Nga Manu

Noreen and I spent New Year up on the Kapiti Coast. We stayed in a bed and breakfast at Raumati Beach and on New Year’s Day had a leisurely drive back to Wellington through Waikanae, the Akatarawa Road to Upper Hutt and through Moonshine Road which I had never travelled before.

First point of call was Nga Manu nature reserve. This 13 hectare site was established in 1974 and is the largest remnant of coastal lowland swamp forest on the Kapiti coast. It comprises several lakes,
bush

and a visitor centre. We played tourists
and wandered around for a couple of hours.

We saw tuatara,

pukeko,

ruru (this one is sitting on an old broom and being nocturnal they are held in a darkened aviary - hence the poor light level),

the kea were very friendly and wanted to nibble Noreen’s toes and taste the camera lens when I got too close,

a typically fat kereru,

kaka

and a host of other birds (tui, scaup, fantails to name but a few) that I didn’t get decent photos of.!