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Published: October 18th 2005
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On top of Kapiti!
Shelly & Ngaire on Kapiti Island, with the blue tasman sea in the background Hey friends! Just wanted to let you 'meet' my mate Ngaire Leighton! She will be my 'guest blogger' for the day. So treat her well, and look forward to meeting her one day😊 Exams are next week and I’m busy studying, so enjoy this blog and photos, I might be MIA for a little while! Until next time, Shelly *For a map of our route
Click Here Tena Koutou Katao, Ko Ngaire toku ingoa,
Hello my name is Ngaire! I'm Shelly’s guest blogger for the day here to tell you about our visit to Kapiti Island. First of all, I want to say thanks Mr and Mrs Jackson for supporting Shelly in her trip to New Zealand. I have had some of the funniest times with this chick and I can't wait to meet you when I come to America!
Kapiti Island is amazing, it is a nature reserve for New Zealand’s endangered birds. Since the 1980s DOC Department of Conservation has been working on the island to restore New Zealand’s native birds and vegetation. Before the arrival of the first Maori to New Zealand in 1200 A.D, New Zealand overflowed with massive amounts of bird life, including the planets
largest eagle (I learnt this on the trip!) and the worlds tallest bird, the Moa - up to three metres (15 ft), both of which are now extinct. Arriving after the Maori were the whalers and then eventually the British settlers, these three groups all brought with them predators such as rats, pigs, goats and of course sheep which had a huge impact on the wildlife of New Zealand. Now the majority of our native birds are now extinct. It is important that places like Kapiti Island exist, DOC has been successful in eradicating all the pests off the Island and has given these endangered birds (including the Kiwi) a safe place to play and breed. Another cool fact is that Kapiti Island is the summit of a submerged mountain range created by earthquakes 200 million years ago - wooh. All that remains is an Island, 10 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide (5 miles by 1mile). This Island is the Island that Shelly and I conquered with complete fearlessness and determination to reach the summit da da daaa.
After an hour long train ride, ten minute taxi, fifteen minute ferry - we stepped foot on the sands of
the mighty Kapiti. Our adventure was to begin, well nearly. First we had an informative talk by the DOC worker, most of which I obviously knew because I am Kiwi. However, I am sure that it served my American buddy well. Tramping through the bush we were accompanied by the most beautiful bird choruses and because the island is free of predators the birds fly wild. We tramped through the bush to the summit, Tuteremoana. At the top we ate our lunch, which included a batch of home made Afghans, which in my attempts to domesticate Shelly we baked the night before. The 360 degree views from the top were outstanding. The Tasman Sea was a deep aqua, the tip of the South Island was in sight and we got the feeling we were in another world that was untouched by human beings.
During our lunch there was a bit of international mingling. A lovely old man from the South Island and a German who took the piss out of me (made fun of me) and our baked, but slightly burnt Afghans. After the hundreds of photos, we made our descent. Back at the bottom of the island we
were followed by a bunch of friendly Kaka, the native NZ parrot. Then hung out on the virtually untouched beach till our ferry came to take us back to the mainland.
A night was spent in the Barnacles Beachside Inn, which I swear had a haunted bathroom, Shelly agreed. After sleeping with our heads together, we awoke to spend the day exploring the town of Paraparaumu. I have seen small town NZ a million times and come from one myself, but it was so much fun to explore with Shelly. We visited the local art gallery and Shelly made friends with the owner, Shona. Shona demonstrated the Kiwi attitude and shut her shop for five and drove us down the road to Raumati. In Raumati Shelly again made friends with a shopkeeper. This time it was Judy the owner of Bookstack, a second hand bookstore.
Eventually it was time to leave and our mid week holiday to be over. We caught the train back to the city and spent the evening sharing the photos and stories with Rachel and Shelly’s flatmates.
I hope you have enjoyed the blog!
Ka Keti
Ngaire
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Jamie
non-member comment
Jealous
Hey my favourite american buddy. Just checked out your latest journal entry. You guys looked like you had such a wonderful time. I was so jealous when I was reading the journal entry and checking out your amazing photos.Wish I could have been there with you Miss you heaps. Cant wait to see you again Your such a beautiful person shelz One of the coolest people I have ever met in my life Love Jamie (Ngaires best friend).