Protecting New Zealand's Nature

Here is my mother's blog aboout her latest adventure. This Sunday she is going to Vietnam, so hopefully we will hear about that in a few weeks. Enjoy.

I have just returned from 5 fabulous days, working for the Department of Conservation, on Motuora Island. This is an 80 hectare island 5 kms off shore, on the east coast, just north of Auckland. The highest point on the island is 69 metres above sea level. The only permanent residents on the island are the manager and his wife.
The Motuora Restoration Society work with the Department of Conservation in restoring native values to the island. Each year about 25,000 plants are grown and planted by volunteers. The long term vision is for the island to be an open sanctuary and home to endangered species. Also, to date, there about 60 NZ brown Kiwi on the island, together with tuis, quail and pukeko.
Our job was to plant out native trees, help with weeding, and general maintenance. During our free time we walked round the coast and admired the many rock pools, and the volcanic structure of the cliffs.
The weather was perfect, but the forecast for the last day wasn't so good, so a water taxi was sent out in the morning, to get us back to the mainland before the predicted high winds and stormy weather arrived.
The 4 of us who went on this trip had a great time, and will look forward to returning to the island, at a later date, to see the progress made with all the plantings.