Matiu / Somes Island and Days Bay

Matiu / Somes Island

On Friday, our second full day in Wellington, we took a ferry over to Day's Bay and stopped at Matiu / Somes Island on the way. It was a stunningly gorgeous day out and we really enjoyed ourselves. The ferry to the island took about 20 minutes, and when we landed we were greeted by a dreadlocked Forest Ranger who ushered us into a containment room. Since Matiu / Somes Island is isolated, its native species are protected from invasive predators. In order to keep it that way, everyone must check their bags for mice, rats, seeds or any bugs that we might have accidentally brought along with us. Luckily, our group was clear and we were allowed to explore the island.

It is a beautiful area, but there is a contrast between the protected space and what the island has been used for in the past. There's a quarantine station in the middle (where livestock was processed before being allowed into New Zealand until the 1980's, and humans were quarantined from the 1870's until 1920), an internment camp for enemies in WWI and WWII, and gun emplacements at the summit of the island. We followed a trail along the outside of the island after exploring its centre, and made a few new friends.

Brothers Island tuatara

Our first sheep sighting

Kelsey, Mal, Lee, Drea, and I

After about two hours, we hopped back on the ferry and continued on to Days Bay, where we spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach, swimming, eating ice cream, and perusing some of the little craft shops. 

Days Bay

At around 5pm we called it a day and headed back to Wellington on the ferry. Grabbed fish and chips for dinner then took it easy back at the hostel for the night - tomorrow was going to be a big day!