Happy Kapiti Easter

Easter was the first time I've had three days off in a row since coming back from my USA trip, so I wanted to do something fun.   Thought it'd make sense to stick in the Levin area to cut down on travel time.  Just a 45 minute drive from Levin and a 10 minute boat ride off shore is Kapiti Island.  It is home to a predator-free nature reserve and marine reserve, and one of NZ's most important sites for bird recovery.

The Department of Conservation takes great care to keep the wildlife on this island safe.   They only allow 50 visitors each day.  Daytrips are most common, but there is a Lodge at the North End of the Island where you can stay overnight.   I thought Easter weekend would be a busy one, but when I phoned a month before to inquire about overnight stays, they still had vacancies.   So my eco-savvie bird lovin Welly friend Alastair was keen to join me, so off we went to Kapiti Island for Easter weekend! 

Here is the island, as we were boated from the Kapiti Coast (only 5km away)...

They're superstrict about the predator thing, so we had to check each of our bags before we boarded the boat for any predators like mice or such.

Our boat at shore, after it dropped us off.

Welcome to Kapiti Island!

There are two explorable parts of the island, the Rangatira mid-portion, and the North End.  We opted to explore Rangatira the first day, and the North End the following two.

Rangatira Point

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, Maori inhabited the island.  The nearby sea was a nursery for whales, and on the island, the Maori would melt the blubber into oil and ship it to the US for use in machinery.  At this busy time, up to 2,000 people inhabited the island!   Quite different than 50 folk limit now!

Here I am posing with one of the whale pots they used for melting the blubber.

(no fat/blubber jokes allowed, thankyouverymuch)

So we had a little briefing about do's and don't's on the island from the Park Ranger.   She told us about these birds called kaka, that if you have ANY food in sight, they want it, and will land on you and try to steal it off you!  

A mere 2 minutes after this lecture, Alastair was crumpling a granola bar wrapper, and this lovely kaka landed on him.

He looks so cool, calm, and collected!   (Alastair, that is).   He did well by putting the wrapper into his pocket, and the kaka lost interest and flew away.

We first went on a short guided walk which talked about the history of the island.   We then started the walk up the slightly steep Trig Track to Tuteremoana, the highest point on the island.

Along the way there were plenty of stops for amazing bird watching.  

 I must say, I know pretty much nothing about birds.  A month or so ago, my dad (who's newest hobby is birdwatching), asked me "Do they have robins in New Zealand?"   Sadly, I hadn't a clue.  My extent of NZ bird knowledge was spotting a tui or a pukeko, and that's about it. Oh yeah, I know what a kiwi looks like in a picture, but have never seen one.  Which precisely was another reason I decided to stay overnight at the Lodge--- they offered Night-time Kiwi Spotting Walks!  This was my chance to see a kiwi, for real, in the wild!

Anyhoo, on the way up the Trig Track, we came across these feeders.  They are particularly for hihi (also known as stitchbirds).  The wiring around the feeders (are supposed to) only allow hihi in, and not the bigger, greedier bellbirds.

Alastair and I sat here for quite a while as there was much action at the feeder.   Here is a hihi below.

We saw several different types of birds (pictures a bit later), and the birdsong was just incredible.

Here are some photos from Tuteremoana, the tallest point on the island at 521 meters.  Here we had a nice, sunny lunch and spectacular 360 degree views.

Here is looking due east at the North Island, the Kapiti coast and town of Paraparaumu.

Looking southwest to Kaiwharawhara Point...

And looking northwest out to the gorgeous Tasman Sea.

We walked down a longer but less steep path called the Wilkinson Track, with more great views.  At the end we had to rush as we almost missed our afternoon boat up to the North End of the Island!

 

In contrast to Rangatira, people actually live on the North End.  There's a few houses here (a handful of permanent residents), where lots of extended family often come to visit.

No roads, no cars---- none needed, as it's so small.   Here's the signpost directing you to wherever you may need to go on the North End.

A kaka perched on an old sign, welcoming us...

Here is the Kapiti Nature Lodge, whose hospitality was amazing.  Friendly, knowledgeable staff, simple yet comfortable accomodation, and delicious food!    I never felt like a tourist here--- I felt like part of the family.

The main lodge portion where we ate, drank, and relaxed on the deck. 

Our cabins....

(All the other guests were envious of us as we booked two nights instead of just one).   They were all wishing they had done the same!

More common than footprints around here were bird tracks :)

So... onto the birds! 

Here is a tui, a classic bird endemic to NZ.  Not endangered.   Easily recognizable by the white tuft of feathers under its chin.  

The kereru, the NZ pigeon.  Quite a large bird.   You can always here them coming as their wing flapping makes a loud "whoosh"-ing sound.  They aren't the most graceful at their landings, either.  They like to land on branches that may be a little too light/wavy to support them, so their landings almost look quite clumsy :)

Beautiful color in the NZ Pigeon.

Kakariki, the NZ parakeet. About five different types of these.  Here's the red-crowned one, taking a sip from the water trough outside the lodge. 

Here is a rare, endangered, flightless bird called the takahe. 

It looks a lot like the more popular pukeko due to the color patterns, but is bigger and fatter. The takahe was thought to be extinct by the early 1900s. But, in 1948, a NZ doctor named Geoffrey Orbell spotted one in the Murchison Mountains while tramping.   Hooray, not extinct!  But still endangered--- only an estimated 200 of these can be found in the country.

The takahe liked to hang out by the deck of our cabin.   Here I am with one of them.

By the way, Dr Orbell lived to be 98 years old.   Guess I need to keep tramping like him, and maybe someday I'll discover an extinct bird!  :)

All this birdwatching can made us work up an appetite.  Thankfully the chefs at the lodge knew how to whip up a good feed!  Here's our spread of appetizers on that first night... including fresh Paua!  

YUM!

Alastair and I took a walk along the beach after dinner just in time to watch the moonrise.  It was pretty much a full moon, so super bright.

Moonrise over the Tararua Ranges..

Just in case you couldn't see it, I'm pointing it out for you.   In ET-like fashion :)

At around 9pm that night, two of the staff members took us out for the highlight of our trip---a Kiwi Spotting Walk! There wasn't a guarantee we'd see one, but the staff  knew all the tricks in how to increase our chances. We needed to wear "quiet clothes" (ie, no swishy windpants) and use no flashlights (it'd scare the kiwi away!) The guide used a red flashlight, which red light apparently doesn't disturb the kiwi. So we headed out quietly into the woods. Our first spotting wasn't a kiwi, but a morepork- New Zealand's native owl. Quite cool!

A few minutes later, our walk guide got a text message of where the other guide had just spotted a kiwi! So we quickly but quietly followed her... and within moments, there we were, watching a kiwi rustling around in the woods! They use their beak to rustle around in the dirt to pick up food. We watched it for a good 5 minutes or so, before it scurried back deeper into the woods.

SUCCESS! I saw a REAL kiwi! YAHOO!

Cross that one off the NZ bucket list.

You'll have to believe me on that one, as it's impossible to take photos in the dark (and besides the flash would scare them away in a heartbeat).   But the next morning, Alastair and I went back to the same location, and saw the evidence of the holes the kiwi was digging with its beak.

SO EXCITING!

 

The next morning was Easter Sunday.  My bodyclock got me up at 6am like usual, and I headed to  the lodge deck for some quiet reflection time, and a chance to see this incredible sunrise.

He is Risen!  Happy Kapiti Easter!

We had some guests for Easter Breakfast, namely the Kaka family.

One was even perched on the dining room door/window.   We've heard on occasion they will even fly into the kitchen to find some grub!  Cheeky for sure!

The morning weather was lovely, so Alastair and I opted to eat breakfast outside.    Note my look of scorn at the unwanted guest eyeing up my breakfast.

I tried to smile nicely to get a photo with the darn bird...

And WHOOSH! Next thing you know he's back up in the tree, EATING MY BACON!

Bad, bad bird.

I was panicking as it came back for more, this time perched on my shoulder.

Luckily my plate was empty this time, and I didn't have to worry about guarding my food (or at least attempting to!).   Still note the nervous "claw arm" pose of Linz here.  Not quite as calm and collected as Bird Whisperer Alastair was the day prior :)

Easter Morning, Al and I took the lodge's kayaks out for a paddle.  We paddled past Rangatira Point, saw not many birds, but a seal swum with us for a bit and we explored some coastal arches and small caves.  The paddle back was a B*tch due to tide and wind, but we made it safely and were ready for a good hearty lunch.

After lunch we headed up the hill on the North End of the Island, where we planned to relax and watch the sunset.   On the way up, Alastair gave me a nature lesson, ie "DONT TOUCH THIS PLANT"

It's a stinging nettle.

Its leaves and stems have little hairs on it that act like hypodermic needles to inject histamine into its offender, causing a nasty stinging reaction.

Thanks Al!  I won't touch it.  EVER.  :)

We had a relaxing afternoon at lookout at the top of the North End of the Island.

It was getting dark on our walk down the track before dinner, so Al and I decided to do some Kiwi hunting on our own.  We didn't have a fancy red flashlight (just the small white light on Al's cellphone), but listening to the rustles, we were able to spot one on our own. SCORE!  We rule.  :)

That night we went on another guided Kiwi Hunt, where we saw two more Kiwi, and two more morepork (one actually devouring a lizard for a snack).  Awesome times!

The next morning we took a walk around the Northern Coast.  Different geography as compared to the woods at Rangatira.   We spotted several pukeko, and lots of seagulls (dead and alive).

Pretty colours of the rocks/sky/greens and the moss/mold growing on the rocks.

Another delicous lunch and a short bush walk in the early afternoon, and just like that, it was already time to board our boat back to the mainland.  Time sure flies when you're having fun!

I learned SO much about birds (and how to appreciate them) in my weekend on Kapiti Island.  I'm thankful for my travelling companion Alastair and the wonderful staff at the Nature Lodge, which all made my stay fantastic.   A highly recommended trip, even if you know jack squat about birds like me!

PS-- And to answer your question, Dad, YES, there are robins in New Zealand! Here are some photos of the Toutouwai, the NZ Robin.

Cheers til next time!