July 20, 2014 - Otamahua

Our trip to the Rapaki Marae was a truly incredible experience, and the storytelling abilities of our wonderful hosts made it even more captivating and memorable. After the privilege of visiting such a magical place and hearing such colorful and beautiful Maori legends, I will try my best to deliver today’s stories with as much imagery and eloquence possible. It’s hard not to be inspired by the people in this country, especially after the experiences we’ve had.

Group picture in front of the Rapaki meetinghouse

The Squad began the day bright and early after spending the night under one roof in the main Rapaki meetinghouse. We ate a quick breakfast, grabbed hot mugs of tea and coffee to warm our hands and bodies, cleaned up after ourselves, and departed from the marae for the ferry to Quail Island.

Quail Island, also known as Otamahua by the Maori, has an interesting (and mildly creepy) history. It was first used in the nineteenth century as a quarantine island by European travelers, and then as a leper colony several years later. Now, the land is owned by the government, and the Department of Conservation runs the restoration project that we helped with today.

While the weather was not ideal (cold and rainy and cloudy, oh my!), that didn’t stop The Squad from hopping off the ferry to meet up with Ian McLennan, who was our leader for the day. Ian works with the Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust, an organization with a goal to restore the native forests to the island. The work began in 1998 as part of a thesis project at the University of Canterbury, and has progressed immensely since then. Sixteen years and 80,000 plants later, the island is making a slow but steady recovery to its native and original beauty. Ian noted that he has already seen kererus and bellbirds nesting around the island, which is a great sign.

Because it is difficult for seeds to penetrate the pasture grass that covers a great portion of the island, all of the plants have to be grown in a nursery before being transplanted to their new homes. Planting takes place in August, once the coldest part of the winter is over, and the rest of the year is spent on maintenance work. Our trip to Quail Island reinforced something that we’ve heard from every expert we’ve had the opportunity to talk to thus far: restoration is much, much more than planting a tree and walking away. Projects are not days long or weeks long or months long. Restoration is a commitment of hundreds of years, because forests require hundreds of years to flourish.

Some of the beautiful flora on Quail Island

The Squad helped to move 300 tussock plants to a black tarp where they will rest until August, when they will be planted as part of the restoration project. It took some experimentation with assembly lines and figuring out how not to slip on the muddy terrain, but we were successful in our endeavors.

The crew gathered around the finished product

While Braden and Josh went off on their own to help with a new task, the rest of The Squad followed Ian to a hillside by the ocean, where we transplanted four silver tussock plants. We lovingly named them Travis, Trevor, Tom, and Thelma. We hope they enjoy their new homes!

Three busy bees transplanting Travis the silver tussock

Finishing up the transplants with Thelma!

We also found two trapdoor spiders, which we called Beatrice and Eugenie, and a massive worm, which we called Manfred.

We took a much-needed lunch break and then followed Dr. Hostetler on a tour of the rest of the island. The rain finally started to clear, and we were met with beautiful views of the ocean and mountains around us.

Our beautiful view

On the hike, we made a stop at a rocky area to search for skinks and geckos. We were lucky, and found a Canterbury gecko! These critters are important predators, so we were especially careful not to harm them in our search.

Me with the Canterbury gecko!

In other New Zealand fauna news, we saw several pied shags, coastal birds that reside primarily in the Australia and New Zealand area, resting on a cool shipwreck just off the hillside.

The shipwreck right off the shore

At the end of our hike, we visited a tiny, beautiful beach, where we were met by a massive rainbow. It was the picturesque ending to another wonderful day!

A beautiful ending

We stopped for a tea break at a tiny bar called Port Hole, and then made our way back to Lincoln. It was another successful, fun, and beautiful trip, as it always is in this incredible place. Tomorrow, we’re off on another adventure… fingers crossed it’s just as good as the last!

Wishing you well,

Erin Mags