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The party of 20 departed on a cloudy morning (6 from Bracken Ave, 13 from Torbay) for Leigh wharf in
good spirits. We boarded the MV Divercity around 8.30am and departed to the island with a 25kph Sou’easter
and 2 metre swell on the starboard quarter leaving many on board to find somewhere to deposit their breakfasts!
And Cherry receiving a nasty blow to her shoulder. One lady vowed never to travel on a boat again! Upon arriving at Little Barrier, however, calmer waters in the Western Landing allowed the party to disembark by rubber dinghy without incident in light rain to the bunkhouse to be welcomed by the Island Ranger. After a welcome cup of coffee, and the usual check of bags for rodents, the sun came out and the party broke into 3 groups and did (Shag Track/John Drew Memorial Track, Waipawa Track/Thumb Track, Valley Track/Hamilton Track) and after lunch the groups had a look at the tuatara enclosures (8 adults and 64 juveniles), before doing another track and heading back to the beach at 3.30pm to embark back onto the boat via rubber dinghy (due to low tide and slippery boulders, many of the party had a unwelcome dip). But a beautiful ride home, blue skies, calm sea (Praise the Lord for that!), and a huge ice cream at Warkworth finished a quite unforgettable day. The bird life was abundant, plenty of saddlebacks, a few bellbirds, stitchbirds, robins, tuis and others. Heard but not seen was the long-tail cuckoo, and seen but not heard by Cherry was GRB, the local island kaka, who swooped down and took her snack bar as she was eating it! (He is such a character he can open ranch slider doors and is not adverse to slitting open unattended packs with his beak to get at the contents). Trips to Little Barrier Island are subject to strict conditions because the island is a very-much-protected sanctuary. Parties are limited to 20 people at a time; each person has to give full name (including middle names), street address and date of birth; each party has to hire one of about 6 DOC-approved guides; and bags are inspected on arrival for rodents. The summit track is closed beyond 1600ft, about halfway up. Visitors have to come prepared for an overnight stay should sea conditions deteriorate during the day; overnighters are not allowed to go outside the self-contained bunkhouse after dark. COST: $91-10 (boat travel $60; guide $5; permit $20; car travel $6-10) |