Kapiti Island
| Kapiti Island | ||
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| Waters | Tasman Sea | |
| Geographical location | 40 ° 51 '13 " S , 174 ° 55' 8" O | |
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| surface | 19.65 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 520 m | |
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Kapiti Island is an island that is located about 8 km off the west coast of the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand and is very clearly visible from there. It covers an area of 19.65 km².
The western side of the island facing the Tasman Sea is very rocky in places and has crags up to 520 m high, which drop steeply into the sea. In an area traversing the island, an original fracture line of the surface appears (as part of the same ridge line as in the Tararua Range ).
The island's vegetation is dominated by scrub and forest of the New Zealand plants Kohekohe , Tawa and Kanuka . Most of the forest has regenerated naturally after many years of slash and burn farming and farming. In some areas, the original bush has been preserved, with trees up to 30 m (100 feet) high.
The island's name has also been used since 1989 for the Kapiti Coast District , which includes the villages of Paraparaumu and Waikanae .
history
Māori settled on the island around 1700 and 1800 . A base was established here under the Māori tribal leader Te Rauparaha , and his tribe, the Ngāti Toa , used their canoes on hunting trips up to the Whanganui River and south to the Marlborough Sounds .
The sea area near the island was a breeding ground for whales; up to 2,000 people were stationed on the island during the whale season. From the Tran whale oil was recovered and this then to America for use in machine shipped (before the Petroleum -Zeitalter). Some whales can still be seen here today.
The island's potential to be preserved was recognized as early as 1870, the island became a bird sanctuary in 1897, but it was not until 1987 that the Department of Conservation took over supervision. In the 1980s and 1990s efforts began to renaturalize the island, the sheep were removed from the island and the possums wiped out. Then in 1998 the rats of the island were destroyed. A complete eviction from an island of this size was previously thought to be difficult.
Great care is therefore taken today to ensure that no possums or rats get to the island on one of the boats. In the case of tour groups, the bags are therefore also checked to ensure that none of these robbers are knowingly or unknowingly brought to the island.
Current time
The island is entirely covered by the Kapiti Island Nature Reserve and borders the Kapiti Marine Reserve . Most of it is in public ownership.
The island is (naturalized most back) home to a variety of native birds, including takahē , kōkako , New Zealand duck , saddle bird , tomtit , New Zealand Fantail , New Zealand morepork , Wekaralle (hybrids of subspecies of the North and South Island), stitch bird and South Island Robin .
The southern striped kiwi or tokoeka and the small patch kiwi or dwarf kiwi were released on the island between 1890 and 1910, for the latter the island is one of the last places of retreat. The extinction of rats has resulted in an increase in the red-crowned goat parakeets , New Zealand Robins, Bellbirds and Saddlebacks. The island is now one of New Zealand's most important bird sanctuaries. In April 2005 a safe habitat was created here for the New Zealand lesser bat, which is endangered in its home population in Tararuas .
Because of its proximity to Wellington, there are regular tourist trips to the island, which are particularly popular with bird lovers. These excursions are limited to 50 people per day and a maximum of 15,000 visitors per year are allowed to enter the island. There is also the possibility of staying with a local family on the island and watching the little spotted kiwi during a guided night tour (see web links below). The absence of natural predators means that New Zealand's birds are very trusting here.
Web links
- Kapiti Island Nature Reserve . Department of Conservation , archived from the original onFebruary 5, 2010; accessed on August 25, 2014(English, original website no longer available).