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Quail Island Review
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Quail Island
- Address: Jetty B, 17 Norwich Quay, Lyttelton
- Phone: 03/328-9078
Fodor's Review:
Out in Lyttelton Harbour sits Quail Island, which was used by the early European settlers as a quarantine zone and leper colony and was named after the now extinct native quail. It was once a significant area for collecting birds eggs by local Maori. To protect the new community from disease, later settlers could find themselves quarantined on this island if there was an outbreak of cholera or other disease on their ships. Animals were quarantined here, too; Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott's dogs and donkeys ended up wintering on the island. These days Quail Island, also known as Otamahua, is being restored as an ecological reserve. The Black Cat ferry from Lyttelton can zip you out here for a hike; stop by the interpretive center near the wharf. Allow for at least three hours on the island.
- Cost: $15
- Open: Dec-Feb., daily ferries at 10:20 and 12:20; Sept. and Oct., weekends only; Mar-Aug. by charter only
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- Day trip: Canterbury/Dover or Cambridge
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