, but then we can add them to the list for next time.
Ed: Since receiving the above account, we have heard from Jim and Rosemary. They arrived back at the boat to find that all was well, and set off to do more sailing round the islands. They took the boat out of the water at Raiatia for a "bottom-scrape" and overhaul, and they are now en route for the Cook Islands, via Bora Bora etc. Watch out for the next instalment - it should be interesting, as there are South Sea Islands to visit on the way. I have included here a paragraph about New Zealand that I thought might interest some of the younger members of the family. As New Zealand is isolated from other land masses, it has few of the advanced animal species that evolved elsewhere. Apart from two species of bats, there are no native land animals. Instead, unique and often rare species of plants, birds and insects have developed. Some birds including the kiwi, kakapo and weka thrived on the forest floor, because of the lack of mammals and became flightless. However, with the introduction of European animals such as the possum, these birds have now become very rare. Other native birds include the kea (mountain parrot), the kaka, the tui and the yellow-eyed penguin. Many seabirds live on New Zealand's shores including albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels and penguins. Virtually all New Zealand's native insects are found nowhere else. The world's heaviest insect, the cricket-like giant weta, some of which are about the size of a mouse, is quite harmless. Several species of giant snails and unusual frogs reside in isolated areas. The tuatara, an ancient reptile with a lineage extending back to the age of the dinosaurs, is found only in New Zealand. There are no snakes or poisonous creatures except for the very rare coastal katipo spider.
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