KAPITI ISLAND

Being between Wellington and the KapitiCoast for almost 5 months, we’ve had the plan to visit KapitiIsland for a long time., but somehow never it worked out. Finally - last Sunday we took our opportunity and went together with Caro and Dave, Ed, Antje and Olli! And an amazing day was to come!8:10 AM we left Plimmerton and arrived 45 min later at the KapitiBoatingClub in ParapaumuBeach. Already on the boat but still ashore, I was watching the sea and I couldn’t believe what I saw!!! First I thought there’s a guy on his Kajak in the Water, but it looked different, more like a KILLERWHALE!!!! Most people didn’t believe me, but 5 min later it appeared again! Ross the Skipper didn’t seemed very impressed, more likely used to it. Later on we’ve all seen 3 or 4 Orcas following our boat and swimming very close by. This experience was as amazing as unexpected! Ross turned the engines off and we could watch the Orcas for a couple of minutes before we took off to the island full of birds.The Island itself has an interesting history, especially around 1820 when Kapiti has been the base for the infamous Maori chief TeRauparaha. He was one the most brutal chiefs and killed lots of other Maori tribes during his conquers. During the Musket War, he and his tribe Ngati Toa, killed over 1.000 other Maori, which tried to conquer Kapiti (they were looking for revenge). Afterwards they had a big feast at Paraparaumu, which means "scraps from an earth oven".
OK, back to our visit at Kapiti. As I already wrote, the island is a perfect spot for bird watching. There are many endangered species to see, such as Kiwi, Tekahe, Robins, Weka, Kaka and and and…(quite complicated names o remember). On our hike on the island we’ve been lucky enough to see wuite a few of those birds. The funniest encounter we had with the KAKA. These birds are so clever and curious, that it landed on my backpack to check out what’s in it! The track ended on the highst peak of Kapiti, with a stunning view to the Tasman Sea and the North Island.All together we’ve had a beautiful and exciting day, which I won’t forget!!!