ANZAC day this year, Nic, Nod, Jordan and I took a ferry to Tiritiri Matangi (which means”looking to the wind” or “wind tossing about”).
some of New Zealand’s most endangered birds in the wild including takahē, kōkako, saddleback/tīeke and hihi/stitchbird can all be seen and heard on this island, making it truly amazing to visit. we all had loads of fun playing “name that bird” and i got my first ever sighting of saddlebacks and a takahē family (the big blue bird shown in one of the photos below). there were also loads of tui and bellbirds around, as well as north island robins, fantails, kingfisher, and grey warblers.
we spent the day ambling about the island stopping to enjoy the magnificent views out into the hauraki gulf and back towards rangitoto and auckland and constantly exclaiming about the stunning weather.
we picnic’d under a beautiful pohutukawa tree and returned to a glorious auckland sunset.
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It’s a fabulous place and your words and pictures have done it perfect justice. I was so chuffed at seeing the birds it was fabulous. We took the guided tour to start with which really opened my eyes. Your photos are a great representation and as always have a specialness to them that stands them apart