We visited Rangitoto.  Rangitoto is a volcanic island that has been used in war-times and in peace for various purposes.  It has been set as a nature reserve, being reset back to a more original state and enabled to collect and grow species native to New Zealand unconstrained. 

We walked to the summit and had these fantastic vistas of the surrounding area – gorgeous New Zealand as always.

As stated, Rangitoto is a national preserve.  It is an extinct volcanic island where the lava field has been left to evolve naturally over sixty years, to re-foliate and attract birds and host the only reptile in New Zealand, the Tuatara.

Unfortunately, we did not see one.  There are reasons for that.  I will explain.

According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation,

“Tuatara are rare, medium-sized reptiles found only in New Zealand. Adult tuatara range from about 300g to 1kg. They are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia, which was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago. All species exept for the tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago. Tuatara are therefore of huge international interest to biologists. They are recognised internationally and within New Zealand as species in need of active conservation management. Tuatara once lived throughout the mainland of New Zealand but have survived in the wild only on 32 offshore islands.”

I have my theories about noticeable increases in tourist populations.  I think that commercializing sites such as these actually contributes to harming the very populations of species that these preserves/reserves are trying to protect.

We have the environmental damage that exists today due to the human footprints that have moved into areas not occupied originally by humans.  Damage comes from sound, light, weather, erosion, fire, air-pollution, and any other land-use that is out of balance such as over-foraging, hunting, commercial fishing and agriculture, the taking of animals – birds, reptiles, amphibians included, for their body parts for either edible or non-edible use and other invasive actions on the part of civilization.

I don’t consider myself a “tree hugger” – but, I do have enormous respect for nature – and that saying “we know not what we do or have done until it is too late.”

When it is a question of balance, we intuitively understand, like it or not, that if we are arguing that “we have the right” or should be able to exploit… just the argument is a bad sign.  As our television character, Maude, said, “God will get you” – whatever she meant was essentially, the KARMIC forces will make it right. 

We harvest too much we starve later.  Or somebody does.  Or great storms or waves  will come (ask the people in Indonesia or victims of Katrina).  Yes some of that happens anyway, regardless of humankind’s boots.

What we do not understand is whether “we” are part of the natural process – and our emotions lead us off the path in our pathos.