Ok, so Moana Lodge had the bestest bathrooms EVER!! And the best reception. We got up on the 31st at 6:30am to find out if we were going to Kapiti Island. It turned out that the boat we’d arranged couldn’t go, but John called the other tour operator for us and booked us with them instead. He also drove us to the train station because we got the spots at the last minute and would’ve had to run otherwise.

After all that trouble we made our train and our bus from the train to the boathouse and arrived at the Boating Club in Paraparaumu at precisely 9am. The ferry was $45/person. They packed us into the small boat and launched it with a trailer. It was only about a 15 minutes ride to the island.

On arriving we were given an orientation talk - don’t light fires, don’t introduce rats, don’t feed the Kaka or Weka, etc. Afterwards we were sent out on our merry way to hike about the island. We were dropped off at Rangitata Point and had two trails to choose from - we decided to hike up the Trig track (which was steeper) and down the Wilkinson track. The track was steep and muddy with lots of stairs, and took us to a lookout (Tuteremoana) 521m high. There was a tower at the top with gorgeous views of the ocean.

We met a Kiwi traveler who worked for the DOC and chatted with him as we walked for the rest of the day. At the top of the hike we finally saw North Island Weka!! They came and tried to steal our lunches. Other birds we saw were NZ Pigeon, Kaka, Parakeets, Shining Cuckoo, Whitehead, NZ Robin, Kokako (heard), Stitchbird, Bellbird, and Saddleback. The east side of the island was native forest and the west side was windy with shrubs. Near the bottom was the Rangitata Flat where we saw Takahe and another Fluttering Shearwater.

The boat came at 3:30pm and took us back to the mainland, where we at Fish and Chips (again) with our DOC friend. He was really nice and dropped us off at the train station, where he finally told us his name was Shannon.

We took the train back to the Moana Lodge where we enjoyed cushy beds and warm showers.

The 1st of November was a slow day. We slept in (sort of - didn’t sleep well) and got a ride to Wellington around 11am. We sat in the ferry station until the ferry left (late) at 3pm. We RP’d, bought food, and I called home in the meantime. The ferry ride was kind of fun - we got spots on the bow and watched birds the whole time. The ocean wasn’t too rough. Most of the interesting birds were out inCook Strait. The only lifers I was comfortable counting are Northern Giant-Petrel and Sooty Shearwater. We also saw Shy and Buller’s Mollymawks, but I couldn’t tell them apart. Birds I’ve seen before were Fluttering Shearwater and Flesh-footed Shearwater. Also saw Prions, but couldn’t ID to species. Vague sightings were possible Little Shearwater and Westland Petrel.

Bayview Backpackers picked us up from the ferry and took us to the grocery store. We had a steak dinner and were very tired. Had cheesecake for dessert.

This morning we slept in (kinda) and ate a REAL breakfast - I had eggs on toast! We walked to Picton (~40 min!) and checked in with Dolphin Watch Marlborough and the Sea Kayaking company we’re going out with tomorrow. We also stopped by the i-site and made bus reservations for the Abel Tasman area. And we went shopping, I bought a few things.

Our boat tour left at 1:30pm. It was a small catamaran with only about 10 people on board including crew. On the way out we saw Fluttering Shearwater, Blue Penguin, diving Gannets, Pied Shag, Little Shag, Spotted Shag, White-fronted Tern, and Caspian Tern. We also saw two NZ Fur Seals!

The boat dropped us off at Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary where we had a guided walk. We saw Bellbirds, South Island Saddlebacks and South Island Robins. There were nest boxes for Blue Penguins and we could peek inside to see the chicks.

After the island we saw nesting Pied and Little Shags, a King Shag in the water, and a Reef Heron. Aaaaannnd…. Dusky Dolphins!!! I like dolphins!! They were feeding on a ball of fish and there were seabirds all around them. We watched them swim around for awhile and I got a few decent photos. Sometimes they came up to the boat and checked us out. I saw another pod as we headed back to port, too.

We caught a ride home on the Bayview shuttle and we’re putting a dent in our food stash for dinner.