| NEW ZEALAND- December 2004 |
| Claire Rosemary Jane, Children's Author |
| Visit to New Zealand |
| New Zealand homepage New Zealand Index page Towns and Cities: Auckland Wellington Christchurch Invercargill Nelson Picton Greymouth Queenstown Napier Gisborne Taupo Rotorua Paihia Specific Excursions: Franz Joseph glacier. Stewart Island Ulva island Southern Alps Tongariro Crossing Cape Reinga Christmas Day in Rotorua Travelling Currency. |
| Situated in Paterson Inlet, Ulva Island is mostly owned by New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC), but part of it is privately owned. Ulva Island's main purpose nowadays is to enable endangered species to breed without fear of predators, of which the most troublesome were rats. As a result, a carefully orchestrated programme of rat eradiaction has been carried out. (See Photo below.) In constantly pouring rain for the whole of the time I was on Ulva Island, I walked all of the main public trails, saw Weka, Oystercatchers, Tui and a Stewart Island Robin, which obligingly waited for me to photograph him. It was at this point that I discovered that my digital camera had ceased to work, so I switched to the 35 mm camera. But by this time I had tried the Stewart Island Robin's patience too long and he had moved deeper into the undergrowth. So I did not get the photograph. I also heard Kaka, but had to wait until later in the day when back on Stewart Isalnd to actually see one. As for the Kiwis, as they are nocturnal I was not expecting to see one, I would have to wait until I was in Rotorua before I would actually SEE a Kiwi. The work being done on Ulva Island is both fascinating, and very necessary. In an age when we are destroying many of the world's resources at an alarming and unprecedented rate, we have a duty to do everything that we can for future generations to experience and hopefully be able to enjoy. |
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| Ulva Island |
| My main website is at http://clairerosemaryjane.co.uk |
| Below This picture, the very last taken using my digital camera, before the rain managed to get into the camera and ruin it, shows one of the rodent traps. Even now the occasional rodent gets onto Ulva Island, and all visitors to the island are urged to make sure that they do not play host to unwanted hitchhikers such as rats in their boats or in their luggage or their food containers. |
| All photographs are copyright Claire Rosemary Jane, not to be used without written permission. |
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