Today we returned to Nga Manu, a Nature Reserve on the Kapiti Coast about an hour’s drive from the volunteer house.  Yesterday, two of the group helped out with some weeding on the reserve, and the rest of us worked on the Swan Pond, plastering sand bags that were getting worn down by all the swan and duck foot traffic.  We mixed cement and plastered the banks of the pond from mid-morning until about lunchtime.  We ate outside, watching the ducks, and then went for a walk around the reserve, with a group of ducks in tow (two of us named about eight of them).  We went to the nocturnal house to see the kiwi birds, Tuatara, and a range of other birds and animals on the reserve, (including a small, glassy-eyed owl that I pretty much fell in love with and wanted to take home with me).  At 2pm, we walked over to watch the [endangered] eels get fed; and we learned a bit about the slippery creatures that come and go through the Reserve’s inlet to the ocean.  Our supervisor had to take care of some other duties that afternoon, so we finished up early and headed to the beach to check out the surfers at Lyall Bay near the Wellington airport.  Two volunteers rented a surfboard and boogie board from one of the nearby surf shops, and had a go at it in the 20degree water.  It was crazy windy, but still a good afternoon at the beach.  One of the guys brought his parachute kite and got dragged across the sand with it for a few feet until he decided it was too gusty and packed it up.

Today we had a full day at Nga Maru; we all mixed cement and plastered more sandbags along another pond, had some ice cream when we finished and then headed back to the house.  Nobody fell in the pond, due to some good branch-grabbing by one of the volunteers, so it was a highly successful day.

It was raining by the time we left, and I think everyone passed out on the car ride back, including myself.  We had a good dinner, watched a little tv, played some highly entertaining card games, and now everyone is off to bed.  And so am I.  Tomorrow we’re helping to restore/preserve some sand dunes in Eastbourne, and will most likely hang by the beach when we’re finished.  Here’s hoping for little clouds, and even less wind