Kapiti Island is a fantastic nature reserve off the Western coastline of Wellington state. Only about 40 people are allowed to visit per day and so it gets rapidly booked out in the Summer months. We booked a couple of months in advance. Trips are often cancelled due to the strong winds in the Wellington region, so it was great luck that allowed us to finally get to Kapiti (Jen and I had two trips cancelled during the winter)

Kapiti Island is one of the only places you can see the critically threatened Takahe - though unfortunately we didn't see any during our visit

Only a very small percentage of the island is open to visitors and it is pretty tough walking up to the summit of the island. My mum struggled somewhat with the steepness of the climb going up and my Dad and I struggled with the steps going down. However, the beauty of the view from the summit made the hard work all worth while.

A view towards Paraparaumu Beach from the arrival point on Kapiti Island. There is no jetty or ferry terminal at Paraparaumu. You board the boat whilst it is on a trailer in the nearby car park. The boat is then driven (in reverse) into the sea by a tractor before the boat can start its engines.

A view from the summit of Kapiti. There is a small viewing tower to get really fantastic views The tower had a weight restricted capacity of only 10, yet some selfish individuals thought that it would be nice for them to eat their lunch on the tower. Nice for them maybe, rude to the rest of us.

Pictures of a playful Kaka. Firstly landing on my absolutely petrified Mum ("Oooooh, its got legs!") Secondly in extreme close up Finally raiding another visitor's rucksack