New Zealand - Kapiti Island or Stewart Island (1 Viewer)

Hello,

My wife and I are going to New Zealand in April. Unfortunately the time we have will most likely allow for either Kapiti Island or Stewart Island. I was wondering if anyone has recently been to either or both of these islands and would like to share their experiences and suggestions on which island has the greater variety of birdlife as well as the greater opportunities of seeing that bird life.

Thanks,
Jgrnot

Haven't been to kapiti, but spent a few days on Stewart birdwatching with my wife about five years ago and it was great. Lots of albatross in the harbour. Visit ula island, a predator free island about ten minutes away by water taxi, with kaka and weka and i think lots of the other native birds If you do go make sure you book on the night trip to see kiwi with bravo adventure cruises only kiwi we saw in three months on new zealand - fantastic.
Good luck
Chris

New Zealand - Kapiti Island

Chris,

Thanks for your insight. I have spoken to NZ's DOC and she highly recommended both. I am very interested in seeing a kiwi which are on Kapiti, however, I don't think I will be able to spend the night which is the only time to see a kiwi. On Kapiti, you can see a takahe, which would be great as well. It's a tough call. Can you share any experiences about Bravo Adventure Cruises? Was the night tour nice? When you were in NZ, did you go to Dunedin? Did you go to the Albatross Center and Penguin Point?

Thanks,
Jgrnot

scary-canary said:

Haven't been to kapiti, but spent a few days on Stewart birdwatching with my wife about five years ago and it was great. Lots of albatross in the harbour. Visit ula island, a predator free island about ten minutes away by water taxi, with kaka and weka and i think lots of the other native birds If you do go make sure you book on the night trip to see kiwi with bravo adventure cruises only kiwi we saw in three months on new zealand - fantastic.
Good luck
Chris

Click to expand...

The night tour was nice, great fun.

No reason to go to kapiti if you can't spend the night, i don't think.
Are you going to Auckland? Spend a day on Tiritiri Matangi, a little island in the bay, only a 30 minute day cruise away, and they've got everything - takahe kokako, stichbird, bellbird, whitehead, saddleback, etc.

Take an ocean advemtures cruise off kaikoura maybe, great for albatrosses, petrels etc.
Penguins will be on Stewart if you're at the right time of year, or see them at oamaru on south island east coast.

Oh there's so much to see and wherever you go you'll find the birding fantastic and the people very friendly.
But if you want to see kiwi in the wild i reckon it has to be the night cruise, which takes to a deserted beach where you walk through the forest for about 15 minutes and just wait. (NB it was 5 years ago when I went, so can't promise it hasn't changed.)

Kapiti vs Stewart == Tiritiri

Thanks again for your response, and of course I have another question. I took a preliminary look into Tiritiri Matangi and it looks nice. When you went, can you tell me which species you saw. Were the birds readily seen? I am torn, because Kapiti looks nice and has the Takahe, kaka, and parakeet, but Tiritiri has the same. I am a little concerned that Tiritiri allows 20,000 per year while the largest number of people on Kapiti is 50 per day. I was thinking that maybe the fewer distrubances will allow for better viewing, but I am not sure. I just wish I had a month in NZ, rather than the 10 days.

Have a good weekend.

It's the best place you birdwatch in all new zealand.

check this link and also check which days the boats trips run.
Have fun

http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/Showcase-Areas/Tiritiri-Matangi-Island.asp

Mt. Bruce

Thanks, based on your advice and the literature, I think we are going to go there. Also, I think this will also allow us to hit Mt. Bruce Nature Center, which will be a nice place to visit.

Did you visit Mt. Bruce, would you recommend that as well?

Thanks again.

Penguins - Penguin Place - Royal Albatross Center

Hello again,

When you were in NZ, did you visit the Royal Albatross Center and Penguin Place? We were planning on stopping to see the Yellow Eyed Penguin, but we were not planning on stopping in Oamaru, is this a mistake?

We are excited about the Otago Coast, but are there more penguin sightings in Oamaru?

Thanks,
Jeremy

we didn't pay to go in to the albatross centre, just watched them fly around the car park.
Yellow-eyed penguins near oamaru too.

Stewart island

Hi Jgrnot,

Definitely Stewart Island. It doesn't have Little Spotted Kiwi, but is has Brown Kiwi and lots of other endemics. Easily found when visiting easily accesible Ulva Island (just 10 pleasurable minutes by boat, often with little blue penguins). Costs for that are only like 10 dollars.

On Penguins;

Penguins, little blue and yellow-eyed can be found on the Otago and the Catlins coast, Little Blue (as mentioned before) easily at Stewart Island, also on Tiritiri. Tka ethe boat to Steart Island and look for shearwaters and Albatrossess/Mollymawks. These can also be seen from Ackers Point (as the blue penguins). Watch incoming fishingboats in halfmoon Bay they ate followed by dozens of Mollymawks and sometimes also a few Albatrossess. The latter don't venture as far in the Bay as do the Mollymawks (at least not when I was there).

On Tiritiri;

Visitor numbers on Tititiri don't seem to influence the number of birds you can see. In general NZ birdlife is not very shy. So thats not a reason to skip Tiritiri for Kapiti.

My advise stays;
Do Stewart Island (endemics and seabirdoppertunities) and if possible also Tiritiri (then you have your Takahe, Stitchbird and maybe even Brown Teal). Tomtits are only on Stewart Island and not on Tiritiri. Tka einto account that Fouveaux Strait is often quite rough (Seasickness). The flight to Stewart Island is not that much more expensive and saves you the seasickness if you are prone for that. Nice thing about Stewart Island is that there live the only Diurnal Kiwis of NZ! Even these have already been sighted during the day on Ulva Island (certainly not guaranteed though at the moment)

Cheers,
Leo

Have fun,
Leo

Leo,

Thanks for your input. Sadly, I am unsure if we will be able to make it to Stewart Island. You are right, the flights are probably the best option, which would make the day an easy trip. However, I am not sure when we'll be back to NZ and there are many things we would like to see. We are also going to Kaikoura to see the whales. Then we plan on going to the Royal Albatross Center as well as Penguin Place on the Otago Coast. From Dunedin we were planning on going to Te Anau for a day, then to the Haast region for a day. Are there any birding areas on the West that are worth discussing? Also, are there any birding areas near the glaciers?

As far as you are concerned, Steward Island would be on the top of your list, correct? Ulva island does sound great.

What was your impression of Tiritiri? Have you been to the Mt. Bruce breeding center, would you recommend visiting there?

Any advice you have is appreciated.

Jgrnot.

Leo,

Also, do you know a good place to see a Kea on the west coast?

Jgrnot

You could see them on the roadside anywhere near Arthur's Pass. You're bound to see them if you go to milford Sound. And rock wren at Homer tunnel

My advice would be, if you're looking to save time, don't go to Stewart, but don't miss a day on titritiri!
Chris

Who would have thought that planning a vacation would be so difficult. Your suggestion of Tiritiri has saved us a needed day, and I am really looking forward to seeing a takahe. I am also hoping to see a kokako.

That's great news about the Kea, I hope to see one. We are going to Milford Sound and the Glaciers, so chances are good. How about the Kaka, are they on Tiritiri?

On a non-birding topic, did you go to Rotorua? We were thinking about skipping that in favor of Wellington's Te Papa museum.

Hi. I joined this forum just to give you advice on visiting NZ! lol! It is one of my favourite things to do. (Just so you know, I'm a Michigander who has been living in NZ for 8 years.)

First: glad you're going to Tiritiri. It is so wonderful. The number of visitors does not decrease your chances to seeing birds, as previously said. The birds are very used to people. Kaka do not live on Tiri but very occassionaly visit from Little Barrier Island--but in my 8 years of going to tiri at least twice a year, I've never seen a Kaka there). BTW, the boat ride to tiri from downtown auckland is about 1 hr 15 mins, not 30 mins as mentioned somewhere on this thread.

Kapiti is beautiful and has a different feel from tiri but I much prefer tiri.

As for rotorua, in some ways it is a big tourist trap, but a nice one! There are so many motels and souvenir shops, but I still love it. All the geothermal sites are really cool--my favourite is the boiling mud--I could watch that for hours. The maori cultural stuff is great too. You said you were going to go to Te Papa in Wellington instead. It is a great museum, but doesn't replace a visit to rotorua, so I guess you just have to decide which you'd like to see.

While in Wellington, go to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/
You'll most likely see kaka there.

I guess you've decided to skip Stewart Island. Too bad, but makes sense since you don't have much time here. I do recommend the Bravo Adventure Cruises--have been twice and thought it was great.

If you're going to be in Christchurch and you aren't going to be able to see a kiwi otherwise, go to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. They have the best Kiwi House that I've seen in NZ--the kiwi aren't behind glass like at every other kiwi house--they are right there in front of you, you could reach out and touch them--you can hear them snuffling for food and smell them too. We were so close to them. I didn't like the small cages for the primates that I felt had no business being there, but the kiwi house was fantastic.

http://www.willowbank.co.nz/reserve.asp

Hmmm...What else....I'll post again when I think of something!

Hello Robin

Hello Robin,

Thanks for your thread and your advice. Where in NZ do you live?

My wife and I have readjusted our itinerary this weekend to reduce our driving times and this is what we've come up with. If you could give us any advice or list any birds that we may see in each spot, that would be great!

Day One - Auckland - Montana Heritage Trail (to see some Kauris), Auckland Museum, etc
Day Two - Tiritiri
Day Three - Dunedin - We are thinking about taking the Elm Wildlife Tour which we will hopefully see the yellow eyed penguins, albatross, hooker sea lions as well as other wildlife
Day Four - Te Anou/Milford Sound
Day Five - Wanaka - Mount Aspiring Nat'l Park
Day Six - Fox Glacier
Day Seven - Queenstown
Day Eight - Kaikoura - whales, and hiking
Day Nine - Blenheim
Day Ten - Christchurch - we are planning on visiting the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve and the museum.

As you can see, we have packed a lot into little time, but I am very excited. If we are hiking in and around Mount Aspiring, the glaciers, and Queenstown, is it likely that we will see a Kea? Any ideas on hikes or nature areas to see after taking a cruise around Milford Sound? Any other highlights you would recommend would be great.

How did you end up in NZ from Michigan? We lived in Lansing last year.

Thanks for your help,
Jeremy

Hi! Just a quick reply now as I don't have much time.

When are you going to sleep!? You sure have packed a lot in and I'm a bit worried that on some days you're going to be driving and driving and not be able to see anything. I'll think about it further and post later.

One thing--the ferries to Tiri only go Thurs-Sun so I hope your itinerary coincides with one of these days!

Robin

Robin,

You are right, we'll be driving and driving, but except for one or two days, we should be driving less than 3 hours a day. We are going to Tiritiri on a Saturday, which allows us to go there, which worked out nicely. It will definitely be a taxing trip, but hopefully we get to see all of the great sights. When you get a second, I do look forward to your thoughts.

Jgrnot

Day 3--Excellent tour--at least it was about 9 years ago when I did it. It has grown since then and I don't think the owner does the tours any more, but I'm sure he's trained the guides up well.
Day 4--Dunedin--Te Anau is 4 hours drive, plus then over an hour to Milford
Day 5--Te Anau to Wanaka--about 4 hours
Day 6--Wanaka to Fox--about 3.5 hours
Day 7--Fox to Queenstown--about 4.5 hours
Day 8--Queenstown to Kaikoura--about 8.5 hours
Day 9--Kaikoura to Blenheim--about 1.5 hours
Day 10--Blenheim to Chch--about 4 hours

I'm not trying to discourage you, just wanting to you have a realistic idea of the driving. I've gotten these times from a tourist map so they may be a bit generous. Are you planning to fly to dunedin late on day 2 or early on day 3? I assume you'll have a car to get to the Montana Heritage trail? I recommend the Maori concert at the Auckland museum.

I live in central Auckland and I got here the usual way--fell in love with a kiwi and followed him here. I thought I'd live here for maybe 2 years, but have been here for 8. We now have a wonderful 1 year-old daughter.

Will write more later.

Robin

Robin,

That's great about your daughter, congratulations.

I actually made one type-o, instead of going from the glaciers back to Queenstown, we are heading to Greymouth. Do you know if there is anything worth while to do in Greymouth? Have you driving across the dividing range?

We are flying from Auckland to Dunedin, the fares weren't too bad, and it will save us a lot of driving. Originally we were going to go to Wellington, but it's just not in the cards.

We do know that this will be an intense trip, but we are thinking about kids, and I doubt we'll be back anytime soon. We can always hope, but I doubt it. What's the economy like in NZ? Have you been able to imigrate easily?

Look forward to your ideas on the west coast, and do you know if Keas are easily seen?

Thanks