Island jewels in Hauraki's crown

In the first of four articles on the gulf, ANNE BESTON and photographer PETER MEECHAM visit Tiri, home of the endangered takahe, and historic Kawau.

Ray Walter is standing on Tiritiri Matangi wharf with a mooring rope in his hand, the one thing we forgot to bring.

Ranger on the island for 21 years, he's a man of few words but his frown says it all.

Two hours earlier we had left Auckland behind, smugly watching commuters jammed to a standstill along the waterfront.

It's a grey, drizzling Monday in early December, but as the 11.5m Chancellor heads into the harbour past North Head on a choppy grey sea, who cares?

Our skipper, Fran Whitworth, is confident the weather will hold, and she's right: the farther from Auckland we go, the better it gets. By the time we arrive at "Tiri", the rain has all but cleared.

We climb on to the wharf and into a four-wheel-drive vehicle belonging to Mr Walter and his wife, Barbara, and are driven to the beginning of Wattle Valley Walk, an easy 45-minute hike on the southeastern side of the island.

Tiri lies 4km off the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, and thousands of trees and countless unpaid hours by volunteers have been invested here since 1984. It is one of the few island sanctuaries open to the public.

The small beach by the wharf is a popular spot for a day's picnic, but bird-watchers, nature lovers and hundreds of school kids are the main visitors.

North Island saddleback, bellbirds, North Island robin, kokako, stitchbird and tui all live here and, if you're really lucky and come at the right time, you will hear the call of the rare little spotted kiwi.

But it's not until Mrs Walter takes us on a short drive west of the lighthouse that we finally meet Tiri's most famous residents.

We pull up abruptly on a dirt road and, as we clamber out of the vehicle, the largest of two takahe comes lolloping towards us, headed straight for the photographer's leg. The bird gets in one harmless nip before Mrs Walter calls him off. This is Greg, she says, he's a real character.

Welcoming thousands of visitors a year and coping with the unique demands of island life requires dedication and hard work, Mrs Walter says. Between late December and mid-January, the ferry arrives every day with about 150 visitors. Throughout the year, the Walters welcome an average of three school trips a week.

She has lived here for 16 years and, some time in the next couple of years, she and Ray will think about retiring.

Leaving Tiri behind, the trip through the inner channel on the way to Kawau Island seems like a long ride, with a robust rolling swell coming at us side-on, or on the beam, in boating parlance. Making a cup of tea is a challenge, lunch out of the question.

It is a relief to cruise into the calm waters of Bon Accord Harbour at Kawau about two hours later. We drop anchor outside the humble weatherboard building that is the Kawau Island Yacht Club.

Gathered around a table in the club's bar, three blokes having a beer are eager to list the advantages of island living - no cops, no crime, no roads. It's private, isolated and, best of all, it will never be Waiheke.

"Ninety per cent of Kawau islanders don't want roads," says 49-year-old Ritchie (Jaffa) Philips, the island's only electrician and a resident for nine years.

Kawau was once famous for the wild parties of the early 1970s at Mansion House, then leased by Dominion Breweries, but these days the historic homestead built by Governor Sir George Grey is in a far more sober mood.

After anchoring overnight in School House Bay, we make an early morning visit to Mansion House Bay, the eerie calls of the peacocks greeting us across the water.

Grey bought Kawau in 1862 and used it as an experiment in introducing exotic wildlife to New Zealand - wallabies, possums, kookaburras and peacocks can still be found.

Clyde the albino peacock is a favourite with tourists but refuses to come down off the kiosk roof for the Weekend Herald photographer. He's bad-tempered today as usual - no matter how impressively he spreads his finery, the female peacocks spurn him for his odd looks.

The house and grounds have been lovingly restored since 1977 and are definitely worth the price of admission: $4 for adults, $2 for children.

Jen Seel, aged 55, who manages the house for the Department of Conservation, moved permanently to the island from Auckland with her partner five months ago.

"A lot of people have a dream about living on an island, but human beings are funny things - we always think about what we might be giving up.

"It is isolated, but that's the attraction."

Back on the Chancellor, Skipper Fran reassures her two novice sailors that the trip to Great Barrier Island will be a cinch. Soon we're cruising past Tokatu Pt into an oncoming swell, headed for the wide blue seas of the outer Hauraki Gulf.

* Monday: Great Barrier Island.

TRAVEL TIPS

* The Kawau Kat runs regular ferry services to Kawau Island, departing from Sandspit, near Warkworth, and from Auckland. Phone 0800 888 006 for more information.

* Fullers Auckland has ferries to Tiritiri Matangi, departing at 9 am from the downtown Ferry Building and returning at 4.45 pm.

* In summer, the service operates from Thursday through to Sunday and also on some public holidays. Some departures are also available from Gulf Harbour. Phone Fullers 09 367-9111 to check details.