Tiritiri Matangi - a very special place.

This lighthouse was built to guide ships into Aukland harbour. The lighthouse keepers house is now the head rangers.


Lee and the target male Stitchbird. Don't get confused with the Peru T-shirt, this is New Zealand.

A rare Kokako flies down to take a quick drink. He is called 'TKW' and has 2 chicks hidden away in the bush.


Lee with a North Island Saddleback but unfortunately due to predation by introduced mammals they don't exist on the mainland.

Takahe were thought to be extinct until a very small population was found and then a conservation effort to save the species was set up. They're doing really well here on Tiri.

The weather was great on our stay and the sunsets were excellent too.

Rachaels photo of a very rare Tuatara shows just how prehistoric it looks.

Fitting this Gecko with a nifty rucksack helps the researchers find and monitor this island species.

Tiri is famous for its Little Spotted Kiwi population and this is one of the best places in the world to see one. We saw a total of 8 on our stay.

Coming back to Aukland we were lucky enough to see the Queen Mary 2. She is as long as 41 double-decker London buses (31½ ft. each) and if you have a dog on board you can put him in the kennels and the kennel master will look after him and take him for walks for you.