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We had applied to do a voluntary project with the
Department of Conservation almost a year ago & now it was time to start the project.
Having stowed most of our stuff at the backpackers & dropped off our hire car the night before, we set off early carrying all our food for the next five days in rodent proof containers. An Intercity bus picked us up at Aucklands Skycity terminal & we headed off to Warkworth about an hours drive north. The sun was shining & gently glistened on the calm sea as we passed the many bays that cut into the hilly landscape. Once at Warkworth we disembarked along with two other passengers who were carrying very similar luggage to us & we all headed down the road to the
DOC office. Lois, our contact got us to wait in an office along with
Ailie, Chloe, Jenny & Matt, the other volunteers until we piled into some cars to get down to the ferry at Sandspit.
Having formed a human chain to carry all our gear onto the water taxi we sped off across the Hauraki Gulf to Motuora Island. Knowing that the island did not have a useable wharf we
were expecting to get our feet wet on disembarkation but luckily a new tractor & fridge were being delivered at the same time as our arrival & we were able to clamber across the boat onto the shore.
The island manager, Dave Jenkins was there to meet us & while he played with his new tractor & tried to fit the oversize fridge we explored the bach & campground. It was too nice to eat inside so we had lunch on the picnic table outside our bach. Chloe who had gone for a wander up the beach came running back saying she had spotted dolphins & we all ran down to the beach. There were about six dolphins who were passing the island close to the shore & they seemed to be fishing as shoals of fish were jumping up on the beach trying to escape.
Ailie, Jenny & Chloe stripped off & ran into the water to try & swim with the dolphins. All too quickly the dolphins had passed by & the swim was brief but they had got very close to them.
It was then time for some work & Dave introduced us to the island &
the nursery. The nursery held about 28,000 plants which were to be planted around the island. All the water on the island was provided from a borehole & was pumped up while the generator was on which was only for about eight hours a day. There was also a large rainwater butt which collected the runoff from the nursery & provided deliciously cool drinking water. The first jobs to be done were stacking seed trays, trimming back plants & making stakes from bamboo to stop kowhai plants blowing over in the wind. Whilst we were doing this Dave came over to say that the dolphins were back & we all rushed down to the beach, shears in hand. Sam & Dave ran off to get their cameras & the rest of us threw off shoes & trousers & jumped in with the dolphins. This time they were being more playful, some were jumping out of the water, others were splashing the water with their tails & swimming circles around us.
When diving under the water with them you could hear the high pitched noises & clicks of their echo location. At first I thought this was just a ringing in my ears but I realised what it was when it got louder as the dolphins swam at you until they veered off at the last moment. Some of the dolphins would swim in close & just hang in the water as they watched you just below the surface while others would approach slowly & then speed past appearing somewhere completely different than expected. Although the water was pretty cold it wasn't at all noticeable when you are having an experience of a lifetime. The dolphins were in a really playful mood & were swimming with us for about 45 minutes until we realised that we had to go back & do some work.
We had finished pruning & stacking & headed up the hill to the pond, the dolphins were still in the same area, still playing & we managed to count at least seven from this vantage point.
The pond surrounds had recently been sprayed with herbicide around the existing native species of plants & we were finishing the grubbing, weeding & planting of grasses in the gaps. We finished off at about 4:30 & headed up to the lookout, the highest point on the island to get a panoramic view. We could see across the fields & down to the white sandy bays on the other side of the island in between rocky outcrops jutting out into the calm sea.
We headed back to the bach for dinner at sunset, the generator started up just in time to provide light so that we could cover our torches in red cellophane for the nights kiwi hunting.
After all our swimming & weeding we were exhausted & having walked a few tracks trying to spot kiwis we decided we would check out the tracks in the light (rather than the pathetic glow from our modified torches) & find some kiwis another night.
Bedtime ended up being at 8pm & we slept with the curtains wide open on the beach with the sea gently sloshing over the sand.
Drink of the Day: Rainwater
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Jenny
non-member comment
Motoura Rocks!!
Guys, what a great description of an awsome 5days! Wish we were back there! Reunion in few years to check out our planting and re-re-paint the sheds any-one?! J.x.