Day 13 - Tiritiri Matangi Island (Sun, Mar 4)

Tiritiri Matangi Island - visiting today!

Today is our day trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island.  What is on the island?  It's an open nature reserve and scientific research area, and is basically a bird preserve.  According to Wikipedia, "It attracts between 30,000 and 32,000 visitors a year, the maximum allowed by the Auckland Conservation Management Strategy."

Unfortunately for us, the ferry departs at 9 a.m., which means we have to get up much earlier to be able to drive downtown, find parking, and still be there 15 minutes ahead to be loaded on the boat. We didn’t really think about the logistics of it at the time when we booked.


Fresh off our victorious non-car-crashing inaugural drive last night, JQ is eager to try her hand at driving on the wrong left side of the road. It feels so strange to get into the normal driver’s seat, and then look to the right, and see that JQ has the steering wheel. How did this happen? We truly are on the other side of the planet.

Our GPS is something strange called a Navman. Since I’ve previously used Garmins and Tomtoms, it’s not too much different, although I am missing a few of the Garmin bells and whistles. Nevertheless, it does tell us where to go, and it does have lane assist, which is always a bonus. JQ has found the location of a Denny’s (as she says she is desperately in need of a hot breakfast) and there is also a nearby parking garage, so we input both addresses into the GPS. 

JQ's first New Zealand driving challenge of the day: back out of our parking spot. The rear camera is super-helpful with that task. The next task? Navigate 27 roundabouts (give or take a few), and drive fast on the motorways. Also, keep LEFT. Fortunately for us, it is 7 a.m. on a Sunday. The traffic won’t get much lighter than this.  This is like training hour for the newbies.

Denny’s is just across from the Auckland Sky Tower, which is the standard big observation towers you find in big cities. It’s also a handy landmark in case you forget where you parked your car. But for now, we’re only interested in breakfast. Yum yum - bacon and eggs!

Post-breakfast, we drive a few blocks to the parkade.  JQ successfully selects the correct entrance into the parkade, but then drives the wrong way up a one-way ramp. That right/left thing is still throwing us off, and it’s really instinctive to go the ‘right’ wrong way. Fortunately, no one was heading down at the time, and she eventually finds a spot she likes (she's a wee bit particular about her parking spots), and the car is safely stowed away for a while.

Art at the harbour

Heading outside, we find our pier, but we are still a bit early, so we take a look around. It’s a bit cloudy this morning - not quite rainy yet, but it is a distinct possibility - and there’s also some kind of race going on, if the number of people wearing running outfits with race numbers is any indication. (I think it is. I don’t think it’s just some New Zealand fashion statement.)  We decide to hang around the harbour and wait for our boat.

Before boarding the boat, we have to brush off our shoes, both the soles and sides.  As mentioned, the island is a bird sanctuary, and it's obviously important to not introduce anything that might be harmful into that environment, so clean your shoes off and check your purse to make sure you haven't inadvertently packed any rats or snakes. OMG, did I forget to take my rat out? Nope, just checked. We’re clear.

It’s a big boat that we’re taking today – definitely bigger than my beloved Sydney ferries.  It's a catamaran-type boat, with the two big hulls on either side.  It's also a tall boat, with two glassed-in levels of seating, and one open-air seating area on the roof.  So, three levels overall.

I know you're thinking that I run immediately for the top level, right at the front of the boat.  However, because the day is overcast, I go against my usual inclination and instead opt for a window seat on the main floor, all glassed-in.  Let's try something new, right?  As we are setting out, the Captain announces that it is pretty windy today and therefore our trip might get a bit bumpy.

The further we go, the more choppy the waters. Because there is no food for sale on the island, I weave my wobbly way over to the boat's cafeteria and buy myself a sandwich.  As I collect my purchase, the next guy behind me asks if they sell anything for seasickness.  I then weave and wobble back to my chair.  Whew!  Made it.

The boat is climbing over waves, up and down, and rocking from side to side, and big sprays of water are splashing up all over those tall windows.  I feel like this is probably the view from inside a dishwasher.  Also, I probably shouldn't have watched Dunkirk yesterday, because boats kept sinking in that film, and now I’m extra aware how much that sucks.  However, instead of getting anxious, I decide to pop on my sunglasses and have a nap.

Rock-a-bye-baby, slosh, bounce and ker-splash… It really does kind of put you to sleep. But not a deep sleep, because it shakes you awake again whenever the boat does a big sliding lurch.  Eventually, as we get closer to the island, the wind and waves moderate.

When we arrive at the island, we all gather in a group at the end of the pier, which some of the conservation officers/tour guides make a speech and/or give instructions.  JQ and I are on the perimeter, and only hear the half of it.  We do figure out that there are two different guided tours available, and we need to pick which direction we want to go.  About two thirds of the people opt for the longer tour, and the remainder pick the shorter.  We are then broken out into groups of six or seven per tour guide, and are then ready to explore the island.

First stop is Hobbs Beach, where our guide gives us some background on the history of the island, how in the 1600s the Maori colonized it with rats (as a food source, the way Europeans would bring along goats and cows and sheep when they colonized).  Since then, the rats proliferated and killed off a lot of bird species.  By the 1800s, the Europeans came along and cut down the trees over the bulk of the island and used it for farmland.  From about the 1980s onward, the plan was to revert it to a more natural state.  They had to kill off the rats with a mass poison airdrop, then reintroduced native trees and bird species.

As there are no predators on the island now, the birds are thriving here.

Pied Cormorant

Check out my camera's zoom!

He also talks about the trees and plants on the island.  This, he says, is the kawakawa plant, and its leaves produce a numbing agent, so who can guess what it was used for?  JQ (because she has a PhD) correctly guesses: "A toothache!"  Yes, they would chew it up and it would numb the tooth.  Or it could be made into poultices.  A boy around 13, looking interested, removes a leaf.

We continue along the paths, and the guide is continuing to point out plants, and birds.  "Uck," says the boy, "it tastes really bad."  When I saw him take it, I wondered if he was going to sample it.  And he did!  😂   "I can feel the sides of my tongue, but the middle is numb."

I ask him what it tastes like, and he says kind of spicy and really strong.  He kept it in his mouth until he couldn't stand it any more, then spit it out.  I love that kid so much for eating that leaf; I really do!

Tui drinking sugar water

Anyway, there is a crazy variety of bird calls that our guide recognizes, and I only recognize as "pretty!"  Warbles and singsongs.  We do catch sight of a lot of birds, but they are not usually very cooperative about posing for photos, so we did see many more birds than there are photos here.

I quite liked the song of the Tui - you can hear it singing on a YouTube video here.

Another interesting thing - the stitchbird/hihi is a honey-eater bird, and on the island they manufacture a sugar-water mixture for it to drink.  The Tuis like it as well, but they don't need it the way the Hihis do.  The interesting part: a sugar company donates 8 TONNES of sugar to the island every year, for them to make enough sugar water to feed the hihis.  Wowza.  That's a lot of sugar.

Our tour path takes us uphill and out into the open.  The sun has come out, and it is getting a bit hot as we continue walking upward.  But then you turn around, and wow, what a view.  The island is just this lush, verdant green carpet spreading all around, surrounded by blue ocean.  So gorgeous.

Below are tree-covered hills

We walk up towards the lighthouse, we where can stop and either eat our pre-purchased food, or buy some coffee ("yes!" cheers JQ) at the gift shop.  I am eating my cheese & onion sandwich that I bought on the boat. JQ not only buys coffee, but she also purchases a coffee travel mug in order to quit using disposable plastic cups all the time.

I want to go check out the lighthouse; JQ is engrossed in her coffee.  So I head up to take a look at the top of the island.  It is windy here, but quite refreshing on a sunny day.  The lighthouse is closed, but there's an observation tower we can wander around on that gives a great view.

It is so beautiful and green here.
😍

I do a short hike down to a few viewpoints before returning to the gift shop/eating area to collect JQ.  We do have to be back at the boat dock by 3:15 (boat leaving by 3:30), because if you miss the boat, you have to call a water taxi back to Auckland, and apparently that will cost you a few dollars.  Our tour boat ticket was $75, plus $10 tour guide fee.  No idea what a water taxi would cost.

	Variable Oystercatcher
Pukeko

Low tide

At 3:15, they start loading everyone back onto the boat, which is now sitting at low tide (either that or the pier grew 😜).  This time, JQ and I sit up top outside.

We are joined by another woman (Kate) from our tour group; she and JQ had briefly bonded while discussing PhDs.   Kate is planning to do her PhD, and JQ offers her lots and lots of inspirational advice, like "it's really really hard" and "all your hair will fall out" and "you might want to kill yourself."

Kate is so inspired that she throws herself overboard.  Or she at least considers it.  But she thanks JQ for her optimistic honesty.  Then she and JQ, obviously cut from the same cloudy cloth, ruminate on how the world is going to hell in a handbasket and we are all going to die, sad and alone.

Okaaaay.  I'm just going to watch the waves and the birds, and occasionally yell "Land ho!" as we pass any solid ground.

When we disembark back at the Auckland Harbour, JQ and I both decide it's time for ice cream.  We walk around a little bit.  Not sure if we're in a touristy district or not - the Sky Tower would seem to indicate that it is somewhat touristy - but it is definitely way less touristy than Sydney's Circular Quay.  JQ says "good for you, Auckland!" because she is proud of them for being so classy.  For my part, I am vaguely disappointed in Auckland, because I am a low-classy lassie, and I love me a circus.

Back to the car.  JQ begins driving.  However, the GPS is stuck and is not updating or directing us.  I tell her to just drive while I turn it off and restart (magic reboot!).  JQ follows her gut and is pretty sure that she's going the right direction anyway.  Ten seconds later, she is driving over the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which is absolutely the wrong direction.  Oops.  But that's what we've got this stinking budget GPS for, and once it actually starts working, it turns us around and gets us going the right direction.

Back at our motel, JQ parks the car, and the owner is outside and cheers her on.  "Much better than yesterday!" he says.  You see?  Learning fast.  😎

Lime Tree

We discover that the tree outside of our motel room has limes on it.  Imagine being able to grow your own limes.

At night, the sky is mostly clear, so I try to find the Southern Cross.  Because I'm in range of my motel's wifi, I try to use the Sky Tracker app to figure out where the Southern Cross is.  (I hope no one noticed the weird tourist dancing around under the night sky, pointing her phone upward and spinning in circles.)

I think I might see it, but the stars are pretty faint in the sky - too much city light, even in our area, which is far from the city center.

Maybe I'll have better luck when we hit Hobbiton tomorrow.  Fingers crossed!

P.S.  Great sunset tonight!