It’s been a while since Bay Tours visited either magnificent Kapiti Island or mysterious Matiu/Somes Island. Historically notable as the stronghold of Ngati Toa warrior chief Te Rauparaha, since 1897 conservationists have worked to gradually return Kapiti Island to its original splendour. Today the island is one of New Zealand’s most valuable nature reserves and bird sanctuaries. Burgeoning numbers of smaller birds like kakariki (red-crowned parakeet), robin, bellbird, saddleback and stitchbird join kokako, takahe, kereru (NZ wood pigeon), kaka and weka in abundance. In contrast to Kapiti, Matiu/Somes Island, which is the largest island in Wellington Harbour, has spent much of the last 140 years trying to keep its inhabitants ON the island rather than stopping them from coming ashore. Its harbour location made it an ideal position for the country’s first inner harbour lighthouse, a human quarantine station, an internment camp, military defence position and animal quarantine station. Basing ourselves at lovely Raumati South, our tour will include a full day spent on Kapiti Island hosted and guided by local experts, as well as an exploration of the many historical sites of Matiu/Somes Island. Here’s a summary of the tour;
Day 1: Departing Hawke’s Bay we enjoy a cuppa at Waipawa and make our way to Palmerston North and lunch at the splendid Elm Café. After lunch we make our way to the Kapiti Coast and our home for the next 3 nights, the lovely Raumati Sands Resort.
Day 2: Today we will spend the day on Kapiti Island, beginning with biosecurity checks at Paraparaumu Beach before we take the boat across to the island itself. Our visit will include guided walks that focus on the history of the island before the arrival of humans and will point out the unique flora and fauna that thrives there. We’ll enjoy a hosted lunch with the only family permitted to live on Kapiti Island plus there’ll be plenty of free time to explore the island at your leisure. This evening we enjoy a special dinner at the renowned 50/50 Restaurant in Paraparaumu Beach.
Day 3: We make our way to Wellington and spend the morning exploring Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour. Check out the historic quarantine stations and WWII gun emplacements as well as the lighthouse – still in operation – together with the stunning views all around the harbour and up the Hutt Valley. We reboard the East By West ferry at lunchtime and carry on across the harbour to beautiful Days Bay. After a leisurely lunch at The Pavilion we make our way back to Raumati via Petone and the picturesque Pauatahanui Inlet.
Day 4: A special treat awaits us this morning. We depart Raumati and travel back into the Hutt Valley over Hayward’s Hill. In Silverstream we’ll visit a special ‘Garden Of National Significance’, the private Gillies family garden, where Pete Gillies will guide us around his ¾ acre garden before we have morning tea in their stunning Arts & Crafts style house designed and built by James Chapman-Taylor. We make our way through the lovely Wairarapa, stopping for lunch in Greytown, before we head homeward.
The islands and gardens we’ll visit on this tour are unique treasures of our country, preserving flora and fauna of all kinds and much of the social history of settlement in the Wellington region too. It is a privilege to have access to these sites – some private, some difficult to get to. Join us on a pilgrimage to a few of our country’s most special places.