Wellington and Kapiti Island

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I have been staying for a few days in Wellington with Tamzin, whom I met on the seal operation in February. She lives in a hilly suburb some distance from the town centre, so I got plenty of exercise walking about the place. I took the time to see the places I missed the first time - I walked Mt Victoria for a view of the harbour, visited the botanic gardens and spent a second day in Te Papa (still not seeing everything).
I also spent a day in Karori Wildlife park, a reservoir which has been isolated from predators by an 8ft high wire fence, and hosts a wide range of native wildlife. There were tui, bellbirds and fantails in much greater numbers than I had seen before, and my first sightings of kaka, weka, New Zealand robin and tuatara in their natural environment.

Tamzin works at the zoo, so I had to go and visit whilst I was here. Unfortunately it was ANZAC day and there were not a few screaming children about, so no sign of kiwis for me, or anything else that startles easily. The various primates were fascinating to watch though, and it's good to see the zoos here are becoming increasingly conservation-based.

The real reason I wanted to stay in Wellington though was for Kapiti Island - a reserve which has been cleared for decades of the rats, possums and stoats which plague the mainland, and is an example of what the country was like before large-scale european settlement. We had to apply for permission from the Department of Conservation before we could set foot on the island.
The first thing I noticed on Kapiti was the noise from the forest - such concentrated birdlife to rival the rainforests of Queensland. There were flocks of wood pigeon Kereru, and bright green parakeets called Kakariki, as well as most of the birds I had seen previously in much greater numbers. It really gives an idea of how much change the Europeans brought to the landscape in a very short time.
I also got to finally see the Takahe, the larger cousin of the purple swamphen or pukeko (no photos unfortunately) it is a blue/green flightless bird with a heavy beak, really impressive. There were 4 of them just grazing in the gardens of the few houses on the shore.
I would really recommend a visit to Kapiti island to anyone who comes here and is remotely interested in what the the land was like historically.

Some things I have observed about the North Island:
Gorse covers hillsides everywhere, it's a real pest up here because of the warm humid climate.
There are a lot more Pukeko (swamphens) about - groups of them can be seen in fields, much like the Australian Magpies on the south island.
Civilisation - there are just a lot more people up here - there are still wilderness areas, but I think the towns are much more built up, and the urban lifestyle seems to be more prevalent.

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Photos

There's a Kaka on my head!
Karori Wildlife Park. They use the oil from our hair on their feathers, so I'm told.

North Island Robin, Kapiti Island
Just like our robins, but black (the goth of the robin family). They come really close if you kick up some leaf litter for them.

Tamzin has lunch with a weka
North lookout, Kapiti island

Manuka/Kanuka forest, Kapiti Island
Proper native bush

The northern end, Kapiti Island
Looking out at the Tasman sea. Wind-sculpted Manuka in the foreground.

Capuchin Monkey, Wellington Zoo
Named after the monks, not the coffee. This one was doing headstands for us (but not for the camera).

Nippy the monkey
Nippy is the oldest gibbon in the world (and doesn't he look it!). He's being looked after at the zoo hospital. He is very friendly and likes having his back scratched.