kapiti island trip

We finally made it to Kapiti Island.

....Finally...

as in I had one place I really wanted to visit on my list of "MUST DO BEFORE WE LEAVE NZ" I figured one place was a reasonable goal. I also say finally because my friend Susan and I had been talking about doing this for months, and my ability to book a trip was a bit lack luster. But it was lovely.

The native birds come right up to you

.
We went for a guided walk and learned all about the plants, Maori history, animal life, and DOC projects.


There were paths by the sea...

and through the grassy flat lands....And up through the forested steep hills...
And plenty of places to just sit and wait for the birds to come and share some space with you...
The younger set did get a tad restless of sitting and waiting for birds to dazzle them, so we got out my camera and played around with its high burst setting. I had no idea how fun this can be!




We finished up the day playing in the warm sea water.
It has been said that once, in the not so distant past, the water between the island and the mainland -- all 5 km -- was so full of whales that it would keep you up at night!
And the trees were in bloom!
Better still we got to share the experience with our dear friend from Australia!

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

Well in many places a wildlife sanctuary involves big cats and other creatures from exotic places... it might also include bears or wolves. You know things that eat you or can at least cause damage, such as buffulo. In other words you are protecting animals from being killed by the people annoyed by them for being themselves in the land we've decided to inhabit.

Karori has a different type of sanctuary
 
one that protects native animals, which primarily means protecting birds from the scary mammals humans have introduced. These scary mammals are pretty tame for us tall primates or for birds that fly, but for the native birds of NZ, cats, possums and rats are very bad news. So all the wildlife here seems very very tame and docile, that is why they need protecting.

One way the sanctuary protects them is the creation of a huge, custom made fence around the perimeter. There are also sub fences within the sanctuary to isolate specific wildlife from each other so that one doesn't dominate the other during the early years of reestablishing numbers.

Another strategy is by tracking invasive specifies that get past the fence (say hawks dropping them from the sky) and setting traps as needed

 
They also do a bit of educational work, such as this display on non-native garden plants that are threatening local plant life.  This one is Old Man's Beard Traveller's Joy
 
The sanctuary raises monies through a lot of sources.. one being creating a haven for paying city dwellers to 'recreate.' Traveler and I were happy customers today, and even signed up for a membership. The payment scheme is kindof funny It is a bit expensive for a single visit, but only $40 for an individual membership and $55 for a couple! I guess that means that tourist can pay more with their overseas currency but the park can still be affordable to locals. We're members now, and I'm hoping we make time to go several times each month. The entrance is only a 20 minute walk from our house.

These are some of the things we can enjoy at the park











And this is a peek hole into one of the valves...


And here is the fish tank that Traveler was thrilled to finally locate
 
The plant life is interesting as well
 





Best of all, this was a place I loved when I visited in 2005 and it was so nice to finally share it with Traveler. 

for more info check out: http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/