Tiritiri Matangai Island

Tiritiri Matangai is a world renowned bird sanctuary and one of the world's most successful volunteer conservation projects in the world. It took about a 90 minute ferry ride to get there from Auckland and we spent the whole day hiking and experiencing some rare wildlife. One bird that we were very fortunate to get up close to is the Takahe (Porphyrio mantelli), which is an endangered and endemic bird to New Zealand. They are only about 250 living today and about 10 of them live on Tiritiri Matangi Island. 11 other new Zealand birds and 3 reptile species also inhabit this island. Definitely a pleasure to experience even though we all fell in the mud at some point (well, except for Amanda). 

To see more pictures: Tiritiri Matangai Island

Takahe