Tiritiri Matangi Island

What a fantastic Island this is with so many beautiful birds to see. Its a tribute to the vision and hard work of the Tiri supporters group and DoC which allows this Island to remain an open sanctuary for all to visit.

Walking the many tracks from one end of the Island to the other I began to realise the huge amount of hard work that had gone into planting so many native trees to act as food plants for our native birds.

 Some nectar feeding birds still require supplimentary feed in the form of sugar water and this is an absolutely amazing sight when the frenzy of the birds and their song is at full pitch.

Thank you for sharing time on the Island with me Tansy.

The Pinnacles- only 600 steps to heaven

If you ever feel like climbing a few steps and staying in a super New Zealand hut on steroids then I recommend the Pinnacles walk and a stay overnight to allow you to watch the sun rise and the sunset from the Pinnacle peak in the Coromandel.

The scenery is fantastic the walk enjoyable, weather permitting. Walking back via the Billy Goats trail added another historical dimension to the lengths that early New Zealanders went to to clear giant kauri trees from this landscape. Walking down an incredible incline that would have seen steam braked trucks allow these giant logs down from the hills to the river below.

Fern birds, tom tits and fantails were the only birds seen although the foot prints of brown kiwi were found on the way down.

Thank you Tansy Bliss for you company and suggesting this great New Zealand walk.