Our Trip to Tiritiri Matangi

Everyone had to be at school by 7.30am.  We had to go on the bus and the ferry to get there.  We all had to have three to a chair on the bus, so we were all squashed together.  We had to be in Auckland City by 9 o’clock, so the teachers looked a bit worried about making it in time for the ferry.  It was a quick walk to board the ferry, but we made it just in time. Before we got on the ferry we had to scrub our shoes on the brushes so there was no dirt on them just in case there were bugs or diseases on our shoes that could harm the wildlife on the island.  We hopped on the ferry, sat down and had something to eat.  We spent the time talking, playing and taking photos.  On our way we saw Rangitoto Island.  When we got to Tiritiri Matangi we had to walk down the rail and hold on to something so we didn't slip.  We all sat down and the man in charge introduced everyone to the group and told us where the toilets were.  We were going on a long hike so we needed to go to the toilet before the walk.  When my group and our leaders got to Tiritiri Matangi we went with Jeremiah’s brother and Izzy’s mum.  Our guide took us up a steep hill and we looked at some plants.  There were lots of patterns, flowers and birds.  My group saw a stitch bird, or as the guide says ‘Hihi’, that’s the Maori name.  We saw a cheeky looking fantail jumping around in the grass.  There were long water trays in different parts of the trail where the tui birds drank and played as we stood quiet as a mouse staring at them.  The pukeko bobbed up and down near the water looking for worms and insects to eat.    Just before we got to the top we saw pretend insects hiding in the plants. We had to see how observant we could be.  We found them all. Once we got to the main building at the top of the island we grabbed our bags and sat down in the courtyard for lunch.  After lunch we worked in our groups on a scavenger hunt to find information about some of the wildlife on the island.  We looked around the courtyard and inside the main building.  There was an interactive screen and a microscope with lots of different slides.  Our group went up the long stairs to look at the lighthouse.  We saw fat looking pukeko called takahe running around by the lighthouse.  They are related to the pukeko.  We could see all around the island and across the ocean.  It was really beautiful.  It was a little sad to know that eventually we would have to leave, but it was nice to know that all the birds and wildlife were well looked after.