NEW ZEALAND IS A FREAK OF NATURE. Our unique natural heritage is mostly due to our isolation from other, larger continental landmasses. With immense oceans between us and them, it’s kept our flora and fauna largely protected from baddies, creating a distinctive ecosystem – like the fact that we have no native land mammals.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. We have a couple of bat species – like my favourite, Chalinolobus tuberculata. But they could’ve flown here, so don’t really count … Anyhow, all this created an incredible bird and insect population – and with no mammalian predators, New Zealand birdlife was like nothing else on earth.
The biggest birdie was the 3.6m-tall, 230kg Giant Moa, one of nine species of this endemic flightless bird found on our shores. Then you had the massive Haast eagle – which preyed mainly on the aforementioned moa. The beautiful huia – largest of the New Zealand wattlebirds. Plus another 242 or so different bird species running, flying, hopping, waddling, and swimming their way around the Land of the Long White Cloud …
So humans would’ve encountered quite a sight – and sound! – when they first stepped upon these shores some 800-odd years ago.
But that, unfortunately, is when things started turning to custard …
With the arrival of Maori and, later, the first European settlers, birds started dropping like flies. A whole bunch of our feathered friends turned out to be good eating. They were also flightless, fat, and slow (too much of the good life) – so were easy pickings for hunters. Add the fact that another bunch were real pretty, and things weren’t looking too good for them either. Then came the introduced predatory mammals – like the rat, stoat, and cat – who were licking their lips before they even left the ship! And combine all that with massive deforestation? The outlook was grim.
In fact, for more than 50% of New Zealand’s birds, it was game over! Extinction! No more moa … so long Haast eagle … RIP beautiful huia.
Okay, I’ve always liked birds (the feathered kind) – but I’d never really thought too much about endangered this, or extinct that, or the fact that New Zealand species are amongst the most threatened in the world.
However, that all changed a while back, when I visited Tiritiri Matangi Island …
Not being much of an ornithologist, I didn’t have a clue where Tiritiri Matangi was, but friends suggested it was worth a look! So, after a quick Google search, I found myself on a 360 Discovery Cruise ferry with two of my kids, heading off the coast of Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
Tiritiri Matangi is an open island sanctuary (allowing public access) developed in partnership between DOC and a volunteer group: The Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi Inc. These sanctuaries are set up to help ensure the survival of many rare and threatened species – and being an island makes keeping it predator free a lot easier.
Birds such as the saddleback, kokako, and once-thought-to-be-extinct takahe, have been successfully released –alongside the prehistoric lizard, tuatara.
Arriving at the island, we were ushered off the ferry, given a briefing by the local DOC ranger, then led off a guided walk on the ‘Wattle Track’ – reportedly one of the best tracks to see Tiritiri’s native birds. And it didn’t disappoint. As we slid quietly beneath the bush canopy, our guide pointed out different species, including two I’d never seen before: the saddleback and the stitchbird.
The birds were incredibly noisy, although nothing (according to our guide) compared to the dawn chorus …
Most people make a day-trip to the island, but we had booked for a night in the volunteer’s quarters. So once the other tourists had left, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to Northeast Bay with camera and binoculars in hand. The landscape kept changing – under the bush canopy one moment, then in wind-swept coastal scrub the next. And the birdlife was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
The kids lost no time hunting, spying and creeping around for the perfect camera-shot – of the melodic kokako … bellbirds … saddlebacks … kakariki … and a North Island robin. But our top discovery was a takahe couple and their chick! Here right in front of us (not in a cage, but in the wild), was one of New Zealand’s most endangered birds – thought to be extinct until a small group was found in a remote valley in Fiordland!
We had never taken so many photos!
An afternoon swim in the beautiful bay – with tui and saddlebacks flittering around the trees that lined the shore – capped off the day perfectly. In fact, there were so many birds that our conversations ended up sounding like this: “Oh, it’s just another tui …” (Talk about taking things for granted!)
That evening, after dark, we went out with Jill (the volunteer who organised our trip) looking for kiwi and tuatara. Unfortunately it was now blowing a gale (Tiritiri Matangi means ‘tossed by the wind’ – how appropriate!) so the kiwi weren’t out and about like they usually are. However, much to our delight we did find a tuatara hiding under some coastal scrub. These living fossils can reach more than 100 years of age – and scientists suggest that, in captivity, even 200 years is possible!
The following day, while we waited for the next ferry to arrive, we explored the Kawerau Track – which took us through some mature forest past an ancient, gnarly old pohutukawa, estimated to be between 800-1000 years old! (I bet that tree could tell some stories …)
This was a beautiful part of the island, and yet another bird-fest. And this time we got up-close-and-personal with a couple of kererū (wood pigeon), a tiny rifleman (New Zealand’s smallest bird), and a curious robin that got all excited when we rustled through some fallen leaves. But today’s prize was an encounter with the rare stitchbird (aka hihi) – the small honeyeater once found only on Little Barrier Island.
We spent our final few hours up near the still-working lighthouse, taking loads more photos of a couple of resident takahe. A mandatory stop at the gift shop for some take-home mementos was our last act on this island paradise before the ferry arrived, dropping off another day’s worth of visitors.
My kids and I had had a ball on Tiritiri Matangi – a fantastic opportunity to see a slice of New Zealand as it used to look (minus the moa). Yes, we’ve lost a lot of our recent history – some of it forever. But we three slightly tired but proud-to-be-Kiwis returned home on that rocking ferry totally convinced that what we have left is worth preserving.
No, let me rephrase that … worth restoring!
This article is a reprint from 2013; MIKE COONEY – our resident ‘Wild NZer’ recently came a cropper with his mountain bike
(RIP to the bicycle!), so he’s confined to tamer pursuits while he heals up! CHECK OUT WWW.TIRITIRIMATANGI.ORG.NZ FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILDLIFE, ISLAND VISITS, LATEST NEWS, AND HOW TO BECOME A SUPPORTER.
