Up close and personal with kiwi chicks on Rotorua Island

Saturday March the 12th 12/03/2022

Today was a very special amazing day as I got close up and personal with three kiwi chicks!

The day was spent at Rotorua Island, a small island east of Waiheke Island. I had e-mailed them several weeks ago to see if I could land on the island by helicopter and luckily they said yes. Also my father’s birthday is this month, so he came along and it was great to spend the day with my Dad, share a helicopter flight with him and of course see rare kiwi chicks.

I visited Rotorua Island back in 2014 for a kiwi release with Nadia & Robin, so it has taken me 8 years to return, and this time by chopper. It was an early start as I wanted to be on the island before 10am well before the ferry arrives and relax before the kiwi release action begins.

For the first time ever, Robin woke me up! At 6.30am. Normally it is Luke and I who are the early birds in the house, Robin must have been excited. We were in the car by 7.30am then picking up my Dad, (Da) at 8am.

We arrived at Ardmore where I got the helicopter ready for the day and we were airborne around 9.15. It only took 10 minutes to fly to Rotorua, a lot quicker than the 75 minute ferry ride.

I like flying somewhere new as its always a nice little challenge which helps keep up my pilot skills up such as landing in a field on an island instead of a nice easy airfield. Glen who works as a ranger on the island drove out to meet us in a ute. He parked near where they wanted us to land and he also gave us a lift down to the centre of the island. The boys and I sat in the back of the ute and both of them absolutely loved it! Glen didn’t go fast and he was super safe but being in the back on the tray of a ute was just like something out of my childhood and both boys were so excited.

We relaxed at the Exhibition centre for the next half an hour waiting for the ferry to arrive. This gave me time to go through the museum, with the history of the Salvation Army who used the island to help alcoholics in the past. When the ferry arrived both Robin and Luke were given a Kiwi to carry from the ute to inside, both boys were super excited to actually be carrying a box with a real live kiwi inside. Luke noticed that they really smell, and he was right – it was like wet socks once you got up close.

The shock and awe of carrying live kiwi chicks!

At 11am Jo the manager took out a kiwi and went round slowly so everyone could get up close and personal with the kiwi. There was a crowd of about 100 people from the ferry and there were lots of happy faces as everyone got to see a kiwi up close even if no touching was allowed.

Jo showing everyone the young kiwi chick

Our next plan was to go on the walking tour, but we were so lucky as Jo invited us to join the small number of people who went to release the kiwi’s.

So everyone else dispersed to explore the island and we headed off into the bush with Robin carrying a kiwi in a cat box the whole way on the 15 minute journey into the bush. They really let the kids involved which is great. Once we arrived in the middle of the bush, each kiwi was given a name and Robin choose Bobby, and this was combined with another child who choose ‘spark’, to the kiwi was named Bobby-spark.

Robin carrying the kiwi for a good 15 minutes into the bush

Each kiwi was taken out one by one and we got a very special up close and personal look at these young kiwi that were only a few weeks old. Rotorua Island is used like a crèche for young kiwi who are moved back to Coromandel once they are big enough to fend for themselves.

It is quite mind blowing to think we got to carry, name and get so close to real kiwi’s during the daylight. The kiwi were then placed into a wooden nest which is open at one end so they can come out when they want – most likely at night and explore their new home.

We all then headed back down to ladies bay, where everyone else rested while I headed out to find the walking tour which I had booked and paid for, even if we had missed the beginning of it. It took a bit of finding but I eventually located them – I had missed the Salvation Army bit but had joined in just in time for the discussion on the birds and plants on the island.

View from the top of Rotorua Island after our tour, with the helicopter in the far distance on the left

As the tour headed back to ladies bay, I collected the others and we continued on the tour up to the top of the island.

Da and Luke on heading back down to Ladies Bay

After the tour we went back to ladies bay, with Luke and I swimming, while Robin, Julianne and Da relaxed on the beach. There was this log over 2 meters long which Luke managed to drag 5 meters into the water all by himself, very impressive and was a lot of fun to play on in the water.

Around 3pm we headed back to the visitor centre, grabbed an ice block then headed back to the helicopter for our trip home.

The flight home was fun as we cruised along at around 600 feet above the sea and then down the Clevedon valley direct into the runway using the airplane circuit and not the helicopter joining aim points, not something I normally but was more direct for today and it’s been a while since I have joined a busy airplane circuit – a bit of fun.

Blog

Up close and personal with kiwi chicks on Rotorua Island