Friday 14th September - Last full day of work on Tiritiri

Having completed our round of troughs, we went on to see loads of kokako all day:

We opted for an early tea break, after which we made a packed lunch before heading out. Today we meant business. We were going to finish that darn track even if it took us the rest of the day!

There were amazing bird sounds when we got down there:

It was as if they were singing to encourage us.  Here’s our quest for the day: 

Hilz looking proud in front of some of our work from earlier in the week....

But this entire section was still looking very overgrown.... remember folks, 1 meter clear each side!

We had our lunch break whilst surveying the work remaining. We could do this!

Now that's looking better....

 

It was very hard work but very satisfying. We caused the most damage to ourselves when we had to drag the severed branches and small trees off into the undergrowth to hide the carnage. We both had scrapes and scratches all over our arms.  It was mid-afternoon by the time we completed the task at hand. It felt like a great achievement, even if not directly related to conservation, more to do with eco-tourism. But I guess that’s also important for education and getting people engaged with the endangered species. We celebrated by walking down to the beach and having a lie-down – our bodies were aching all over! Another cold dip may have done us good, but it wasn’t warm enough for a swim today.

Look nice enough but a biting wind made it too cold for a swim today.

Our job done, we trudged back uphill to the bunkhouse for our last night on Tiri.  It was busy again tonight.  A group of year twelve biology students and their teachers were staying for the night, so we had to grab our last supper when we could and made a hasty retreat to our room.  They made a heck of a mess in the kitchen and a heck of a lot of noise late into the evening. I hope they do some clearing up in the morning or that may be our last job before leaving!

The communal eating area in the bunkhouse

The kitchen

Our room (photo with BOTH my bed in!)