About the Tour

Enrolments for both these trips will be open early November.

Kapiti Island Day Trip

Now a nature reserve and one of New Zealand’s most important sites for bird recovery, Kapiti Island was once Te Rauparaha’s stronghold, and a key location for Māori military activity up until the 1830s.  This seminar/field trip combination is a great way to hear about the conservation initiative and experience for yourself the recovering native forest inhabited with birds that are rare or non-existent on mainland New Zealand. You will land at Rangatira Point and have the opportunity to explore along the Wilkinson and/or Trig tracks.  Places on the field trip are limited to 30, so please enrol early.

Kapiti Island 2 Day Experience

This year we are also offering a unique opportunity for 17 people to stay overnight on Kapiti Island in shared accommodation.  On day one you will land at Rangatira Point and have the opportunity to explore along the Wilkinson and/or Trig tracks.  In the afternoon you’ll be transported by boat to your accommodation at North End.  After dinner and drinks you will be able to experience the avian ‘night-life’ of Kapiti Island and the following day you can observe the bird species that inhabit the shrub land around Okupe Lagoon or do the Okupe Loop Walk.  Places on the overnight stay and North End field trip are limited to 17, so please enrol early.

Teacher Bio

George Gibbs is a Senior Research Associate in the School of Biological Sciences at Victoria University having retired from the position of Associate Professor in 1999. After an academic career as an entomologist, he is now teaching a summer trimester course on the history and characteristics of New Zealand's fauna and flora. His book, Ghosts of Gondwana, received a 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Award.

John Barrett (Ngati Toa, Te Atiawa and Ngati Raukawa) jointly owns and operates tourism company, Kapiti Island Alive. His grandmother was the last of the family farmers on Kapiti Island.