Tiritiri Matangi Island

[Kyle]With just one day of light easterlies in the forecast, we headed out for the anchorage at Tiritiri Matangi island, which is small, but protected from that direction.

We have been here before, back in 2018, but a dodgy forecast had us leaving earlier than we would have liked. This time, we could make a whole day of it.

Tiritiri Matangi used to be used for sheep farming. Now, it's managed by the DOC (Department of Conservation) as a pest-free wildlife preserve. Mostly, that means birds; lots and lots of birds. Since the island is protected, many of the birds here seem to have lost their wariness about humans, and many will happily plop down on the bench or railing right next to us as they go about their business.

We walked all over the island seeking out the native NZ birds (the black one with the small white throat pom-poms are Tui)

Since Maryanne and I were determined to walk every one of the island's trails (minus a few short connectors), we saw lots of birds. Our friend Lyndon says of New Zealand's birds that they aren't generally very colorful, but they make up for it with beautiful song. Walking the trails of Tiritiri Matangi sounds like walking through a video arcade in the 1980s. The Bell birds and the Tuis have calls I like to describe as 'four-birds-in-one'. It's hard not to smile at such a thing.

Even without the birds, the island offers a nice trails, and a lighthouse/visitor center. At anchor the local fish were keen for any potential scraps

---

Anchorage location >> On google maps