WAYS OF THE WILD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 5, 6 January 1934, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAYS OF THE WILD.

(By A. T. PYCROFT.)

THE POOR KNIGHTS. ROCK-BOUND ISLANDS.

The Poor Knights Islands, situated about twelve miles off the coast between Wliangarei and the Bay of Islands, were revisited on November 18 on our return trip from the Hen and Chickens Islands to the Bay of Islands. The eea was exceptionally smooth, and although such conditions are not usually favourable for seeing much sea bird life, petrels were fairly plentiful, the rarer kinds being Cook's petrels and the allied shearwater. As we approached the Poor Kniglit rocks gannets, which nest on one of these small islets, were also 6een. One bird was flying to the nesting rock with a piece of seaweed in its biil for nestmaking, and another bird v/as on the water securing seawaed for the same purpose. The favourite islet is conical in shape, with many rocky ledges offering an ideal nesting position. There is practically no vegetation, and no soil covering any kind. These islets are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above sea level, and are surrounded by deep water. As we approached the gannet rock, these birds were seen «m their nests, white fronted terns and mackerel gulls we're also seen. Large schools of fish, principally trevalli and kahawai were surface feeding, and were 50 close together that their backs, which were out of the water, appeared almost as a solid mass. The. main islands are usually known as the Southern and Northern Islands, their Maori names being Aorangi and Tawhiti Rahi. The former is 163 acres in extent, and the latter 318 acres. A Perforated Islet. As we approached these islands from the south-west the launch went through a peculiar perforated islet, deep water being under our keel, and the roof of the perforation many feet above the launch's mast. We thoroughly explored this island the next day and found as on the main island that rare plant xeronema very plentiful. On account of its rarity and handsome coral red flowers xeronema will soon be found in many northern gardens. It grows in dry, warm situations on rock faces. We also found on this islet tho flax snail Plactostylus, which is plentiful on the northern island, where, with the tuatara they are safe from pigs, which are unfortunately still plentiful on the southern island. Eggs of the flax snail were found on the islet and later on the northern island. They have > haix( shells and measure a quarter of an inch by three-sixteenths, and are found in the decayed vegetable matter on the ground under the shade of the trees or shrubs; empty shells, the size of the egg, were also found. These snails, which measure 3£ inches in length, are vegetable feeders and were formerly used as food by the Maoris, who may have brought them to these islands from the mainland where they were formerly plentiful. I am, however, of the opinion that they were not imported. We anchored between tho two main islands on the eastern side; the distance between the islands is not more than half a mile, a small islet and a rock being on the north-west side of the fairway, thus giving a certain amount of shelter from winds from north-west to south-west. We landed at once on a shelving rock platform, and searched for water, but none was found which Was considered drinkable unless under dire necessity. Knowing that formerly Maoris permanently lived on this island it is probable that better water is obtainable, although unlikely to be free from the wallowing of pigs. We had on previous occasions landed on the more inaccessible northern island, where bell birds and parrakects are plentiful. These birds are also plentiful on the southern island, and it was noticed that the bell birds on the southern island had a peculiar guttural note, which one of our party stated was like a piir's grunt. There are pools in the extensive rock platform on which we landed; some within reach of the swell contain salt water, while higher up the pools are filled with brackish water, .where mosquito larvae were plentiful. Shallow depressions near the sea show deposits of salt where the eea water has evaporated. An Eel-like Jelly Fish. A peculiar eel-like object, several feet in length and about six inchcs in width, was seen alongside the launch at our anchorage at dusk on the night of our arrival at the Poor Knights. I thought at first that it was a dead fish, possibly an eel or frost fish, but when the boathook was used to try and secure it I then saw that it was a jelly fish in shape somewhat like the species known as the Venus Girdle, but I do not know what species it was. It certainly appeared in the dusk to be a phantom fish, because, although I placed the boathook under it, I caught nothing. Such shaped jelly fish are known; a remarkable one is that known as the Venus Girdle, which derives its name because the body is lengthened out sideways like a ribbon, so that the mouth is found on the under edge of the ribbon, halfway along it. The body is edged with cilia, that is, small vibratory swimming organs. An additional charm is added to this beautiful form by its lively, graceful movements, the ribbon assuming all possible curves. This jelly fish is one of the Ctenophores. Members of this group feed upon all kinds of small pelagic animals, especially crustaceans, while they themselves fall a prey to the disc-shaped jelly fishes and sea anemones. The largest specimens are as a rule found in waters sheltered from the winds. The northern island presents to tho visitor bold, precipitous faces, the less vertical slopes supporting dense vegetation, and everywhere both islands are covered with vegetation. It was quite calm when we visited the northern island the following day. Minute surface animal life was plentiful in the water near our landing-place on the north-west side. Small shrimps were particularly plentiful, and kahawai. trevalli and snapper were feeding on this pelagic life. We were welcomed by numerous bell birds as we penetrated the fringing scrub, several tuatara lizards were seen, and the flax snail and its eggs were plentiful in places. A giant weta was secured. This may prove to be the weta-ponga, or forest weta, an insect now very rare on the mainland. We look forward to spending some days on this island, and regret that a. light breeze from the north-west made our return fo the launch necessary, so that we could at once leave our insecure anchorage.