Walk with the takahe¯
What is staring at me is millions of years in the making. His eyes are cautiously blinking, wondering if I am friend or foe. This is a pretty special moment. There are only about 440 takahe¯ left on the planet, and I have managed to track one down.
To put that into perspective, there are an estimated 1000 mountain gorillas left in Africa, about 18,000 white rhinos and 100,000 Bornean orangutans.
Seeing any one of these is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you would talk about for years.
But, we have our version right here in Aotearoa: takahe¯ . And one of the best places to see them in the wild is in New Zealand’s very own Garden of Eden: Ka¯ piti Island.
A visit to this wonderland of wildlife is on many people’s bucket lists, so here is a beginner’s guide to making this experience one you will never forget.
The basics
The island is a protected, predator-free nature reserve, about 10 kilometres long by two kilometres wide, sitting off Paraparaumu Beach. It is roughly the size of 2000 rugby fields and is the summit of an ancient mountain range created by tectonic movement 200 million years ago.
Over the centuries, moa and ka¯ ka¯ po¯ would wander between the mountain and the mainland, across a valley now covered by the ocean.
That ocean is an essential protector – preventing pests from re-establishing after the island became predator-free in 1999. But conservation efforts date back much earlier. Ka¯ piti Island was first declared a nature reserve in 1897, making it one of the oldest in the world.
And it shows. The moment you step on the island, it is as if you have reached a Jurassic fortress, as falcons soar above a thick canopy of bush that is alive with a symphony of birdsong.
You get the feeling that humans aren’t in charge, nature is.
Getting there is an adventure
There are two main options for exploring the island. A day trip, or you can overnight on a slice of Ma¯ ori land, which is the only part of the island that the Department of Conservation (DOC) doesn’t manage.
The wha¯ nau-run business dates to 1820, when the great chief, Te Rauparaha, led a procession to the island. One of those to arrive was a man named Te Rangi Hı¯roa, who started a long history on the island, now stretching eight generations.
The family-run business, known as Ka¯ piti Island
Nature Tours, has a lodge and glamping tents on its 13 hectares of land.
The adventure starts before you even reach the island. Guests gather early at Paraparaumu for a biosecurity check, to make sure the only rats you take to the island are the ones that test for Covid.
You will then board a boat in a car park, which is towed with an enormous tractor into the sea, where you set off for a 15-minute ride to another world.
Arrival
The first thing that happens once you arrive is a mandatory briefing. No-one can land on the island without a permit, meaning boats or sailors can’t just come ashore.
It is a privilege to be on the island, and that privilege is tightly controlled. That includes limits on the number of people who can visit each day.
There are rightly many rules, the most important is that everything on the island is protected, meaning nothing can be removed. It is also imperative that you don’t feed the birds.
We are then free to explore. There are only a couple of tracks to choose from: an hour’s circuit around the shelter or a return walk to the island’s peak, which can’t be missed.
We started with the circuit, and within five minutes, our guide had pointed out a cheeky ka¯ ka¯ , keeping a close eye on us like a security guard.
She then casually gestured to the bush; the look in her eye indicated we didn’t want to miss this.
Staring straight back at us was a plump takahe¯ , intently interested in what we were up to. We all gathered around to watch.
This was our white rhino or gorilla moment. For decades the birds were assumed to be extinct until a small breeding population was discovered in the remote Murchison Mountains.
There are now 440 left, and to see one wandering around is a privilege few people experience.
After 10 minutes of watching the bird, we moved on. We were about to discover this remarkable island has much more to reveal.
The track to the summit is drenched in constant birdsong. There are feeding stations along the trail, and what you find is a scene straight from a David Attenborough documentary. Birds swoop from every direction.
A cheeky ka¯ ka¯ is guarding the first feeding station, which also serves as a picnic stop.
The moment you take your food out, he will magically appear from the canopy. In many cases, he jumps on your shoulder to snatch the food away. The best advice is to avoid eating there altogether.
The journey to the peak is richly rewarded, with an incredible vista of the windswept west coast of the island. It is then time to make your way back to the beach, where a boat transfers you to the north end of the island. This is where DOC management ends and Ma¯ ori ownership takes over.
The lodge
The moment you step onto the wha¯ nau’s land, the feeling of kaitiakitanga, or guardianship, is evident. This family is fiercely proud of their heritage. They are staunch protectors of the island, and love sharing
the experience. One of the wha¯ nau, Wayne Spratt, hosts our visit and starts with a ko¯ rero about the island’s rich history, including his family’s fascinating whakapapa.
We are then shown our rooms. There are two main types of accommodation – cabins and glamping tents, among the marshland.
If you can secure a glamping site (availability is scarce), don’t miss it. You are sure to hear kiwi call at night and be woken by the best alarm clock in the world – a forest full of life.
After a briefing and biscuits, we are free to explore a series of short walks or unwind at the lodge, where several birds, such as ka¯ ka¯ and keruru¯ , serenade fresh arrivals.
Drinks and cheese are then served at sunset, before a feast is unveiled inside the lodge. The kai is excellent and full of flavour.
But the day is not over. We gather outside under a glowing Milky Way to go kiwi spotting. The island is home to about 1200 little spotted kiwi, and as we wander through the bush, we are surrounded by their calls echoing up the valley. Sadly, we didn’t see any but that’s nature, and it is another excuse to come back.
The magic continued the next day as we woke to a dawn chorus and experienced a hot breakfast under the watchful eye of ka¯ ka¯ . We then explored more tracks around the north of the island, before returning for a delicious lunch and the ferry back to the mainland.
I am yet to see a gorilla or rhino in the wild, but I can now tick off a takahe¯ . Kapiti Island is Aotearoa’s own Africa. And it is a safari every Kiwi should experience.
Staying safe:
New Zealand is under Covid-19 restrictions. Follow the instructions at covid19.govt.nz.