Day Seven: From the Salty Dog to Tiritiri Matangi Island

The last two nights we stayed at a motel in Sandspit called The Salty Dog. It was also a gastropub and we had two dinners and breakfasts there. It was like a typical English country pub with kitschy mugs hanging from the ceiling.

And lots of dog statues and stuff:

This morning we packed up and got on a boat to Tiritiri Matangi island, which is a nature preserve. Before you boarded the boat and after you landed, you had to check your bags for stowaways in the form of mice and stoats. Nobody seemed to find any.

The boat was crowded with school kids on field trips. We managed to get away from them most of the time on the island by hurrying along. This was one of the first views:

I like me some lichen.

A spur-winged plover (I think...)

A variable oystercatcher

Plover eggs

A red-billed gull

A dozing New Zealand Pigeon

A Bellbird

A Tui

Here's tui you...

Both Bellbirds and Tuis drink nectar from flowers, and there were a few feeders put out for them.

The very rare flightless Takahe;once we stopped looking for one, he appeared ahead of us on the path.

New Zealand Pigeon

Taking off...

We waited for some time beside a pond, hoping that a blue teal would appear. None did, so I shot these cattails instead.