24 June 2010

Kapiti Island field trip

By Will Cooper (Edited by Moira Blake)

On June 16, diploma students in their third year of environment studies were finally able to visit Kapiti Island nature reserve and bird sanctuary to study first-hand the conservation of native endangered species in their natural habitat. Their three previous attempts last year had been foiled by unsuitable weather, which caused the cancellation of the boat service to the island, so this year they joined the students who are in their second year of environment studies. Their experiences on this trip more than made up for the disappointment of missing out last year.

After a bumpy boat ride and a brief introductory talk from the Department of Conservation, the group, accompanied by IPC Environment lecturer, Will Cooper, headed off through the dense native bush to the 521m summit of Tuteremoana. On the way they encountered wood pigeons, fantails, weka, kaka, pukeko, robins, stitchbirds and even a couple of takahe—a bird so endangered it was recently believed to be extinct. Half way up the mountain they stopped for refreshments at a path-side rest area where, to students’ terror and delight, they met a group of friendly kaka that began landing on their shoulders and heads in search of food!

Students with a friendly weka. Left to right: Iroha Kobayashi, Yukina Kaneko, Sayaka Ito and Mayu Sasaki.

Mayu Sasaki with a friendly (and hungry?) kaka.

Despite some distant cloud obscuring the South Island, the view from the top of Tuteremoana was beautiful and very adequately compensated for tired legs. After a leisurely lunch in the sun, the group headed back to IPC and on the way home enjoyed some Kapiti ice cream from the Lindale shopping centre—the perfect end to a perfect day.

Enjoying the view from the top of the island.

Boarding the boat for the trip back to the mainland.

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