Tree Planting in Rotoroa

Finally - I have found a bit of time to update the blog! On Saturday I decided to take the ferry to Rotoroa Island to take part in some tree planting. I have been there before (see previous posts) as a tourist, but this time I went as a volunteer. The island has been leased by the Salvation Army to a local philanthropist, who has decided to open it to the public and restore the island to its former glory. Part of this project involves planting native species in areas where they were previously uprooted to make way for buildings to house the island's inhabitants (it used to be a treatment facility for alcoholics). 

There were around 10 people that had volunteered to help with the planting, most of them from Auckland Zoo. When we arrived, the weather was pretty miserable, but it soon cleared up and turned into a gorgeous day. We began by collecting some gardening gloves and a spade and walking to the planting site. The site itself was a small pond situated close to the buildings. The plan was to increase the number of plants around the pond in an attempt to attract native wildlife back to the island.

I'm not sure how many shrubs we planted in total, but it was quite a few - the trays of plants seemed never-ending! We worked from roughly 10am until 3pm with an hour for lunch, so that should give you some idea. We planted flax, manuka, and several types of grasses, and got absolutely plastered in mud in the process. It was good fun though, and I would definitely do it again.

Once we had finished planting we were given a couple of hours to spend looking round the island. I had gone with my flatmate Blair (a volunteer at Auckland Zoo), and so we went for a walk up to the North Tower for a great view of the whole of Rotoroa. It was a pretty steep climb, but well worth it in the end. Blair even managed to get a picture of me with a rainbow emanating from my eyes!

We then took a walk down to Cable Bay (one of many lovely beaches on the island) and sat there until the ferry came to take us back to Auckland. All in all, a very enjoyable day, and I have managed to make a (hopefully) permanent mark on New Zealand!