One hour from Wellington, on the south side of the west coast of the north island, there lays an island that is a holy grail for ecologists, Kapiti Island. The New Zealand Department of Conservation has rebuilt Kapiti Island as a predator-free nature reserve, where native flora and fauna can thrive. Before we describe why this is so cool, a little history is in order:

When New Zealand broke off from Gondwanaland 120,000 years ago, the birds on the island evolved in the absence of mammalian predators. As a result, enormous birds like the 3 meter high Giant Moa could be found roaming the island, along with a large variety of flightless birds, e.g., the kiwi. When the Maori arrived, they introduced 15 or so new species, including the Kuri, or Pacific Dog, and rats. These mammals decimated bird populations by hunting the birds or devouring their eggs, and the Maoris themselves hunted the Moa to extinction.

Enter the Europeans in the late 18th century. They brought with them over 2500 introduced species, some by accident via boats, such as mice and various species of insects, some for agriculture, such as sheep and cows, and some for pleasure, such as birds as pets or rabbits for hunting. The rabbit population grew out of control, so the stoat was introduced to curb the rabbit population, except the stoat found flightless birds and their eggs a much easier and tastier target than rabbits, and so many unique species of flightless birds continued their slow grind towards extinction.

The Australian Possum was also introduced, since its fur is very soft and sought after for clothing, hats, and gloves. Unfortunately, it also devours the native bush, and the possum population has grown rapidly. They are decimating the native New Zealand trees and bush, and if they are not controlled, they will destroy the cornerstone of New Zealand's natural beauty along with the country's basis for tourism. Needless to say, the Possum is the #1 hated introduced species, and folks here specifically aim for them when they see them on the road. The government is even considering a "green tax" of $20 which will go specifically towards eradication of the possum.

So, how does this apply to Kapiti Island? Well, in 1987, the island was in shambles. Mice and possums had destroyed most of the native flora and fauna that lived on the island. The Department of Conservation decided to attempt an eradication program to remove all predators, replant native bush, and introduce threatened or endangered species back into the wild on a predator-free island. After 5 years, they succeeded in eliminating mice and destroyed over 21,000 possums.

Since then, the forest has regenerated and taken over the island once more. And now, there are dozens of species of rare birds living happily on the island, including a species called the Tukahe, which is a beautiful flightless blue bird with red beak that was thought to be extinct until a handful were found in Fiordland on the South Island. Fewer than 100 exist now in the wild.

Each day, a lucky 50 visitors are allowed to go hiking on this island. As we mentioned earlier, when we arrived in Wellington, we secured two of these 50 permits to visit Kapiti. The only way over to the island is by one of two ferries, about one hour's drive west of Wellington. Before boarding, our bags were searched to confirm we weren't accidentally bringing over any critters.

We arrived on the island and attended a brief talk by the DOC warden who explained the history of the island, covered the ground rules to enjoy the island while respecting the massive scientific experiment that is in progress, and sent us on our way. There were two trails, one meandering and one fairly straight up. Everyone else chose the meandering trail, so we took the other one, called the Trig trail, in the hopes that we might disturb the birds less and have a better experience.

After a few switchbacks and light walking, we began the ascent, and shortly thereafter, we were accompanied by lots of great critters. The endangered Kaka, a flightless parakeet, alerted us to its presence whenever it dropped bark from high up in the trees during feeding.

We spent time at Hihi (fantastic yellow-striped little birds with great songs) feeding stations. It is out competed for food by other transplanted birds, so the DOC placed sugar water in strategic locations so the Hihi could feed. We watched these fun little birds and listened to their song.

There were many other birds with fabulous calls accompanying us to the top, including the uber-curious and hungry Weka, which hung out at our feet while we ate lunch, hoping for scraps. We noticed green and white tags on its feet from a tagging and relocation program implemented when poison baits were set for the mice on the island (some Wekas died when they, too, were attracted to the bait).

We finally got to the top, and we enjoyed a spectacular panoramic view out over the bottom of the north island and to the distance we could see the south island. We grabbed a quick snack and headed back down via the other trail. We arrived 20 minutes before the shuttle was due back, and we hung out on the beach waiting for its arrival. We rode back and basked in the glow of a rewarding hike.

Next up on our list was to drive to Tongariro National Park, where the one-day Tongariro Crossing hike was waiting for us. This is considered by some to be the best one-day hike in New Zealand, with alpine bush, volcanic craters, volcanoes, dense beech forest, and native bush.

Since it is coming into winter here and the weather changes rapidly, we called the Department of Conservation in Tongariro to find out the conditions, and we learned that an unfavorable weather pattern was forming and if we didn't do the hike the very next day, we wouldn't get another chance for a week.

Still a little tired from Abel Tasman and after 5 hours of hiking on Kapiti, we had no choice and headed out to Tongariro for the hike. En route, we finished gearing up with food, water, etc., and we got to Tongariro with enough time to grab dinner, pack up, and get ready for an 8AM departure.