Tiritiri Matangi Reflection

7:30am in the morning, freezing cold, and at school. What a great way to start the day! I went into the Creative Space room to find all the year 7 girls writing names on water bottles.  Ariana gave me one and I put it in my bag.  Once everybody had gathered into the Creative Space room, Mrs Lagitupu introduced a lady from D.O.C. ( Department Of Conservation ) and the two parent helpers that we were fortunate enough to have.

The lady that was from D.O.C. was Vanessa Whiu. The helpers were Mrs Samuels (Jordan’s Mum) and Mrs Hotu (Zane’s Mum). We talked about what will happen and when the shuttles will come to take us to the ferry terminal in Central Auckland. We had to wait for the shuttles which were coming at 8:00.

The clock hit 8:00 and the shuttles were here. We loaded into the shuttles and we headed for the ferry terminal so that we could board the ferry at 9:00. Once we hit the road we were off as fast a lion in hunting season. We had arrived at the ferry terminal and met some people from D.O.C. who were waiting for us.

We all hopped off the two shuttle buses and waited for Rebecca who was another lady from D.O.C. Rebecca came and we sang a himene which was all about love because when we are on the Island we need to be thoughtful and caring for not only the birds and creatures around us but our friends and other visitors that are on the island.  

Next we went to the boarding area and made sure that our shoes were clean because it you have seeds or soil and you take it on to Tiritiri Matangi Island it could ruin the ground and environment. Once we all checked that our shoes were clean we could board the ferry. We sat down and waited until we took off.

On the ferry I sat with Ariana, Khaia, Lucy and Lesieli. To pass the time we played games like Scattergories and the sentence game. The captain talked over the intercom to say that we will be stopping to pick up some people on Whangaparaoa. We stopped in Whangaparaoa and pick up the people and then we started making our way to Tiritiri Matangi Island.

When we arrived at Tiritiri Matangi Island we hopped onto the dock where a trailer was waiting. We walked down the path and saw a truck with another trailer on the back which was going to take our bags so that when we go on a tour we won’t have to carry our bags. I put my bag in the trailer and went in front of the Island ranger and sat down.

The ranger  talked about what the island was like 25 years ago and how special it was to them. We then split into our groups and was told that a lady named Glennys will take us on our tour of the island. We started by looking at the map of Tiritiri and talked about the history of the island. We then went on a track which was called the Wattle track. While walking up we saw a bird called a fantail. The fantail was near a pond which looked very old and dirty. As we moved on we noticed that the fantail was following us.

We then stopped to look at a tree called the Puriri Tree. We learnt that the Vitex Lucens can grow upto 20m high and the branches produce bright shiny green leaves and fruit. We continued and then we heard a Tui calling. We then saw the Tui eating the fruit of the tree. We noticed that the Tui had two white patches underneath its chin.

We had walked all the way through the Wattle track and then met at the main area by the souvenir shop. We looked at the lighthouse and went into the watchtower.

Things that I learnt on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

• That there are female and male trees
• That the Bellbird drinks sugar and water together so that it can restore its energy.
• Tui are bossy and like to take everything.
• The lighthouse has been on the island for over 60 years and is now the oldest working lighthouse in New Zealand.
• The lighthouse used to have lighthouse keepers until solar panels were installed to make it an automatic.

Tiritiri is an amazing island and I really want to go again. When I grow up I want to help on the Island.