Quarantine Island  |  Kamau Taurua                                                                                  

14 February - Volunteering motu mahi (island [motu] work [mahi]).  The day starts by heading to Back Beach for a short ride on Rob Emett's "Adagio" water taxi to QIKT.
Boat sheds at Back Beach.
Goat Island.
The trip to Quarantine Island takes about 10 minutes.
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After tea at the tables between the Lodge (above) and the keeper's residence, members of the group head out for various tasks.  Work today included clearing trails with a weed wacker, mowing lawns, and finding seedlings for transplantation.  After a break for lunch, work continued to mid-afternoon.
Cabbages, cauliflowers, and onions in the garden near the keeper's residence.
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An opportunity to learn about some of the plants on the Island.  See also: P N Johnson.  "Quarantine Island: Botanical Report."  Botany Division, DSIR, Dunedin March 1987.  Start with two plants that show divaricate growth—small leaves and wiry zig-zag stems—possibly an adaptation to protect them from moas and / or a climate adaptation.
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Dracophyllum longifolium 2
 Pittosporum | Kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium) 1, 2
Broadleaf | kāpuka (Griselinia littoralis) 1, 2
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Biddy-Biddy (Bidibidi) or piri-piri bur (Acaena novae-zelandiae) 1, 2
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The day concludes with drinks and chips at Carey's Bay.
View toward Taiaroa Head and the Peninsula with fishing vessels.  (more)
"Schemer," a fishing vessel owned by Alasdair Raymond Kirk of Waikouaiti.
Red-billed gull on car.
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