The extremely demanding nature of goat control work means most hunters only last a year or two in the role. The hunters in this story have all moved on to new things, but the dogs have been passed on and are still working for DOC.

Tahi was the result of a purpose-bred combination thought up by Joe Gurnick for use in goat control. Joe had worked with dogs his entire life, and over the years he’d seen both the good and the bad. He had very strict criteria for his hunting dogs, with a desire to breed a litter of intelligent bailing dogs, but of slightly smaller stature to the classic border collie/heading dog used by the majority of goat hunters.

Joe was the Team Leader for the (DOC Hauraki) Peninsula Project goat
control programme. Joe is an exceptional hunter with approximately 15
years goat control experience and a lifetime of pig hunting. Photographed
above working a mob of four goats with two dogs in a large bush clearing.
Note Joe’s casual approach, showing total confidence in his dogs’ ability.
Getting a working-dog to this level takes years of training

The mother to this litter was an easy choice for Joe. He chose his three year old Border Collie bitch Bella, who was shaping up to be an exceptional finder/bailer. However, choosing a sire was not so easy, despite the many tongue in cheek offers to use dogs owned by his team mates.

In the end, Joe found a sire for Bella. A 1st cross Fox Terrier/Whippet that belonged to Don Thompson, a professional rabbiter and a team member of DOC’s high priority Rangitoto/ Motutapu Island pest eradication team. It was love at first sight, and Bella soon began nesting and preparing herself for motherhood.

Goat up a tree

The day came when Bella was due to give birth. The entire goat team was there to witness it and each of us had our eye on Bella ready to choose one of her puppies for ourselves. Finally a puppy appeared, then… well…, then nothing…. To everyone’s surprise that was it! It is very unusual for a bitch to only have one puppy, so Joe claimed his puppy and named her Tahi (means ‘one’ in te reo Māori) and sent the rest of the goat team home very disappointed.

Tahi grew up fast, totally submerged in a hunting lifestyle. She was everything Joe had hoped for; small, fast, intelligent, very trainable, and with lots of tenacity.

In 2010 the Peninsula Project goat team came to an end when the hunters achieved their goal (after six years of hard toil), shooting themselves out of a job; a credit to the hunter/dog teams carrying out the goat control. Joe decided to venture overseas, having hunted his entire life; it was time to do something else. So Tahi (now a very sought after hunting dog) was gifted to Michael Walker (Programme Manager Bio Threats Hauraki, and an ex-goat hunter/team mate and close friend of Joe’s) who let Waikato hunting team member  Thomas Malcolm borrow her on a short term loan.

The Bluffs – typical goat country

It was in November 2011 when everything went horribly wrong for Thomas while hunting on Mount Pirongia (Waikato). His day started out the usual way however, at the end of the day Tahi and another dog, Haka, were missing with no explanation! Having a dog stay out overnight is not an everyday occurrence, but from time to time, as all those who hunt with dogs know, it can happen.

Thomas desperately searched every inch of the mountain looking for his hunting mates with days turning into weeks, and weeks into a month. All hope was fading for the return of his dogs, when on the fifth week we received a call from a local farmer regarding a dog which had just turned up at his house.

We asked for a description of this dog and he replied, ‘”Small, black and white, very skinny, extremely friendly, and it may have a broken leg….”

Everything matched Tahi’s description however, we didn’t want to get our hopes up—after all, five weeks (lost) in the bush is a very long time, and it may not be her.

As you can imagine, we played it cool and headed straight out there trying not to show too much emotion (as us tough hunter types do). Much to our delight, it was indeed Tahi, and the emotions were a little harder to hide this time!

Shae Turo (DOC Hauraki) holding Tahi who is sporting her trendy pirate skull
and cross bone fibreglass arm cast. She is now back in prime condition
after a week on a special high protein/fat diet

Haka was also found four months later—he was being used by a pig hunter all that time!

DOC’s use of dogs

Dogs are an essential tool in the department’s wild animal control programmes because of their ability to find wary animals in dense vegetation.

Dogs are used by DOC to find goats, deer, pigs, stoats, cats, hedgehogs, mice, rats, kiwi, blue duck, wallaby, ants, and many more animals for their handlers, all in the name of conservation.

The use of dogs in areas containing endangered bird life and/or adjoining areas of farmland is of concern to some members of the public and landowners. In order to address these concerns, DOC have strict policies in regards to the use and training of its dogs.

Every hunter/dog combination has its own particular hunting style preference.

Acceptable styles for use in the Waikato region include dogs that find and bail and/or dogs that find and indicate.

• A bailing dog locates its target species (sometimes up to 300 metres away), and mostly works out of sight of the hunter. The dog will head (run it down, cutting in front of the animal to stop it), and then constantly bark in order to tell the hunter where it is.
   
• An indicating dog stalks its target species, tracking the animal (or sometimes a mob of the target species) always within close sight (less than 10 metres) of the hunter. When the quarry is very close to the hunter, the dog will show a positive indication, e.g. it may lock onto a classic ‘point’ with one leg off the ground, a fixed tail, with the head indicating the exact direction of the quarry.

Meet the team (from top, left to right): Dudley, Dylan, James,
Kim, Paul, Ruby

Today we profile Amber Duncalfe, Negotiations Policy Advisor/Kaiwhakatakoto Kaupapa, National Office.

At work…

What kind of things do you do in your role?

I’m happy because this is the first day of the tramp and I had a shower this morning – Routeburn Track, 2010

I provide policy advice to assist the Department in its role in Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations, and more generally to support positive relationships with iwi/Māori.

Policy is a set of decisions about what to do on a given issue, so policy advice is just work that helps people identify what the issues are, analyse risks and opportunities, set objectives, and work out what course of action is likely to help achieve those objectives. The work I do helps the Department to navigate tricky issues in this area, and to capture opportunities for positive change. Policy is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I am a complete nerd and I love it.

On a day to day basis, my job involves a lot of research, writing, discussion and lots and lots and lots of thinking about different Treaty and settlement-related issues.

What is the best part about your job?

I get to learn, think, and write about some of the most interesting and important things happening in New Zealand right now. Treaty settlements are helping to build a strong and positive future for our country and I think we should be proud to be playing a part in that process.

With my Mum on the Routeburn Track. The thought of five days of dehydrated food made us seriously consider jumping.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Sitting at a desk most of the day is really hard. Treaty settlements are difficult, but important and worthwhile. Sometimes my brain hurts.  

What led you to your role in DOC?

I always wanted to work for DOC. I’m very interested in environmental policy and I just follow what interests me. I did a Masters of Environmental Studies in 2005, then worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Te Puni Kōkiri as a policy advisor on natural resource policy issues, before starting with DOC in 2009.

Annual Duncalfe family tramp 2011: The Duncalfes take on the Milford Track

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

Getting confirmation that I’m doing Pukenga Atawhai (a training programme covering the skills needed to build and maintain effective relationships with tangata whenua) in June.

The rule of three…

Three loves

1. My family
2. A good soy flat white
3. My friends

Three pet peeves

1. Overripe feijoas (so disappointing)
2. Retail shopping (The lighting! The piped music! The inane small talk! Being given unsolicited fashion advice by 19 year olds! GAH!)
3. People who write letters to the editor saying that New Zealand is becoming a third world country (I would like to drop these people in the middle of Angola with $10 in their pocket and a great opportunity to develop some perspective)
   

   Working at an orphanage in Benin, West Africa, 2011

Three foods

1. Coffee
2. Barbecued halloumi
3. Spicy Asian dishes of any kind

Three favourite places in New Zealand

1. Newtown, Wellington
2. My parents’ house in Auckland (my tūrangawaewae)
3. Aōtea/Great Barrier Island
4. Fiordland (OK, that is four, but this question was hard)

Scenery was spectacular, the food not so much: lunchtime on the Milford Track

Favourite movie, album, book

1. Book: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique-Bauby
2. Album: High Violet by The National
3. Movie: Favourite movie is too hard

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

Dad overseeing an advanced tramping manoeuvre: Matemateaonga Track, 2012

I would start with ‘don’t wear petticoats over pants’, also ‘don’t move out of home yet, you’ll regret it when you’re 33 and still flatting’, moving on to ‘stop borrowing so much student loan’, then ‘take geography as well as history’, ‘study languages’, and finally ‘set your sights higher’. But the petticoat thing is the most important!

Who or what inspires you and why?

My friends and family because they are totally amazing, the people and landscapes of Aotearoa/New Zealand because they are beautiful, and travelling because the world is a vast, fascinating and wonderful place. And old people who are full of life and doing great things as this gives me lots to look forward to.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An acrobat, a ventriloquist, or one of Paula Abdul’s backup dancers.

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

I still want to be one of Paula Abdul’s backup dancers, but back in the 80s when she was cool.

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Eat less meat. You and the planet will be much healthier!

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to be less materialistic. I have to say it’s mostly going quite well, except that I have a major weakness for great dresses that I can’t seem to curb.

Aotea/Great Barrier Island AKA “Heaven”

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

A godwit, so I could travel and fly.

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Conservation is essential to what makes New Zealand great, so let’s not get complacent about it. Also, we have great opportunities to make conservation even more special by working with tangata whenua, but we need to be open minded and flexible in order to make that happen. Also, don’t go overseas if you haven’t seen Fiordland yet—it’s New Zealand’s Taj Mahal!

Dave spent the last 30 years working with critically endangered kakī in the Mackenzie Basin. Over this time he developed a huge depth of knowledge on New Zealand’s unique braided rivers, having worked within all major riverbeds from Godley river in the north, to Ahuriri river in the south.

Dave on his honeymoon. In Seaforth Valley, Fiordland

Name: Dave Murray.

Job position: Ranger – Assets-biodiversity, Te Manahuna Area office, Twizel.

How did you get into conservation work?

I started off working for the New Zealand Wildlife Service. The job was very diverse and I was one of the last people to get a job without a degree or the internal traineeship. There were only 200 employees in the Wildlife Service working in the field so you knew everyone—you could ring anybody for advice. It was far less formal, and more relaxed than DOC. There was not much money and you had to do everything on a shoestring.

I spent some time in Rotorua doing law enforcement work and then moved to the West Coast. I spent several years carrying out bird and vegetation counts in the beech forest. We worked from Westport through to Okarito, concentrating on areas that were likely to be involved in logging.

Early days looking after kakī in Mackenzie Basin for the New Zealand Wildlife Service

What was your role with DOC?

After a stint as the sole Wildlife Service officer in Hokitika, I was asked to come and look after the kakī/black stilts in Twizel in 1981. Since that time I have seen the kakī numbers slowly increase. Kakī would have been extinct by now if we hadn’t been doing what we have been doing.

How did the Kakī Recovery Programme get started?

In 1981 there were only 23 kakī left. Ron Neilson was working for the New Zealand Wildlife Service in Dunedin and he came up and realised there were not many kakī. Also, Ray Pierce was doing a thesis at Otago University on black stilts and pied stilts and he figured out that between the two species, there were not many left.

Dave on a kakī release near Lake Tekapo in winter

Have you any thoughts on preservation of our braided rivers and wildlife?

How do people use riverbeds without stuffing them up? It would be good to fence off riverbeds and allow people to walk around them and not be able to drive. I‘ve seen a huge increase in the number of 4WDs in riverbeds over the years. I have also seen people park in the middle of black-fronted tern colonies to go fishing and wonder why the birds are annoying them.

Most winters Dave would run away from the office… here, in Nepal on Chhukung Ri, 5830 metres

What was the best part of your job?

Walking the river deltas on calm, clear days in winter… then spotting banded kakī that I knew and seeing them survive in winter—it’s pretty encouraging.

What is your favourite place?

Okarito on the West Coastis a place that is special to me.

Dave in South Westland

What are your plans now?

I’ve got a lot of images to categorise. I’d also like to photograph new stuff—I have just been photographing saddlebacks and stitchbirds. I take pictures of birds doing things, I don’t like posed pictures.

Dave’s wife Liz, daughter Tara, and Dave after finishing the Kepler Challenge

Today we profile Bill Wheeler, Programme Manager – Visitor and Historic assets, Coastal Otago.

At work…

What kind of things do you do in your role?

I make sure that everyone has what they need to do a fantastic job looking after the tracks, huts, car parks and, most importantly, the toilets of Coastal Otago. I am a planner, accountant, negotiator, manager, designer, arbitrator, confessor, decision-maker, blame-taker and comic relief.

Very occasionally I put on my Area Compliance Officer’s hat and lock up some smugglers.

With the late Pete Chamberlain (right) at my first fire as Ops Manager

What is the best part about your job?

The people I work with. However cynical and hard nosed we think we are, there is a passion amongst DOC staff for what they do. It is truly uplifting to see people doing a job they really believe in.

What is the hardest part about your job?

The people I work with. There’s never an occasion when somebody will say “I don’t care”. Sometimes every little thing is a negotiation because the team cares about what they’re doing. When you’re old and tired like me, that can be really hard.

What led you to your role in DOC?

A long, long time ago in a land far, far away I worked as a ranger looking after some really cool bits of the English countryside… but a pestilence fell upon the land and the fair Kiwi princess that I’d married decided that we should pack our spotty hankies and leave for an adventure in far off Aotearoa.

Weeks out of college, the newly minted Ranger Wheeler displays not only an
appalling '80s haircut but also his trademark "scowl for the camera" pose

Or in simple terms, things looked pretty grim in the English Lake District after foot and mouth ravaged the area we lived in, so we emigrated to New Zealand where the Pearson family had for many years been purveyors of fine soaps to the colonists. After 10 years in the UK forest service, DOC seemed like a home away from home.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

Without a doubt the opening of the Philip Cox Memorial Hut in the Silverpeaks. The hut was funded by the family and friends of the late Philip Cox and the occasion was a real celebration of his life and a fantastic project that was truly a joint venture between DOC and the community. It is awesome to spend time with people who really appreciate our work and who are willing to be active participants in providing a facility for everyone to enjoy; it also shows just what amazing work DOC staff can do against really tight timeframes.

The rule of three…

Three loves

1. My wife Jane, and my daughter Caitlin; both prettier than me and much more intelligent. I suspect sometimes they only keep me around as some kind of anthropological experiment.
2. The rest of my family; Mum, Dad, my sisters, cousins, aunties and—uncles, the whole disfunctional, eccentric but loving group of misfits and personalities who are now, and have always been my rock, however far apart we may be.
3. Bad sci-fi movies. Especially zombie flicks, but anything with a cheesy plot line, wooden acting, and unbelievable special effects.

My other family, the Coastal Otago whanau; complete with mad aunties, creepy uncles and that kid with the strangely sticky hands.

My other family, the Coastal Otago whanau; complete with mad aunties, creepy uncles and that kid with the strangely sticky hands

Pet peeves

1. Generation Y—you know who you are, but you probably don’t care!
2. Snowboarders who walk around the supermarket in Wanaka still wearing their ski goggles with their pants at half mast—is that an irrational hatred?
3. People who can’t tell the difference between the time it’s possible to do something and the time when it’s appropriate to do it. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!”

Three foods

The poo flight departs Pioneer Hut, time for a cup of coffee and a chance to
glory in the seclusion

1. Marks & Spencer ready-to-eat prawn cocktail
2. Real Cumberland sausage—ideally from the butcher in Cockermouth
3. Draught Guinness (yes, it is a food)

Three favourite places in New Zealand

1. Pioneer Hut, Fox Glacier—especially enjoying a cup of coffee on the verandah with Gary after a reasonably hard morning’s work.
2. The top of the Maungatuas—breathtaking views and I can legitimately say, “You can see my house from up here”.
3. Any deserted beach on a wild and stormy day.

Favourite movie, album, book

1. Movie: A really hard choice ‘cos I love movies but if I had to choose; The Italian Job (the original obviously) or True Grit (again there’s no substitute for John Wayne).
2. Album: Flying Coloursby Jethro Tull
3. Book: So many books, so little space… Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde might be a good place to start.

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

A portrait by my daughter. I blame the puku on the angle from which she took
the photo; she blames too many pies

Ask out that girl at work—her boyfriend isn’t half as psychotic as he looks.

Seriously though, don’t worry about embarrassing yourself or looking stupid; life isn’t a rehearsal. You want to be able to look back and regret the mistakes you made not the opportunities you passed up.

Who or what inspires you and why?

Two men have been a huge inspiration to me:

The first was my grandfather who believed that you shouldn’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be whatever you want to be. He was a dockworker’s son who trained as an engineer and travelled all over the world. Against everyone’s advice Grandad decided to give up a highly paid job in London and open a village pub. He threw himself into village life and really was a pillar of the community. He would do anything for anyone and the impact he had on people’s lives was evident at his funeral where the church was filled to overflowing.

The other is my Dad, who spent his entire working life slaving to provide for his lousy ungrateful kids. It’s only now I realise just how hard he worked and yet he still had time to be a volunteer firefighter and pass on his love of the countryside and the natural world to me, inspiring me to do the job I do now. He is enjoying a well-deserved retirement, another thing I intend to emulate.

Troll hunting in Fiordland with my daughter

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

At six I wanted to be a fireman, by the time I was 10 I’d decided that law and order was more my thing but by 16 I really wanted to own a massive sporting estate in Norfolk.

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

A fireman, policeman or owner of a massive sporting estate in Norfolk. Or more likely a trainer of some sort, but as I don’t know much, it may be a pretty limited career choice.

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

If you’re going to buy stuff, buy good stuff. It lasts longer.

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?

To get off my fat backside and go and see what’s growing in the garden before I buy fruit and veg at the supermarket.

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

I know my colleagues would say a kea but I don’t need an excuse to rush about being destructive and noisy.

I’d be a South Island kōkako, they are stunning to look at and I would relish the novelty of having my bio assets colleagues genuinely pleased to see me.

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Go out and see what you’re missing. If you already go out and enjoy our fabulous conservation estate then take a friend and share the love.

Today, in recognition of Earth Day (Sunday 22 April), we profile Earth…

At work…

Name: Earth, Gaea, Terra, World, Blue Planet, Blue Marble.

Position: Third planet out from the Sun, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy.

Me, striking a pose

 
What kind of things do you do in your role?

I have a starring role in Earth Day on 22 April every year.

What is the best part of your job?

Playing a vital part in everyone’s life.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Being taken for granted by so many people.

What is your highlight from the month just gone?

Aurora australis being seen in New Zealand due to sunstorm activity.

Pretty cool huh

The rule of three…

Three loves

1. Me
2. Myself
3. I

Three pet peeves

1. Climate change sceptics
2. Procrastinators—don’t put off to tomorrow what can be done today
3. People who waste my resources

Three foods

1. Heaven and Earth recipe 
2. Hangi
3. Peanut (ground-nut) butter

Three favourite places 

1. The Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy (before it was ‘eaten’ by our galaxy)
2. Space
3. Home

Favourite movie, album, book, website

1. Movie – Earth (2007) 
2. Album – Earth, Wind & Fire’s Now, Then & Forever (Guiding Lights—the cover says it all) 
3. Book – Yann Arthus-Bertramd – The Earth from above
4. Website – www.earthweek.com (A week in the life of a planet)

My fave movie of all time, starring yours truly

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

Hold on—it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Who or what inspires you and why?

The 977, 876, 884 individual green acts and counting pledged on www.earthday.org 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A black hole!

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

You’ll be sorry when I’m gone!

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year – at home? At work?

Learning to step lightly.

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would it be and why?

A Northland mudfish or kowaro (Neochanna heleios)—you can’t get more stuck in the mud than that!

Reckon I'd make a good kowaro?

What piece of advice or message would you want to give New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Think globally, act locally.

Hunters and DOC Rangers at Motutapere Hut

By Pete Huggins

Backcountry hut maintenance is being done by local hunting clubs in the Tauranga area through an agreement with DOC. This is great because it means we can do more, using skills that come from outside the Department.

About seven years ago we were planning on removing some of the old Forest Service goat cullers’ huts from the southern Kaimai ranges between Tauranga and Katikati. There are several of these basic huts along the North South Track. No longer in use by DOC staff, these huts were in bad shape and the plan was to simply remove them.

One of the local Deerstalkers’ Associations really wanted the huts to stay. So DOC embarked on a relationship that has culminated in several hut upgrades and a community partnership to maintain access to the backcountry Kaimai forests. Deerstalkers love these huts and want to protect them.

Motutapere Hut makeover

At the beginning of March this year a working bee was held to make Motutapere Hut weather-tight and improve the facilities for hunters. Members of Thames Valley and Bay of Plenty Deerstalkers Associations worked alongside DOC rangers for three days, removing the old iron cladding and replacing it with treated plywood boards, plus a new roof, porch and chimney. Merlin Rohan (17) and Jordan Ogilvie (18) joined Matt Gyde and Kody Williams from DOC to get the work done.

Iron cladding was removed, a new porch was built and new cladding fixed

What the boys said

Merlin is from Thames and has worked with DOC before, laying traps in the Kauaeranga Valley. His father is a carpenter so Merlin brings his skills and experience to the job. He told me his favourite part of the trip was the good kai provided by Jordan, who cooked for the lads on the trip.

Jordan took leave from his engineering job to help with the working bee and is passionate about backcountry hunting. He told me it makes sense because access to the bush is free, in a world where most things are getting dearer. He said that the feeling of walking all day and finding the hut at the end is a great, great, feeling. He also said that everyone needs to pitch in.  Jordan’s worst moment on the trip was waiting for the chopper to arrive, but I think he was pretty stoked when it did arrive to ferry him up to the hut!

The hut is now cosier and has an extra bunk space

Job well done

This is the fourth and final local hut maintenance job in recent times, all of which have been joint operations between DOC and local hunters. Just last year the Kauritatahi Hut (with the finest view from any hut in the district) got a makeover including a new deck, roof and cladding. In addition to helping with refurbishment of the hut, hunters are now helping to maintain the track to and from the hut, and are doing regular hut inspections. Kauritatahi Hut is now getting much more use from trampers, who are taking overnight trips just to sit on the deck and enjoy the view. The hut book was full of entries showing that the hut gets good use despite its ageing character. From now on both hunters and trampers will find these huts much more comfortable.

Do you have a favourite DOC hut? What do you like about it?

The area around the hut is steep with amazing views of Tauranga Harbour and the Waikato, this steel ladder at the summit is quite a thrill!

Thames Valley Deerstalkers are big on community involvement and DOC is better off for working alongside them on this project. Their President Maureen Coleman told me she has nothing but praise for the way DOC staff have responded to them, saying we are fantastic to work with. She reckons the project has built bridges between hunters and DOC, overcoming some of the “communication problems” in the past.

Are you a hunter? What do you think about DOC huts?

Postscript: Trivia about the hut

Built as a goat culling hut in the 1970s, Motutapere Hut has been moved several times during its lifetime. It was sited at Whakamarama and then on the Te Tuhi track to assist with eradication of goats, before finishing at Sentinel Rock which was a hotspot for goats in the mid 1980s. In those days the NZ Forest Service had a full time team of goat cullers for the Kaimai Ranges. How times have changed!

The hut has four bunk spaces and a rainwater tank. It also has mobile phone reception!

Today we profile Lyn Trewella Ranger (Visitor Information) Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre.

At work…

What kind of things do you do in your role?

I give advice about the Great Walks and local backcountry tracks; sell tickets and Great Walk passes; deal with the Centre’s retail displays and sales; help to open and close the centre; answer or field all manner of interesting questions from visitors from, “Where are the crocodiles?” to, “We just arrived. We want to walk”.

Green Lake, Southern Fiordland

What is the best part about your job?

Seeing the smile on the face of a customer when they return from the tramp you recommended to them.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Sitting inside when the sun is shining on the mountains outside.

What led you to your role in DOC?

In my DOC uniform

I came to New Zealand on a working holiday in October 2010 and after five weeks travelling, I ended up working at a backpackers outside Te Anau. The plan was to stay until the end of January and then head back to my job as an outdoor instructor in the UK… as you can see, I’m still here!

During my first season here I fell in love with Fiordland and decided to apply to extend my working holiday. As a keen tramper herself, my boss at the backpackers gave me time off to go exploring and by the winter I had walked most of the popular tracks in the Park. That experience led me into my current role here at DOC. If I can get another visa I’ll be here again next season.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

Taking a jet boat trip down the Wairaurahiri River to the ocean.   

The rule of three…

Three loves

1. A good book that lets you escape from reality
2. New Zealand’s amazing backcountry huts—long may they remain in existence!
3. A clear day in the mountains

Lake Manapouri - one of the Fiordland views I fell in love with

Three pet peeves

1. People who leave litter. Especially in National Parks and DOC campsites GRRRRR!
2. DOC bashing notes written in hut books. Do these people not realise how lucky they are to have such fantastic resources available to them!
3. Bad drivers.

Three foods

1. Whittakers chocolate
2. Jacket potatoes
3. Anything off a barbeque

Benching (levelling) the Kepler

Three favourite places in New Zealand

1. The tracks around the Mount Arthur area near Nelson/Motueka
2. Green Lake near Lake Monowai
3. Gertrude Saddle

Favourite movie, album, book

1. Movie: The Boat That Rocked—brilliant British film about pirate radio
2. Album: Hmmm maybe Mumford and Sons, Sigh No More
3. Book: Anything by Terry Pratchett

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

Get on with it! Don’t be scared to take chances. Get out there, travel, and live life.

Who or what inspires you and why?

I admire people who love their lives and have worked hard to get to that place they love. The people here at DOC Te Anau are a pretty inspirational lot. Their dedication to conservation and New Zealand is incredible and you couldn’t ask for a better group of people about you if you need help or support.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I’ve never had a definite plan… at school there was an archaeology phase, an outdoor instructor phase, and a photography/art/design phase. 

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

Camping on the Livingstone Range

I would’ve liked to guide on the tracks over here. I have to head home to the UK at some point and I’m investigating working as a countryside or national park ranger in the future.

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Every little bit helps. Whether you recycle or compost or use solar power for your house—if everyone does something it’s got to help the bigger picture.

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?

I haven’t been able to compost this summer so I’d like to be able to do that again.

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

I’d be a fantail or a South Island robin because they have such character.

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Don’t take your amazing country for granted. New Zealanders are gifted with beautiful unspoilt wilderness areas, amazing backcountry tracks, and a fantastic hut network. In the future the unspoilt areas of this country are going to be even more of a selling point for tourism than they are now. New Zealanders should be vigilant to make sure that wilderness areas are not over developed and tracks and huts are not neglected or lost.

As part of the DOC’s 25th anniversary celebrations, I asked around to see what posters DOC staff had tucked away from yester-years. Check them out and vote for your favourite…

Knowledge on these posters is limited, so if you have any information about these, or any gems of your own hidden away, I’d love to hear from you!

Care for your country – 1973

This is by the famous Wellington cartoonist Nevile Lodge who must have been specially commissioned to do this poster.

Care for your country

Conservation is all year – 1976

This is a favourite for many. It was designed by Howard Campbell and was the winning entry in a competition sponsored by Todd Group and WWF.

Save us a place to live – 1979

This lovely poster was created by Don Binney, produced for the National Conservation Week Campaign Committee, with assistance from the L.D Nathan Group of Companies.

Nature’s place in town – 1981

And we move into the eighties… A Conservation New Zealand poster; simple, and to the point.

Reflect your concern. Plant a tree – 1981

It’s Conservation Week, but this guy doesn’t look too happy about it. Nice inclusion of Arbor Day messaging though.

The alpine world

This poster was developed at Mount Cook in the mid 1980s in conjunction with the publication of an A4 book The Alpine World of Mount Cook National Park.

A similar poster was printed for Tongariro National Park, but the concept didn’t get used for a wider national message.

Len Cobb from Cobb/Horwood, who did many of the National Park A5 handbooks, did the production.

Tread gently on the ice

This poster was produced by DOC staff member Harry Keys when he worked at the Commission for the Environment (CFE) in the mid 80s. CFE had become part of the government’s delegation at meetings of the Antarctic Treaty parties which, at the time, were dominated by the question of how to assess proposals for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and development in the Antarctic region. It was widely displayed in post offices throughout New Zealand.

Tread gently on the ice

People need plants

It’s true. A lovely landscape produced by the Post Office Savings Bank for Conservation New Zealand.

Shelter from the storm

The wild and uncompromising nature of New Zealand has given rise to a unique diversity of shelters and huts scattered throughout our back country. This collection of images was put together by the Federated Mountain Club, supported by the Hillary Commission.

Shelter from the storm

New Zealand’s Forest Parks

Something for everyone! Contact your nearest Forest Services office for a wide range of experiences and recreational activities. 

Community forests and woodlands

Produced in 1985 for International Year of the Forest.

Conservation Week 2009

This poster was designed by Saatchi & Saatchi – a snapshot of the future!

Conservation Week 2009

Get involved in conservation and who knows… a clever campaign that conjures a whole heap of ‘what if’ thoughts.

Conservation Week 2009 - 2

What’s your favourite?

So, what is your favourite poster? Vote in our poll (below). Any memories around these? If you have info to add about any of these posters, comment below and we’ll add it to the descriptions. If you have copies of your own posters that you’d like to share, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

The history of Conservation Week posters

In the early seventies, Conservation Week came under the umbrella of the Nature Conservation Council, with other agencies and organisations represented on a Conservation Week committee. Each year, with sponsorship, it produced a promotional poster and a themed teaching poster with teachers’ notes.

In decline

Probably once abundant throughout the Chatham Islands, human exploitation, habitat destruction and introduced predators saw the species restricted to Rangatira Island by the time of its discovery in 1892. 

A Chatham petrel chick tucked up in its down duvet

Until 1961 farming activity on Rangatira resulted in the petrels being confined to small forest patches, where they competed for burrows with the similarly sized broad-billed prion. Nesting at different times of the year, many petrel chicks were ousted from their burrows by returning prions. By 1990 the Chatham petrel population was estimated to be around 1,000 birds and heavily outnumbered by some 600,000 broad-billed prions.

Detering prions

Studies found that while adult Chatham petrel survival was high, less than 50% of pairs were managing to fledge a chick, placing the population in peril. So, finding a way to deter prions from entering Chatham petrel burrows was a priority.

The competition: a broad-billed prion outside its burrow

Natural burrows converted into ‘state houses’

Natural burrows were converted into wooden ‘state houses’ with plastic pipe entrances, to aid inspection of the contents, and efforts were made to dissuade prions from using them by removing any found within and relocating some distance away. This required frequent nightly inspections of the petrel burrows and numerous DOC staff and volunteers will have memories of the nightly burrow rounds, clumping around the forest with ungainly petrel-boards attached to their footwear to avoid crushing the numerous seabird burrows. It was futile.

Wetsuits work

Lincoln University researchers finally came up with a simple solution – stretching a piece of neoprene wetsuit material over the entrance of the burrow pipe and cutting a slot just large enough for a petrel to squeeze through. It has proved remarkably effective, the petrel ‘homeowner’ tolerates the inconvenience of a tight squeeze, but prospecting prions are deterred by it. This, along with barricades erected while the petrels are away over the winter has increased nest success to around 90%.

A Chatham petrel squeezing through the anti-prion flap into its burrow

New colonies

The relative abundance of Chatham petrel chicks has since allowed for the next phase of recovery, the creation of new colonies on Pitt and Chatham Islands.

200 chicks were translocated to new homes in the predator-proof Elizabeth Ellen Preece Conservation Covenant (aka Caravan Bush) on Pitt Island between 2002 and 2005. Hand-fed until ready to fledge, the chicks remembered Caravan Bush as their new home and some returned after two or three years at sea with the first pair breeding in 2005.

Rangatira Island (left) and Caravan Bush (right) on Pitt Island

Return of Chatham petrel to “Sweetwater”

Once the success of the Pitt Island translocation was evident work started on the return of Chatham petrel to “Sweetwater” on Chatham Island in 2008.

Ranger Antje Leseberg checking the band on an adult Chatham petrel

In partnership with the Chatham Island Taiko Trust another 200 Chatham petrel chicks were moved over 4 years to nest boxes within a 4ha predator-proof enclosure built by the Trust. As at Caravan Bush, petrel sounds played over loudspeakers encouraged returning petrels to land at the site.

The first indication of success at Sweetwater was seen last autumn when a pair of petrels were seen in a burrow. After wintering off the South American coast, the pair have returned to Sweetwater and laid an egg in February.

Taiko Trust members were delighted to find a chick present during burrow checks in early March. All going well this chick should fledge in May and spend 2-3 years at sea before returning to Sweetwater. By then it should have more company, as four more burrows show signs of activity, surely signalling the sweet smell of success.

When they’re born, Otago skinks really hit the ground running. No, seriously, running. DOC  Otago  skink rangers Sandra Soeder and Tim Lever were lucky enough to experience something very special and rewarding in the world of wildlife when they watched an Otago skink giving birth in the wild this season.

Check out this photo taken by Tim. Newborns emerge head first and literally hit the ground running. Without so much as a thank you to mum, the babies head for the sun and start hunting.

Newborns Otago skinks emerge head first and literally hit the ground running

Grand and Otago skinks only live in Otago and are two of NZ’s largest and rarest lizards. They’re both nationally critically endangered but the Otago skink is one of the most critically threatened lizards in NZ.

The skinks have two sanctuaries in Otago, protected by predator proof fences. The one at Macraes Flat has managed to double skink numbers in four years after providing protection from being eaten by cats, stoats, ferrets, weasels and hedgehogs.

The other sanctuary, the Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary near Alexandra (Mokomoko is a Maori word for lizard), is smaller but just as effective. A local trust, the Central Otago Ecological Trust, works with DOC to build up numbers of these skinks which had almost disappeared from this part of Otago.