Tiritiri Matangi visit

Barrier Islanders visit Tiritiri Matangi

One of the issues confronting the Trustees of the GBICT is that of painting the picture, illustrating how Great Barrier Island could once again ring out with a real dawn chorus, how its bush could be filled with life. One picture in this case is worth a thousand words, one experience worth a week of lectures and slideshows. Tiri is the live experience — just over the water but a world of difference.

Islands such as Tiritiri Matangi are being developed as open sanctuaries. This means that the public are free to visit and enjoy some of New Zealand’s more unusual and rare fauna. This compares with Little Barrier Island which is managed differently — the public are restricted in access by permit to ensure that there is minimum disturbance of wildlife.

Back from the dead (metaphorically speaking) the NZ saddleback alive and multiplying on Tiri is an ecological success story and a very important visitor attraction. The Great Barrier Island Charitable Trust invited a number of islanders to join the Trustees in a visit to Tiritiri Matangi on Thursday 10th November 2005. Many earlier attempts had been foiled by the weather but this time a calm and beautiful day dawned. Eighteen intrepid islanders set off with Paul Downie and Fenella Christian, secretary to the Trust. John Ogden, Trust Chair, and Trustees Liz Westbrooke and Judy Gilbert joined them on the island.

This 220 hectare island was mainly grassland due to centuries of Maori occupation and European farming. However during the nineteen eighties, the light-house became automated and the keeper became a nurseryman raising native seedlings. Many groups, school children and private individuals planted them out to accelerate the natural vegetation of the coastal forest (originally mixed pohutukawa forest with denser kohekohe and taraire forest in the sheltered valleys).

Then some of the rarer birds were reintroduced – the saddleback, takahe, parakeet, North Island robins (both Little Windy Hill and Glenfern robins came from Tiri), kokako, whitehead, little spotted kiwi, brown teal, fernbird, stitchbird and tomtit. Then tuatara in 2003.

The bird song was vociferous and we saw most of them up close…….. blue penguins in the water a few yards from the shore, robins on the path right in front of us, saddleback with their orange backs above our heads, takahe bathing in the water trough up at the Visitor Centre, pateke on the pond as we returned to the boat, penguins nesting in the specially built houses with Perspex viewing roof, whiteheads, stitch birds etc etc.

The atmosphere was relaxed, uncrowded (although this was a weekday) and our arrival was free of noticeable quarantine or bag inspection – quite different from Little Barrier. Commercial activity on the island was minimal, although you could get tea and coffee at the visitors centre and (rightly so) we were required to take our rubbish home with us – how would that go on Aotea?

The purpose of the visit was to enable islanders to see the potential of the Barrier should we all agree to get it rat and feral cat free. We are hoping to run more trips in the future so more people can get to experience this wonderful place ….or you can plan a trip for yourself using the Kawau Kat from Auckland. It’s a most enjoyable day out.