Tiritiri Matangi

With Brad and Sharon up for the weekend, we wanted to showcase them some of what Auckland's got to offer. So on a sunny and hot (it got to 29 degrees) Rae, Tom, Anna and I took them out to the island of Tiritiri Matangi out on the Hauraki Gulf. 'Tiri' has been turned into a bird sanctuary, home to some of New Zealand's most endangered species - such as the Little Spotted Kiwi, the Kokako, North Island Saddlebacks, and the very endangered Takehe - along with other natives.









The small island is just a short boat ride from Gulf Harbour and we set out there on Saturday morning with picnic in tow. We decided to let the crowds disperse themselves around the island and settled down at a brilliant beach not far from the wharf. It was here that we were joined by Greg. Greg is one of 11 Takehes that reside at Tiri and he was a very noisy bloke. So much so, that though there are less than 300 in New Zealand, there was nearly one less, as Greg wouldn't leave us alone to eat our lunch.







After a cooling off swim, we ventured into the island for a bit of a walk. Walking over and through the other side of the island, we pretty much had the place to ourselves - besides the numerous tui's, saddlebacks, fantails, robins, and others. The sounds of the birds in the native bush - especially that of the tui's - was awesome, as were the views around the Hauraki Gulf. We returned to the beach for a much needed dip before one last walk where we saw the two-month old Takahe chick that recently hatched on the island. The only shame about the day was that we had to return on the 3.30pm boat, as we could have easily stayed longer.