Tracks and huts
Flora and fauna
Te Potae O Awarua stoat line extension
NZDA Oroua Blue Duck Protection Project update
Takapari Road 4WD trip
Environmental history of Lake Colenso
Plant Me Instead booklets – A local edition!
Roaring in the ranges
Fallow deer at Hihitahi Forest Sanctuary
Seaweek 2010 – Fish for the Future
Manawatu Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Tracks and huts
Mike Lockwood inspects his paint job on a
safety rail along the Manawatu Gorge track
A quick update on some of the work that has been done on tracks and huts about the place:
- Ruahine Corner hut is now sporting a brand new veranda.
- The majority of the work on the Manawatu Gorge track has been completed, with some finishing off and tidying still to be done.
Flora and fauna
Te Potae O Awarua stoat line extension
Kevin Chote from Goodnature explains to
Jason Wipaki from the Aorangi Awarua
Trust how to assemble the Henry trap
In February, a team of 12 people headed into the north-west corner of the Ruahine ranges and added three lines of stoat traps to the Te Potae O Awarua project, adding more protection to this species-rich area.
Two lines of self-setting Henry traps were put in through the more inaccessible areas, and another line of DOC 200s was laid along the Colenso/Ironbark track. The traps were kindly sponsored by Horizons Regional Council.
This year has been a busy year for stoats with higher numbers than normal. Thanks to our other major funder for this year, the Lotteries Commission, we have been able to keep up the control in this part of the world. Hopefully we’ll have another bumper year for whio next spring.
NZDA Oroua Blue Duck Protection Project update
A team of 15 volunteers tackled the Oroua valley in March to set out some of the remaining DOC 200 traps along the river. Deerstalker Stuart Penny set off on his own mission to install self-setting Henry traps in Tunupo creek. There were some DOC 200 traps in the area, but due to the extreme wade/swim at the start it has only been checked twice in the last 12 months. They cleared 6 rats and a stoat from the traps they walked past.
Some of the Oroua stoaties are trying out different baits. So far, fish oil, peanut butter, marmite and of course eggs have been used in various sections of the trap line.
Trent Houlahan holds second stoat from
trap in as many days
In January, four students headed into the Oroua to check the traps for their Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award Exploration challenge. Stacey, Trent, Kyle, Ryan checked 127 rats and removed 12 stoats and 16 rats. Twice, they spotted a single whio flying upstream around Iron Gates Hut.
Well done to the Feb checkers led by Kim Frazer from the MTSC. They are the only team (6 checkers) to get all of the traps checked in a weekend. They scored 7 stoats, 50 rats, 5 mice, 14 so rotten they could tell what it was and a bird.
The March stoaties heard whio whistling at night from Iron Gates Hut, and spotted one in the stream the next day. They also collected two stoat tails for Didymo Dave’s trout fishing flies, so that’s another $10 towards the project! They got 33 rats, 6 stoats, and a mouse.
Takapari Road 4WD trip
The Manawatu 4 Wheel Drive Club hosted a four-wheel drive trip up Takapari Road on Sunday January 31st. Despite heavy rain and strong winds, thirty-six vehicles, and about 100 people participated, ranging from a child under the age of one, to an eighty year old. Parking was a tight squeeze as all the vehicles stopped at the A-Frame hut. There was also a mountain biker, who after a ride up in the 4WD, kept up with the 4WDs on the way down.
Environmental history of Lake Colenso, western Ruahine Range
Amanda MacDonald-Creevey, a Masters student studying Quaternary Science at Massey University, is working in collaboration with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (Wellington) on a project for her thesis to investigate the environmental history of Lake Colenso (Kokopunui). Amanda agreed to share a summary of the project so far with KTO readers.
Amanda chose Lake Colenso because of two unique features:
- It is the only substantial lake in the Ruahine, and
- It is surrounded by the only stand of lowland podocarp forest in the Ruahine.
At present, little is known about Lake Colenso and its origin.
Examination of aerial photographs and recent geological mapping (carried out in February 2010) suggest that the lake was formed by a landslide caused by an earthquake on one of the nearby faultlines (Ruahine and Wellington Faults, 12.5 km and 16 km to the east respectively).
The platform used for coring of Lake
Colenso
In December 2009, a team flew a coring platform and equipment out to Lake Colenso. Five cores of the lake basin sediment were taken. The cores will be used to study vegetation and temperature change within the area.
Fossil pollen from the collected cores will highlight the history of vegetation in the area. Insects such as chironomids (non-biting midges) will highlight the history of climatic change. Freshwater shells found in the core will also provide information about the history of the lake.
Initial analysis of the cores found three layers of ash from volcanic eruptions, the upper two layers are thought to be from Mt Ruapehu, and the lower layer is thought to be that from the large Taupo eruption. These volcanic ash layers can help provide timelines for the core data.
Once obtained, the environmental history of Lake Colenso will be compared with data from existing studies of other sites in the Ruahine Ranges.
If you would like to find out more, email Amanda at A.MacDonald-Creevey@massey.ac.nz.
Plant Me Instead booklets – A local edition!
The Weedbusters program is putting together a new regional ‘Plant Me Instead’ booklet for the central districts, highlighting ‘garden escape’ species that are spreading into natural areas and causing environmental damage.
These booklets are targeted at gardeners to encourage them to replace weedy ornamental species with more environmentally friendly ones, and are available free of charge on request. They have proved a very popular and effective tool for getting the message out about environmentally responsible gardening. Examples of Plant Me Instead booklets for other regions can be viewed on the Weedbusters website.
If you are someone who works in natural areas tackling weed issues, we’d like to have your input into the weed species that should be included in this booklet.
It’s a simple process – just list the main weed species you are battling with in the natural areas you are looking after (wetlands, coastal areas, bush remnants, national parks, local reserves and gullies), and email this list to kstratford@doc.govt.nz by April 15th so we can get a representative sample of species that should be featured.
Roaring in the ranges
With the cooler weather approaching, the stags will begin roaring - a prime time for hunting in the ranges. If you are planning a trip into the Ruahine ranges over the next couple of months, be mindful that there are likely to be a lot of hunting parties about. Space in the huts will be at a premium, so be prepared to have to share space in the hut or camp. Wear high visibility clothing and try to avoid looking or sounding like game.
Hunting permits are available free of charge from the local DOC office. The Palmerston North Area Office can issue permits for the Ruahine and Tararua Forest Parks, and a few other reserves. Call +64 6 350 9700 to get you permit. At the end of 2009, we introduced an electronic permitting system, so now you’ll only need to give us all your details once and we’ll be able to locate them easily for the next one! We are now asking for your fire-arms licence number, so please have it handy when you get your next permit.
Fallow deer at Hihitahi Forest Sanctuary
On Tuesday 23rd March, Andrew Mercer (DOC Palmerston North) shot a fallow deer at Hihitahi Forest Sanctuary. It was spotted on a slip, with a red deer nearby. Although sika and red deer are known to be in the area, we were unaware that fallow were present in this forest. If you spot more fallow - or any deer species or goats in areas you wouldn’t expect to see them - please call +64 6 350 9700 to let us know.
Fallow have been spotted in Raketapauma Swamp, so it is likely that they are travelling through the Turakina Valley. However, if you have information that suggests fallow arrived at Hihitahi some other way, we’d be interested to hear from you.
Seaweek 2010 – Fish for the Future
Seaweek is over for another year. The 2010 theme - Fish for the Future - was chosen to raise awareness of the role of fish in healthy oceans. In the Palmerston North area, our focus was on encouraging people to enjoy our marine environments and learn more about what they can do to help sustain healthy eco-systems in our oceans and on the coast.
The Feilding Brownies cleaned-up rubbish from Himatangi Beach. Year three and four students from Cornerstone Christian School enjoyed a field trip to Foxton Beach to learn about life on the Manawatu coast.
Rangers from the Ministry of Fisheries were
on hand to identify and measure samples of
local fish species
We finished off with Fish Fest on Sunday - a family fun day at the Manawatu Marine Boat Club grounds at Foxton Beach. There were games, activities and information. Rangers from Ministry of Fisheries and the local Coast Guard were on hand to give advice. Environmental artists Junk & Disorderly helped people create spectacular sea creatures from recyclables.
The highlight of the day was the Sea-lebrity Parade, where children modelled sea character costumes they had made at home or with Junk and Disorderly. Prizes were dished out to all entrants, with the grand prize of a trip for two to Kapiti Island going to Holly Stevenson, otherwise known as Olly the Octopus.
If you have some ideas for interesting ways to celebrate our marine environment and get people involved in Seaweek next year, we’d love to hear them. Contact Kelly on +64 6 350 9708 or email kstratford@doc.govt.nz to share your ideas.
Manawatu Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Amateur photographers living or working in Manawatū are invited to enter Te Manawa’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 competition. Our very own Jason Roxburgh is one of the competition judges, and an exhibition of the best photographs received will be held at Te Manawa from 10 July - 10 October 2010.
To enter, you need to complete an entry form and pay a small entry fee. Fees are:
- $5 - supporter of Te Manawa (membership card must be presented)
- $5 - student (student id must be presented)
- $10 - non-supporter
Contact Kelly on +64 6 350 9708 or email kstratford@doc.govt.nz for an entry form, or pick one up from Te Manawa.
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