Vodafone Warriors community visits take in all manner of destinations but arguably none has been as spectacular as Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
Led by community relations coordinator Georgia Hale, club staff made the 75-minute ferry trip from downtown Auckland with charity partner KidsCan and Coffee Club staff, stopping en route to pick up a group of Parakai School pupils, staff and parents.
Tiritiri Matangi is renowned as a stunning wildlife sanctuary inhabited by an array of native birds while it also features New Zealand’s oldest operating lighthouse.
Basking in warm, sunny weather, the visiting party first enjoyed guided tours through the native bush, stopping to hear and see many of the island’s birds.
The tour stopped at the top of the island which offers breath-taking 360-degree views of the gulf with Auckland – and the Sky Tower – to the south.
Once there it was time to engage with the kids in some learning-based activities while also mingling with them before heading back through the bush to the pier for the trip home.
The island is managed by Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi Inc. On its website, the organisation says: “Tiritiri Matangi Island is one of New Zealand’s most important and exciting conservation projects. It is located 30km north-east of central Auckland and just 4km from the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. A hundred and twenty years of farming had seen this 220-hectare island stripped of 94% of its native bush but, between 1984 and 1994, volunteers planted between 250,000 and 300,000 trees. The island is now 60% forested with the remaining 40% left as grassland for species preferring open habitat.”
To find out more visit http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/
