The Hunt for the Grey Ghost: The North Island Kokako

The sea was choppy today. I felt my stomach give another terrible lurch skywards, then sidewards, and basically all around my insides. I did not have my sea legs it seemed. The passengers around me where chomping down on toasted sandwiches and hot chips, while I was willing my oatmeal from earlier to stay down at all costs. It would seem a bad omen I felt to vomit all over the boat before my epic adventure even started.

I was excited.

Today I was heading to Tiritiri Matangi Island in search for the North Island kokako, or the grey ghost as some call it. A rare endemic bird to New Zealand, known for its haunting organ like song and brilliant blue wattles on its neck. I had never seen one before, but had heard that some called Tiritiri Matangi Island home sweet home.

Tiritiri Matangi Island is a wildlife reserve located around 30km from Auckland central and off the coast of the Whangaparapa Peninsula. This reserve started as farmland, but in the 1980s volunteers planted more than 200,000 trees on the island and today, it is 60% covered with alive green forest. And it started with an idea.

The landing onto the island was rough as the sea demonstrated its temper by crashing waves relentlessly onto the hull. The boat bounced off the wharf while the crew tried to lasso the rebellious boat into control as the passengers watched. A lady on the wharf observed with her hands dug deeply into her pockets; the wind whipping her clothes around her form, and a slight smile on her face as if she had seen this dance many times before, between the boat and the wild wild sea. She properly had; it seemed wild out this way.

Once the boat had been subdued with ropes, it felt good to finally feel solid ground under my feet. My stomach had finally stopped doing the nausea inducing tango and I was losing that green tinge to my skin.

It was time to get lost in the wild.

But first the ranger needed to talk to us so we did not die, or more likely cause damage to the delicate flora and fauna here. The ranger of the island turned out to be the man who had help wrangle in the boat, he told us what every good New Zealander knows, leave only footprints, take only memories. In other words, take all trash with you back home, and try to resist the urge to pocket a plant, a stone, or anything else. Leave the island as you found it.

And with those pre-adventure words of wisdom, I was off. I entered the green, like a dancer leaps onto stage or a diver enters a pool, with gusto and passion. This was my element. I always feel like an early explorer when I got to visit such untouched land, and this is how I felt entering the forest of Tirititi Matangi Island.

Odd coughs, splutters, and whistles of the native Tui was the first notes to reach my ears as I delved into the green. The Tui is a master of mimicry, with early Europeans and Maori, often training them to talk. A lot of odd sounds can be heard coming from them, from coughs, croaks, and clucks. They will dash past you with a mad beating of wings and you would not be amiss in thinking you are seeing a little gentleman bird, as they have a tuft of white under their neck almost as if it is wearing a tuxedo.

After throughly enjoying the unique song of the tui, I spotted the underbrush being overturned quite hearty. It was a group of North Island saddleback, or tīeke, looking for lunch. They are in the same bird family as the kokako, the wattle bird family, but rather than blue under their chin they have brown.

The path started to climb skyward, until something magic unfolded in front of me. The sound is what hit me first. Chatter. A lot of excited chatter. It was if the forest was suddenly ablaze with activity. My feet picked up pace and I found myself in the midst of tens upon tens of flying, swopping, and diving birds. All getting their lunch from a feeder, which had sugar water inside it. These birds, hihi and bellbird, are nectar eaters so this was an ideal spot for them.

Trying to get a photo of these zip zapping swooshing birds was incredibly difficult. I felt as if I was Harry Potter trying to catch the snitch. Yes, I know that is an awfully geeky reference, but I am a geek at my inner core, surrounded by a layer of well, nerdiness. As soon as my finger pushed down on the shutter, I ended up taking a picture of where that bird had just been. A blur of wings and speed.

Attempts were made here……..

But, no actual bird. Until…….

**Golden Snitch Moment Two: hihi Edition.**

I do not know how much time had passed. I was transfixed on what I was seeing. It felt private almost. Like I had stepped into a magical portal and this was something unworldly for me to experience. Think Narnia and the magic closet kind of deal. And yes, I know, more geeky references. I just can’t help myself.

After pulling myself away from the midst of the tornado of hungry birds, I continued to marauder down the path. The higher I climbed the more the scene below me began to be pierced together.

The sea wild and choppy as I had left it, with the green canopy framing this scene.

**Built in 1864, the lighthouse was Auckland's first – lighthouse station.**

The walk continued to climb skyward until I reached a green expanse shadowed by a very tall lighthouse. And peacefully grazing on this green pasture, were some purple and blue birds. One group almost looked prehistoric, like it had once prowled the earth with the dinosaurs but had somehow escaped the meteor end that befell his friends. This was the takahe. A bird in New Zealand that has already been declared extinct once, to be miraculously rediscovered in Fiordland in 1948. A survivor. I got low on the grass, army style crawling over to the Takahe snapping some candid shoots. And then I noticed I had army crawled my way through a lot of Takahe poop. Worth it.

After a quick lunch break to refuel flagging energy levels coupled with a stop at the gift store, yes they even have a gift store here, where I picked up a kokako pin as a good luck omen. The thought I had was that this would be almost like a lucky rabbit foot for me.

And armed with my lucky kokako pin, I entered again the green forest with renewed spirit in my quest to find the North Island kokako.

**Fluffed up keruru, trying to keep warm.**

More bellbirds fluttered past, keruru’s sat cheerfully in their trees, and tuis coughed overhead. But, no organ like melodies or flashes of blue. A group from the ferry happily passed me by, but not without giving out some important information. He and his group had spotted a couple of kokako along the path near a lookout. Following that hot clue like an eager Nancy Drew, I ventured further into the forest. The lookout was quiet when I arrived. I sat down and waited, but to no avail. The birds that visited the past group did not seem to give the same welcoming greetings to me. With a sigh and one last glance back, I once again continued on my way until I got to a fork in the path ahead. One went up to the pā, the other to the shore. I decided on the pã, a Māori defence settlement normally built on hills or places with good vantage points. The island was first settled by Māori by the Kawera-A-Maki tribe, who built a pā here. This is how the island got its name Tiritiri Matangi, meaning a place tossed by the wind. Ngati Paoa, another Māori Tribe who occupied the island, also built a smaller pā, on the northern end of the island. These settlements are still here.

The walk upward was tough. I felt my calves burning as i tackled steps and later steep terrain. The view was pretty awesome though. I edged my feet closer to the edge with the wild sea crashing below. Still angry. still wild. Until I was so close, that I felt the sea on my face and the wind lifting my hair. I have always felt attracted to wild. My heart was beating a little faster, perhaps my bodies response to danger; that being a steep deadly fall. I felt it, I embraced it, then i retreated to safety. This trip was not about thrill, this trip was about a blue bird.

I began to become a bit desperate and started to play the kokako’s haunting melody from my phone to the forest. Like a sad girl standing outside her lovers window holding a boombox over her head tying to get them to come to the window, I was that sad girl trying to get a grey bird to come to her branch.

I eventually reached the coast, the salty sea air hitting my face and pulling my hair wildly too and fro. There were nesting boxes dotted along the coast. These were where the little blue penguins came to nest as well as get some shut eye. You could lift the top off the box, and see the penguin through a piece of glass. I felt almost like I was intruding. As if I was a peeking Tom, spying on some poor penguin trying to sleep. I imagined it from his perspective, a giant overlooking him while he was trying to get some peace and quiet. Poor guy. I muttered a quick apology to the staring penguin, and made my retreat.

I walked back to the boat, ready for departure I left without having found the kokako and some may see this as less than a happy ending. But, it just meant I had a reason to return. I held my kokako pin tightly in my hand and smiled. Next time, I would hear those haunting notes of the kokako’s song. I had a feeling.

Important Details

How to get there: Boat. Fullers runs the service. It costs $78 return. You can also book a guided tour at the same tour which is around $10 more. This is where an experienced guide will take you around the island showing you bird hotspots and sharing important information about the island.

Why go there: Birds. Nature. A conservation success story. If you dig nature, come. If you want to see some of New Zealand’s native wildlife not in a zoo, come. If you want to explore, come. There are lots of reasons to come.

Can you stay: Sure. There is a bunk house here run by DOC. You should book well in advance as they get snapped up, especially in the weekend.

Can you go to the toilet; Sure . There are a few toilets scattered around the island.

What about food and drink: Expect for some instant coffee and tea at the gift shop, there are no places to buy food and drink. So make sure to bring enough for the day/ or multiple days if you are staying.

**I am coming back kokako, and I will meet you next time.**