​Still going. Was windy but warm and sunny. Cannot keep me back. Did Waterloo Line and got a rat in D36 and D37. Nothing after that. No possies. Also went down to bridge near Butch’s where they are replanting a large area with native trees. Before I had some traps in there but then they cut all the trees down and my traps have gone. Anyway the guys doing the planting asked me about trapping because if they do not trap the possums will eat the nice little plants as quick as they can put them in. So I went down and gave them four of my Timms traps and two rat traps. 

​What a good day. Lovely weather. Quite warm too. Wanted to do the traps on circle line. The rat traps. They needed new peanut butter. If nobody around trapper Robbie has to do it himself. So many traps.
 
Nothing we got on Piccadilly Line. Zilch. The new possum traps all empty. Disappointing on one way but of course very good in the other. Then the fun really started with the D traps on circle line. The very first one D65 had a rat! Then next one D64 had also a rat. Then D63 had yet another rat! Amazing. I was on a roll. But not for long. The next traps had nothing and I had to get to D57 for another rat. Then up the hill and D81 had a nice rat and next one D82 had the last one. That makes it six rats today and brings the total of rats up to 900!
 
Nine hundred rats we done so far! The birdies will start laying their eggs soon. Another month and they are on their way! There should be an explosion of birds in the summer. You should come again just to listen to it all!
 
All in all I checked 64 traps today. I am almost exhausted. Tomorrow is again circle line but it will be more on the possie front. New apple needed. And checking for dead ones. Hopefully on the weekend Lindsay comes and then he can do a big check of it all. Should have plenty of rats by then again with all this fresh peanut butter. I hope that by the end of the month we crack the 2000 number! 

​Good weather today. A bit windy not much. Went out to Piccadilly and first trap D2 had a rat, then close by D5 had another rat. Then nothing until I got to Northern Line and T18 had a possum. Next trap T16 had a hedgehog!
 
Five more predators gone. The birdies are go. 

​Anyway went out today in nice weather and quite warm. Did Waterloo Line. The one you did way back with me. Along walkway second trap had an enormous rat! How can they get so large? Then further along D43 hat another rat. Shaping to be a good day. Then towards end of line in T44 was a very mauled possum! Then surprise T45 had another one! On the way back I check Central Station traps and surprise surprise T1 had another possum!
 
So that is two rats and three possies. Plus I deployed yet two more traps along the line. They are Timms traps for possums. Now have to see in a few days what they achieve. Now all my Timms traps have been deployed. Have to order more.
 
Next on the list are really the fifty rat traps I have behind the garage. The heavy boxes. Have not heard from that young man last week. Did not expect anything anyway. 

​Good weather today. A bit warmer, sunny but still a bit windy. Did Piccadilly Line today and second trap down from gates had a possum! Now I was astonished. Because that trap has been there for yonks. And no possum for a long time. Now suddenly one turns up. Where did it come from? One of the last possies? Who knows.
 
In my rucksack I had three more traps for possies. I put them along the walkway in places where I see possum tracks. They might be old tracks or maybe new ones. So I put these new traps in places and have to see now what happens. If no possums are caught then maybe the area is free of possums. Who knows.
 
Then along the way I got a rat in D8 and another on in D22. The first one was fresh and the last one had been there for a long time. What do my trappers do I wonder. Because two of them went down there yesterday. Did they walk right passed my first trap and did they not know about the second trap? Who knows what they do. 

The first Kowhai flowers. Did all the traps on the island today. Three hours! Nothing but one hedgehog! So now all ready again with fresh apple and waiting for the possies if there are any left. The Kowhai will now bloom until nearly end of October providing lots of nectar for the bellbirds. Of course the possums are after them as well but with so many gone now there should be plenty left for the birdies. 

​One more rat today. Did what I set out to do which was to re bait all traps on the golf course. Been much neglected since we left. Now all back in order. Was a nice day but very cold wind. It will be interesting now to see whether we get more rats or stoats with peanut butter. Rats struggle a bit when it is so cold. They do not like it. Hardly any birds around too. Heard one bellbird and saw two or three fantails. Lots of ducks on the lakes. Maybe that is because more of them survived after my trapping. 

Back in the saddle again. Back from Europe. Did a round of trapping on the golf course. Nobody did ever look at these traps (somebody was scheduled to do so but did not) and I feared for the worst and was not disappointed. Right at the beginning trap TD1 had a weasel. This one was sort of not too old. Maybe a few days but because of cold sort of preserved. Then next trap TD3 had a well-done rat. Next one T10 had another rat. I was on a roll.
 
But had to wait from then to TD15 which had another rotten weasel. Was hard to recognize. But long body or what was left of it and the tail gave it away. Close by in trap TD17 was another mass of something and it was another weasel! Then up to lakeside and DOC250/3 had a rat. Not too bad this one. But around the corner was DOC150/1 with a rat also and then next trap TD6 had a bunch of hair left which was another rat and last TD7 had another one.
 
So seven rats and three weasels. Not too bad. Tomorrow if weather good I will go out again to these traps and clean them a bit and put fresh peanut butter into them. Then on Monday I can do Waterloo Line. Slowly catch the monkey. 

Been out again. Heavy rain we had and snow. Cold morning and after peeps left I went onto Waterloo Line. The one we did on first day. Got a possum in the same trap, T43. This one was quite fresh. An older man was walking and saw me re-setting a trap. D46 which had a hedgehog in it. So he followed me a while and he took a photograph with me holding the possum. He was from Australia and could not believe it. Because in Australia they are protected.
 
On way back there was another hedgehog in D45! Nasty things. Then I got to Central Station and checked all traps and last one, T10 had another possum. Had to look for the trap which in the end I found down a little slope with possie in it. Must have been the cat pulling it down there. Have seen a cat there a few times.
 
Then went up to lakeside and first trap had a weasel! 

​Wonderful day today. Did the grand tour. Along Piccadilly Line and nothing. Still that elusive possum not in trap. I think of putting another trap nearby. A different one. So on my merry way and only at D73 did I get a rat. Then again at D77 and again at D79.
 
Then I got to D87 and did not expect anything. But the milk bottle top had been sucked in so have to reset trap. As I move trap out of grass suddenly I realize that something is hanging out of it. I look and think possum? Small one? But not quite right. Cat? Not quite right either. So open box and pull thing out of it and there it is: a ferret! I did not think we had any down there. So another pest has turned up. Ferrets normally need bigger traps to go into. And I do not have any bigger traps. What to do now?! By ferret traps also?