Codfish Island

a close-up of kakapo feathers

a kakapo! he's about 100 years old, thats why he has cataracts. his name is richard henry. right at this moment of being photographed, he has just been released from the rangers who did some medical stuff to him. im sure he is cursing human kind as he skulks off into the forest like an old hunchback.

a yellow eyed penguin. thats right, a penguin.

a fur-seal. he smells, umm, pungent.

aack! so dern cute. i mean, isnt this a lovely specimen? it's a ruru if you're Maori and a morepork if you're white folk. i prefer ruru. it was about 10 inches tall. we gazed at eachother for 5 minutes and he, of course, didnt reveal all the secrets of the universe that i know he knows. he then got tired of all the nearby birds skwawking at him (or her) and flew right over my head, missing me by mere inches! was it aiming for me? perhaps.

I have been on the island for 6 days now. Its hard to know what day of the week it is out here, which is awesome! Besides myself there are 3 other humans on this island, and a hut, which is pretty large and cosy, all the amenities of civilisation. Every day I hike an obsene distance to feed the kakapo supplement food. Its worth it, but its the most I think my body has ever had to work daily. There are 5 different routes with 5-7 birds to feed on each route. Me and the other volunteer do one route a day each. We get every 6th day off. When i'm not hiking out into the forest, which is like a fairy tale, by the way, i'm reading, walking on the beach (a stones throw from the hut) where I pester the local wildlife, email people because I miss my homies, and sleep.

The only way on the island is by a small plane or helicopter. The airstrip is the beach. No one is allowed on the island without an okay from the dept. of conservation, which is what i am working through. This island has never been logged, burned, or farmed, unlike 90% of new zealand, and the difference is amazing. the diversity of the flora in the forest is much greater than in other forest remnants i've been to on the mainland, and except for a handful of weeds near the beach, there are no invasive plants! amazing! there are a couple birds that made it to this island which arent native, the blackbird and the thrush i think. Anyway, I am doing alright, but a little homesick, yes, even here. So if any of y'all wanna give me a shout via this computer module machine, I'd be ever so pleased. Love and amazing animal encounters to all.