Ka¯ piti Island rich in nature’s bounty
Sharon Stephenson travels back in time to a little island that is as close to undisturbed Aotearoa as it’s possible to get.
‘If you wanna make a joke about Jurassic Park, you’re not the only one,’’ says Bob, a retired Navy vet from Seattle. Bob might be annoying – the kind of annoying that doesn’t have an off switch – but he’s got a point.
We’re on Ka¯ piti Island, the bush-clad island that sits low and solid in the Tasman Sea. Money can’t buy you love or happiness, but it appears it can buy you a trip back in time to forgotten New Zealand.
Thanks to more than a century of protection, including being entirely pest free for the past 20 years, Ka¯ piti Island is what Aotearoa must have once been like, a lush world where native birds such as ka¯ ka¯ , kiwi, ko¯ kako, takahe¯ , and hihi roamed happily in predator-free hills.
The wonder begins shortly after Paraparaumu Beach drops out of our rear-view mirror: we cross the choppy waters of the Ka¯ piti Marine Sanctuary, home to whales and coastal birds such as gannets, penguins, terns, shearwaters, and albatross.
Rated earlier this year by United States-based Big 7 Travel as one of the world’s 50 best places to visit, Ka¯ piti Island should hover near the top of most Kiwis’ bucket lists.
Despite spending much of my life living 50 minutes away in Wellington, Ka¯ piti Island was always in the ‘‘one day’’ part of my bucket list.
It took a move to the Ka¯ piti Coast – where, if I climb on the roof of my house, I can see a slither of the island – to finally push me into a visit.
Others haven’t been so slow. Last year more than 7500 visitors explored one of New Zealand’s most accessible nature reserves.
We’re welcomed with a 30-minute presentation at the DOC Centre where, in-between Bob’s incessant questions (‘‘can a kiwi bird attack you?’’), and us rolling our eyes so hard we almost sprain them, our knowledgable guides share stories of the island’s history, ecology, and how it’s been sprinting towards sustainability long before the concept was fashionable.
We’re eventually let loose to stroll tracks fringed with dense forest and climb the 521-metre peak for panoramic views of the island where nature unfolds in shades of blinding green, russet and yellow.
Not surprisingly, a reserve this pristine is strictly protected. Only two companies are approved to run day tours to the island, Ka¯ piti Island Eco Experience, and our hosts, Ka¯ piti Island Nature Tours, which also caters for overnight guests on private family land at the northern tip of the island.