Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Waikato
Branch
Ecosourcing
We are looking for members interested in growing on ecosourced plants for our next
plant sale. Our last plant sale raised $3000 and thanks to the help from Wayne Bennett
we were able to have a quantity of ecosourced plants available.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JULY 18 Meeting Place & Time : 9.00 am Park in front of Information centre at
TALK : NATIONAL WETLANDS TRUST the Te Aroha domain.
Contact : Bill Fairweather 07 889 5859 or Jim Crawford 07 889 7739
Guest speaker, Chris Thomas, will talk about his iconic j.m.crawford@xtra.co.nz
documentary Waterfowl and Wetlands: A NZ Odyssey Level : Average / Hard.
Meeting Place & Time : 7.30 Performing Arts Centre,
Waikato University in Hamilton
Contact : SEPTEMBER 1 THURSDAY
TALK : KOWHAI AND WAIWHAKARERE (HORSESHOE) LAKE
AUGUST 10 WEDNESDAY RESTORATION
WORKING BEE : MORGAN RESERVE, WAITEKAURI Wiremu Puke (Ngäti Wairere) will speak on significance of
Polytech planting day. Members help is needed for placement of trees, Kowhai to local Iwi and proposals for further plantings and a
planting etc. Kowhai Festival.
Meeting Place & Time : Forest & Bird Reserve, Waitekauri Dr Bruce Clarkson will explain progress and future plans for the
9.30 am Waiwhakarere (Horseshoe) Lake Restoration Project.
Contact : Bruce Dean 07 8272874 or Jim Crawford 07 889 7739 Place : Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens off Cobham Drive.
j.m.crawford@xtra.co.nz Time : Talk commences 7.30 pm.
If you wish to share a light meal ($10) with us beforehand at 6.30
please book with Colleen Brimblecombe at least 5 days prior.
AUGUST 11 THURSDAY Contact : Colleen 07 855 5626
TALK : RICHARD SEATON ON ECOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS OF
THENEW ZEALAND BUSH FALCON IN PLANTATION FORESTRY SEPTEMBER 11 SUNDAY
TRAMP : KÄNIWHANIWHA & TALLEST TREE
.The New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae) is an endemic A 5 – 6 hour return tramp into see NZ’s tallest native tree and a
species that is currently thought to be in decline. New Zealand bush recently discovered cave. Bring a torch.
Meeting Place & Time : 9.30 am Käniwhaniwha Car Park, Limestone
falcons are historically known to have bred widely throughout the Loop Rd, Pirongia.
podocarp dominated forests of the North Island. Recently, bush falcons Contact : Bill Fairweather 07 889 5859
have been discovered breeding in the pine plantations of the Central Level : Average
Plateau. How New Zealand bush falcons use pine plantations
OCTOBER 13 THURSDAY EVENING
represents a gap in the knowledge required to encourage the
TALK : LIZ SLOOTEN ON MAUI’S DOLPHIN AND LOCAL MARINE
persistence of the New Zealand falcon.
CONCERNS
In this talk Richard will describe his work with the falcon in Kaingaroa Place : Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens off Cobham Drive.
Time : Talk commences 7.30 pm
pine plantation and the relevance of this to the conservation of New If you wish to share a light meal ($10) with us beforehand at 6.30
Zealand falcon as a whole. please book with Colleen Brimblecombe at least 5 days prior.
Contact : Colleen 07 855 5626
Place : Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens off Cobham Drive.
Time : Talk commences 7.30 pm
If you wish to share a light meal ($10 per head) with us beforehand at OCTOBER 21 -24 FRIDAY NIGHT - MONDAY
6.30 please book with Colleen Brimblecombe at least 5 days prior. LABOUR W/E CAMP : TE KAURI & KAWHIA
Contact : Colleen 07 855 5626 We will stay at Te Kauri Lodge on the Te Rauamoa hills, trip on the
Kawhia Harbour to Te Maika and tramping in the Te Kauri Reserve.
Bookings by 15th October are essential
AUGUST 14 SUNDAY
Meet : Friday afternoon / evening at Te Kauri Lodge.
TRAMP : TE AROHA / WAIORONGOMAI
Tramp from the end of Tui Road, over Te Aroha and then down Contact : Colleen Brimblecombe 07 855 5626 or Philip Hart 07 856
through the Waiorongomai Valley. Bring good quality warm and wet 7992 prhart@waikato.ac.nz
weather gear and sensible boots. Be prepared for wet & cold and to Level : Easy / Average
tramp for 5 – 6 hours.
Newsletter July 2005 Forest & Bird
NOVEMBER 13 SATURDAY Not getting lost
KAYAKING : MANGAKINO STREAM Stay with the group! We count numbers periodically during the walk. If you
need to stop tell someone to let the tail end know to wait for you.
If you do get lost, STOP! If you can’t easily retrace your steps…STAY PUT!
You may have crossed this stream many a time on the short road
We will know that you are missing and a search party will easily find you.
bridge between Whakamaru and Mangakino and never glanced down.
If you had you would have seen one of the nicer drowned valleys of the Level of walks.
Waikato hydro system. This paddle is for those with a little more Easy – suitable for all the family, 1-2 hours slower, easier walking.
endurance rather than skill and leaves from the Mangakino village Average - 3-4 hours, may include hills, streams, rougher tracks. Not suitable
crossing the south western corner of Lake Maraetai to enter this under 7’s.
beautiful and extensive stream graced by tall cliffs and amazing Hard – 4 – 6+ hours walk, usually over steeper rougher tracks or routes. Even
scenery. You will need to be comfortable crossing an open lake but the harder walks would be suitable for fit children over 10 years. Please contact
when you enter the valley you have all the time in the world. At the the trip leader if you have any queries.
head of the valley is a rapid and there are some surprises on the way.
Contact : Colleen Brimblecombe 855 5626 or Bob Jordan 856 4839. Interests
We encourage families to join us and for members to bring along friends. Non-
members are welcome.
NOVEMBER 26 27
Please ask if there is anything you see on your walk with us. We have members
BOTANICAL WEEKEND : BEXLEY STATION AWAKINO with a variety of interests: birds, trees, bats, insects, spiders, pest control and
We will stay again at Hanna’s farm accommodation and return to general conservation issues.
Bexley Station to explore a new area. Mostly off track and in
precipitous limestone country. Great botanical interest. Bookings are Rubbish
essential. Be in early if you want a bed! Our environment is ravaged enough without us adding to it. Please take out
Meet : Friday night at Hannas. what you take in with you. This includes food scraps!
Contact : Philip Hart 07 856 7992 prhart@waikato.ac.nz Level : Hard NO animals, drugs or alcohol are permitted.
with good agility.
Transport
DECEMBER 11 SUNDAY Those seeking or offering transport, contact Adua Geremia 07 855 5831 by the
TRAMP : WAITAWHETA MILL SITE previous Thursday. Please do contribute to petrol costs.
An all day walk along the Waitawheta River to an old mill site Departure point
Hamilton War Memorial, River Rd, (south end) or go directly to the meeting
in the northern extremity of the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park.
place.
The walk follows an old tramline through tunnels and across six
river fords to the Waitawheta Hut and then on to the mill-site. Camps
You will experience magnificent views of lava canyons, Please book early & pay your deposit early, catering has to be organised,
waterfalls, and unique cliff-hugging kauri trees. As this is a 6 to accommodation may be limited. Places will be allocated on a first come basis to
8 hour medium to hard walk, good strong footwear is essential members, then non-members. camps are non-profit, charges cover
Meeting place & Time : Meet at the Franklin Road car park at accommodation, food & other camp expenses. Under 18’s half price.
9.30am. To get there, turn off State Highway 2 on the Paeroa side of
Waikino township and follow Waitawheta Road until it joins Franklin Evening meetings & Talks
Road. Car park is located at the end of Franklin Road. Our meetings are usually held at the Hamilton Gardens, off Cobham Dr. Talks
Contact : Denis Gibbs heldenn@xtra.co.nz 07 8257263
are usually ended with coffee & a chat with our guests & members.
Level : Average / Hard
There are no meeting charges and non-members are always welcome.
Medical conditions
Do tell the trip leader about relevant medical conditions. Do you carry vital
drugs, are you likely to have seizures, etc?
Please contact a member of the committee or Wayne if you’d like to learn more about local
native plants and if you can help with growing plants for our next plant sale in May 2006.
Branch activities
Easter camp 2005
Yet another eventful Easter Camp was had by an intrepid group of branch members. The start of the camp coincided with a Bay of
Plenty storm that had us wondering if we would even get to the camp. John & Robert drove through the middle of a tornado with
power lines sparking and trees down. Several of us were delayed by trees down across the road in the valley and the need to find a
friendly local with a chainsaw. It would have been an interesting drive at the best of times. while others of us who had arrived earlier
in the day wondered if we were going to be holed up alone at the end of the valley with rivers roaring, rain deluging, slipping roads
and trees crashing for the weekend without food and the rest of the party.
However, by late afternoon we’d all made it through and with a break in the rain we managed to slosh around on our first walk. It was
a delight to see a pair of whio (blue duck) in the river close to the Lodge. The river was in major flood and it was amazing to see the
birds still able to dive and look for food on the quieter edges of the river.
Once the gas stove was sorted and quantities of gravy were agreed, dinner was underway and it was a real pleasure to catch up with
old friends and meet new ones; and enjoy the warmth of a
cosy hut and hot showers.
The weather cleared by the next day, but the road had
suffered so 4wd’s were used to transport us over the slips
and to the top of the road. Luckily the rivers and streams
had dropped quite a bit over night. They were still higher
than normal and it was good opportunity for us to refresh
our river crossing techniques. Thanks Bill for your
Mountain Safety instruction. We set off up the Six Foot
Track we crossed open Maori owned land until reaching
the bush proper. The old road gently climbed alongside
the Tauranga River way below us. We enjoyed our lunch
on the stream side at Otane, where once there had been a
farm. Across the other side of the stream was an
interesting old kahikatea growing out in the open with an
incredibly tortured trunk. On the way back we dropped
down to the river and crossed by a high(ish) swing bridge
and went as far as the Pourewa Hut, which, with all its
dog kennels, looks well used by hunters.
On Sunday early rain delayed us briefly, we then headed up the Otapukawa Stream which was still running fairly swift and deeper
than normal. This was a great test of our river crossing team work and after at least 30 crossings we became quite confident with our
new skills. A cloudburst at lunch time saw most of the party turn round and start for home. But four hardy souls continued up the river
bed to the Otapukawa hut before returning back down the river. We were dismayed to see that 4wd vehicles were regularly driven up
this river bed by wimpy hunters. What has happened to the real blokes who would have carried their gear in on foot?
On Saturday night Kevin Cannell, local Doc Area Manager came and spoke to us about the development of the area as a mainland
island and the progress that had been made in a few short years. Pests continue to be a problem - especially dogs. Concentrated
trapping aims to care of rats, possums, cats and stoats. Weka and Whio numbers have grown and Kokako pairs have increased
from15 pairs 10 years ago to 95 now.
After the camp clean up on Monday we drove back down the valley to Ogilvies Bridge where we went for a walk to the Te Waiti
Stream. The bush was impressive and the stream picturesque. And again we had the pleasure of watching a pair of blue duck scooting
around in the stream in search of food.
Thanks to everyone who made the camp memorable. Kevin for entertaining the horses with his sax, Rita, Maureen & Adua for the
catering, Philip for leading the trips, Maureen for organising everything and everyone for being there and helping make the camp so
pleasurable!
Maureen Cawley
Conservation week will start with an information day on Sunday 31st July from 10 till 3 at Raglan Community
House, 45 Bow St, to explain the issues and look at what other groups have done to address them.
Then 3 walks will offer a chance to see different faces of the mountain.
On Wednesday 3rd August a morning stroll in the Bryant Reserve bush on the lower slopes will look at
replanting done almost 50 years ago. The walkers will meet at 9am at the car park beside Raglan fire station in
Wainui Rd. A rather longer walk (about 4km with up to 400m of descent and climbing) will leave Te Toto car
park at 10am on Saturday 6th August. It will go to Hill's Flat looking at views, geological features, regenerating
bush, some large puriri trees and former farmland suitable for restoration. The next day, the finale will leave at
the same time and place heading for the 756 metre summit. To conserve petrol the group hopes to arrange
car sharing – phone 07 825 0066, or email oliviaf@wave.co.nz.
JOHN LAWSON, 2 NIHINIHI AVE, RAGLAN. EMAIL: OLIVIAF@WAVE.CO.NZ 07 825 0066
Return Address
Waikato Branch Forest & Bird
PO Box 11 092
Hillcrest
Hamilton