Kiwi Rangers on Tiritiri Matangi

Tiritiri Matangi is one of Auckland's sanctuaries for birds. Like Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington, anyone can access it by ferry.

A day-trip to Tiri gives you a good 5 hours for exploring and having a picnic, you can even arrange to stay overnight. Also like Matiu/Somes, Tiri has been replanted and cared for by thousands of volunteers. Volunteers still play a big role on the island, providing informative and interesting guided walks. More on this in my next blog.



Tiritiri Matangi is the first North Island site to join the DOC Kiwi Ranger programme, so I was keen to see how that worked and how popular it was. Being school holidays there were plenty of children on our trip to Tiri and many of them left the island with Kiwi Ranger badges. Even a few adults left with badges!

For $2 children can purchase the Kiwi Ranger booklet, which includes 12 interesting activities all based around the wildlife and history of Tiri. Depending on their age children complete a certain number of these activities to become a Tiritiri Matangi Kiwi Ranger.

What a great scheme! I look forward to seeing this opportunity in other places in the North Island.