Happy Earth Day from Kapiti Island
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
1
167
189
Trip End
Jun 28, 2009
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Now the place is very peaceful and full of birds because they have killed all the rats, possums, stouts, and other predators on the island. Some of the birds on Kapiti Island are extinct on the mainland and we saw some pretty rare birds. It was a good place to go for Earth Day.
To get there, we had to take a small ferry, but it is not like the usual ferry. This ferry is taken out to the beach on a trailer on the back of a huge tractor, like the water taxi in Abel Tasman. Luckily it was very sunny today and the ocean was not too rough, otherwise we could not go. Once we got on the island, Eugene, one of the guides, told us about the history and showed us some of the birds we might see in the wild. Then we walked back to the house of Minnie and Amo, a daughter and mother of the Maori family who has been here for many years. We had cookies and tea and then did another walk. Here are some of the birds we saw:
* Takahe, which is the rarest. There are only 200 left in the World and only 14 on Kapiti Island. We saw at least three today, up close. They have bright orange beaks, blue and green feathers and are flightless.
* Kaka, who are very curious and naughty. They love to steal food from you and they will sit on your head or shoulders. I got a lot to sit on my shoulders and it kind of hurt but was cool. They look a lot like Keas and are really brown parrots.
* Weka, who are also curious and kind of like chickens and who will steal your food, too!
* Kereru, or wood pigeons, who are huge and very colorful and sound like 747s when they zoom past you.
* Pedeko, which look kind of like Takahe but can fly and are not so rare.
* Tui, who are quite rare and are small and black.
* Canada goose, except it is in New Zealand!
* Blag shag
* Fantails and robins, who are friendly little birds who eat the insects people stir up
We did not see the Kiwi because it was daytime, but we did stick our hands into one of the holes where they live. And a cool little gekko crawled into my Mom's backpack and tried to go home with us! They had to check all our bags to make sure we did not bring any mice or rats or pests onto the island.
At lunch, which Minnie and her mother made for us, I met two kids from Philadelphia. Evelyn is eight and Isaac is five and they are living in Christchurch and going to school there for a few months, and also doing some traveling like us. We all tried to get the Kaka to sit on her heads, then we played tag, and hide and seek, and hung out. It was lots of fun to be with kids my age and they were really nice. The little guy really liked me and I liked him! It was too bad we had to go and say goodbye to them but maybe we will meet again in the States.
After we got back, Ginny took us to the playground where they have some cool rides, then we got ice cream and watched the skaters at the skate park. I wish I had my skateboard here and I would have tried it out. When we got home, we made a driftwood tipi on the beach and watched the kite surfers, who can really fly!
And tonight, to celebrate Earth Day, we made a huge feast at the house. We put the table outside on the porch and lit candles and turned out all the lights. People are supposed to turn out all the lights for an hour and the first country in the world to do it is New Zealand! We had steak and green pasta, and lots of great food, then homemade chocolate chip cookies for desert, then we watched the stars for a while because it was sooo dark!
It was a great day and I bet my Dad wishes he could have been here! Sorry Dad!
Also, I interview Evelyn, since she lives in New Zealand right now. Here is her interview:
INTERVIEW WITH EVELYN MANDEL, Age 8
Kapiti Island, New Zealand
Where do you live? Christchurch, New Zealand right now but usually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Who do you live with? My parents and my little brother
What grade are you in? 3rd in Pennsylvania and 4th in New Zealand
What is your favorite subject? Reading and writing
What do you do for fun? Gymnastics
What are you most afraid of? Snakes and mummies (She did not even go by the King Tut exhibiit when it was in Philly!)
What is your favorite food? Tacos
What message would you send to all the other kids in the world? Don't litter!
It is funny that she hates snakes, because I love snakes!
