Tiritiri Matangi is strictly for the birds

By JULIE MIDDLETON

When my two brothers and I were growing up in Takapuna, one of our favourite treats was to go down to the beach at night with our dad and a collection of candle stubs.

He would stand the stunted wax in crevices in the rock sea wall and light them.

We'd huddle on the beach, candlelight behind us, the rays of the distant Tiritiri Matangi lighthouse spooky in their silent, regular sweep, and wonder what it looked like over there.

It's taken me 33 years to see - on a work weekend at the island, a 220ha predator-free Department of Conservation sanctuary for dozens of rare birds, including takahe, kokako, hihi (stitchbirds), saddlebacks and kiwi.

It's the sort of place where the birds are close up, joyfully noisy all the time, and tui fly lazily in open skies - something I have never seen them do in suburbia.

Masses of cabbage trees look like jurassic dandelions and there isn't a noxious weed, a dog, a cat, a rodent or a piece of rubbish in sight.

The bush boardwalks and tracks, all built by volunteers, are extensive and the views spectacular - hard work has brought the island from a barren patch of grazing land in the 1960s to a lushly planted paradise.

The work weekend starts with up to 15 people catching the half-hour Fullers ferry service from Auckland, or Gulf Harbour, Whangaparaoa Peninsula, to the island on Saturday morning.

The deal is that in return for several hours of manual work on Saturday afternoon, you get to stay cheaply in a clean and well-appointed bunkhouse just below the lighthouse on Saturday night before catching the ferry back mid-afternoon Sunday.

Friendly Department of Conservation rangers Ray and Barbara Walter, who live on Tiri, met us at the ferry with their ute and transported our baggage and food up while we made the 10-minute hill walk to the clean and well-appointed bunkhouse.

The afternoon's task was pulling up a 60m length of wire fence - the top wire barbed, the bottom one buried in matted grass - bounding a sheep-grazing area so an area of regenerating bush can spread.

With gardening gloves and 15 people, the job was an easy two hours.

Ray Walter doesn't allocate jobs until people arrive so he can eyeball them and make guesstimates about fitness levels.

You might be planting in the nursery, planting trees elsewhere on the island, or maintaining the boardwalks that volunteers spent four years erecting - nothing strenuous or complicated.

Once your work is done, that's obligation over, so we were off bush-walking. Entering Tiri's groves with their multitude of birds is like walking into a party where everyone is so engrossed they barely deign to notice you - the birds are close, unafraid, energetic, their chatter underpinned by the crack-crack of cicadas.

You don't need to know anything about birds to enjoy them - I can pick a tui and a fantail, but that's about it. You see new things at such close quarters, and hear new sounds: the tuis' repertoire of clicks and squeaks often sounded like a sort of 80s electronica.

Memorable moments:


* Spotting a saddleback, a stitchbird, a black robin, and several wood pigeon. We heard kiwi shrieking at night; those members of our party who went out in the dark with red cellophane over their torches unfortunately didn't see any, though there is always a chance.

* Tame takahe. At Hobbs Bay, by the ferry landing where Tiri's best swimming is, you'll invariably eyeball Greg the takahe. He's possibly a little too comfortable around humans (part of the reason why they were once deemed extinct?) and can smell your lunch at 1000 lurching paces.

Not recommended: falling asleep on the beach unless you want a takahe to walk over you or take an experimental peck at your toes.

* Getting up at 6am on Sunday for the dawn chorus. Tramping halfway down one of the tracks, carefully carrying a cup of coffee, and listening to the birds waking.

* The walks. Tiri has various walking tracks, ranging in length from 80 minutes to four or five-hour tramps. They require reasonable fitness and some are steep in parts, especially on the Little Barrier side of the island.

The couple who led our work weekend have been coming every year at the same time for a decade, bringing family members, friends and colleagues.

Tiri's visitors' book collects superlatives: "Like it all should be," reads one entry. Another raves: "The bird equivalent of swimming with the dolphins!"

Another read: "Now I understand what New Zealand lost - the sound of the birds."

And that lighthouse: built in 1864 to keep vessels off rocks, it was once manned, by Ray Walter. It's now less powerful than it used to be, thanks to improved marine navigation. But it's still a sentinel, its white eye sweeping over a remarkable place.


Case notes:


Work weekends:

Work weekends are available year round, though be warned, they are often booked months in advance. The need for workers is greatest during winter, when planting is done, rather than summer. Contact Ray and Barbara Walter on (09) 476-0010.

Getting there:

Fullers day trip return tickets (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays) adult $45, seniors $40, kids $23 from Auckland; $25, $22.50 and $15 respectively from Gulf Harbour, Whangaparaoa. Between September and May there is also a Friday service.

For overnighters, tickets are $50 from Auckland ($40 for kids) and from Gulf Harbour $40 and $30 respectively. Bookings essential on (09) 367-9111.

A guided walk by trained members of Friends of Tiritiri Matangi is an optional extra for $5 and is booked through Fullers, with proceeds to the Friends' work.

Where to stay:

To stay in the bunkhouse on a work weekend costs $10 a night. Outside a work weekend arrangement, overseas visitors pay $20 a night and New Zealanders $15. No camping.

To find volunteer opportunities on other Hauraki Gulf islands such as Kawau, Motutapu, Motuora and Little Barrier, check the online calendar for conservation volunteers.

Where to eat:

You'll be bringing your food and packing out your own rubbish. The island shop sells cold drinks but not food. The bunkhouse is well-equipped for cooking and has an outdoor gas barbecue.