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You can hear the last kiwis calling just before first light, then the bellbirds and tui start - the last of the night birds into the first of the day birds. Visit Kapiti's biggest taonga [treasure] to feel the spirit of our native birds. It's the stunning avian orchestra that makes John Barrett a devotee of Kapiti Island. "When the first birdsong starts, it's like six or seven symphony orchestras going all at once," says John. "It must be like the old New Zealand." He says that the concentration of birds can be unbelievable and the combined crescendo of calls almost deafening.
John is co-owner of Kapiti Island Alive and Kapiti Nature Lodge on the Nature Coast's largest taonga [treasure] - Te Waewae Kapiti o Tara rāua ko Rangitane - or Kapiti Island. He's been living on the island since 1975, when he and his wife Susan built a holiday bach on land owned by their iwi (Te Ati Awa). Since then, says John, the changes have been enormous.
The island has been a nature reserve for over 100 years, but even 20 years ago the birdlife on the island was flailing. It wasn't until 1996, when possums, rats, and stoats had been effectively eradicated, that there was an explosion of the bird population.
It was then that the true avian symphonies began. Today, in the spring, they are at their peak, starting just before first light. The birdlife is prolific with over 60 species on the island including the endangered takahē, saddleback and stitchbird as well as 2,000 kākā, 18 breeding pairs of the distinctive-calling kōkako and an impressive 1,200 kiwis. "We are the best kiwi spotting operation in the country. Definitely the most reliable," says John.
He believes that for people interested in nature, the experience is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. "It's the numbers and the rarity of the birds here - some of them are very endangered."
Kapiti Island Nature Reserve can allow a maximum of 80 visitors in any one day. The trip is becoming so sought-after that, on occasions, demand will exceed the daily quota.
The birdsong experience is different each season, making each visit to the island unique. "In spring it's at its peak at dawn, the birds call right through the day in the summer, and hardly at all in the winter."
Kapiti Island Alive & Kapiti Nature Lodge
Owners: John Barrett and Amo Clark
Waiorua Bay, Kapiti Island
Ph 06 362 6606
minnie@kapitiislandalive.co.nz
Opening hours: Nature Lodge - 24 hours. Island day trips 8am-5pm.
A protected nature and marine reserve with the best and most reliable kiwi spotting option in New Zealand; day trips and overnight kiwi spotting tours; unsurpassed range of New Zealand wildlife and marine life.
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