Find out what else goes on – besides weeding – on Raoul Island from volunter Nichollette Brown.
Continue Reading...Archives For 30/11/1999
Raoul Island is one of the Kermadec Islands, far North of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. DOC has a small team of biodiversity rangers that live there in relative solitude, doing research and maintaining the native species on the island. Since Raoul is so remote, we get the diaries from the team members and post them up on behalf of them.
Todays diary is by Heather Thorne
In mid-April four fresh volunteers joined the team on Raoul Island – Chloe, Nichy, my husband Stu and myself, Heather. Jokingly the year long team members saw our arrival as a dark day as they farewelled the previous team of vollies who returned to New Zealand on the Braveheart after their six month stay on the island.
New team Nichy, Heather, Stu, Chloe with Lachlan
Our main job on the island is to continue the weed eradication programme. The aim of the programme is to eradicate all weeds and return the island flora to its native state.
Firstly, you have to learn to recognize what is a weed – looking back now we were as green as grass in our first few weeks. The most common weeds we look for are Brazillian Buttercup, Black Passion Fruit and Peach but there are others including vetch (localized to one area), Air Plant, Paw Paw and Guava. Weeds can be seedlings, adolescents or matures. We usually weed for three days of the week and the team (usually 4 – 5 people) are allocated a plot which may take a few hours or a few days to cover. Plots are usually grid searched and previous finds are marked with pink tape tied in trees near the site. Competition for pink tape can be intense and there is nothing sweeter than arriving at a tape and seeing a host of weed seedlings at your feet!!! I know I am a noisy and competitive weeder but I just cannot contain myself.
Weeding is hard work. The island topography is steep – one minute you might be scrambling uphill steeply and the next minute yodeling down a steep descent. Scrambling under, over, around and through tree falls and bracken is also part of the day’s work. Cuts, bruises and sprains are pretty common. We do have lots of laughs though and it is a fabulous feeling to have a good haul of weeds at the end of the day. Previous teams have done an excellent job and there are days when you come home weedless.
Track maintenance
Life on Raoul is not all weeding – over the last week I have earned competency credits in road maintenance, painting and scrub barring . Chloe and I take care of the top vegetable garden and on arrival I envisaged planting carrots one week and struggling down to the kitchen a week later with one carrot that would feed us all for a week. Not so. Catepillers love the vege gardens on Raoul particularly courgette plant stems and broccoli seedlings.
Queens Birthday race
We make our own entertainment – quiz nights are often noisy and unusual (blind tastings of marmite vs vegemite), board games, darts, pool, listening to music, watching DVD’s. On Queen’s Birthday weekend we visited the hot pools at low tide. A ‘half half ‘marathon had been planned but had been postponed early in the day because of very heavy rain but at mid-morning it was decided to go ahead with the event. You can only get so wet! We all competed in the ten km run with Mike being the winner and Ian second.
Keeping in touch with the world outside our island paradise usually happens through internet or Skype. Recently we had a visit from the Soren Larsen a tall sailing ship and passengers and crew came ashore over two days to go walking and enjoy our hospitality at the hostel. We all also visited the vessel which was really special. Private yachts also obtain permits to land and we have our second yacht due to visit within the next week. An Air Force Orion buzzed the Soren Larsen on her arrival which was pretty exciting to watch. Hopefully (!!!) the Air Force is going to do a mail drop over the next few weeks. This means that goodies from home and mail can reach us!
I feel extremely privileged to be able to participate in such a practical way to a major conservation programme run by the Department of Conservation. Missing family and friends is hard but missing a Wanaka winter is not. Those on the island at the moment are a diverse bunch but we all contribute to the goal with individual skills and have so much fun in the process.
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Raoul Island diary by Lachlan Wilmott
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Raoul Island diary # 4 by Daniel Bristow
Battling the birds and insects
On Raoul Island, we have all acquired pet odd jobs to do around the hostel in our spare time. One of my personal favourites is helping to cultivate the vegetable patches. I find it really rewarding due to the perfect growing conditions here, but we have discovered there are many other critters around here who want to share in our nutritious veggies.
Polly, Lachland and me pricking out Hebe seedlings
The caterpillars here grow at a phenomenal rate, and have munched through numerous leafy greens and around 50% of our tomato crop.
Another 45% of the tomatoes are devoured by the beautiful kakariki/red crowned parakeets (I believe they are the culprits, but it’s still a debated issue!). They managed to get through the bird netting somehow, leaving us with a couple of precious tomatoes between the eight of us each week.
It’s hard to see these birds as a scourge though, as they always seem so cheerful and happy. Robbie found a distressed kakariki stuck in a parapara/ bird catching tree last week, which Polly cleaned and nursed back to health – one of Polly’s many bird rescues.
A small but interesting lesson Raoul has taught me is that it is irrational to dislike ants and, to a lesser extent, cockroaches. All I have observed them do is clear up all the tiny food scraps we messy humans leave behind, like millions of efficient little helpers. A revelation!
Those special experiences
Petrels swooping around in the golden sunset - a great birthday treat
Lachlan decided on Christmas morning that it would be a great idea for us all to eat breakfast out on the verandah; this led to the dining table being promptly moved outside. Every meal since we have dined al fresco, gazing over the ever changing Pacific Ocean and pukeko-strewn lawn. What luxury!
Lastly, my birthday was a unique and enjoyable one this year. After talking on Skype to loved ones back home and receiving warm wishes from the rest of the team here, a few of us decided to camp at Hutchinson Bluff to watch the sunset on arguable the most perfect, warm and still summer’s evening since we arrived.
There were tropical birds, frigate birds and many petrels swooping and gliding around as the sun went down. We enjoyed chocolate cake, fine wine (kindly donated by Ian) and the seemingly endless ocean stretched out before us. It was a beautiful end to a perfect day on Raoul.
Raoul Island diary #3 by Daniel Bristow
The challenge of weeding
All the reading and researching about Raoul did not over-prepare me for how interesting, beautiful and relaxing life is here. Bas, one of the vollies (volunteers) from the previous team said to me that weeding in the bush is one of the best aspects of living on Raoul, and after about four months here, I still agree with him.
The author smiling and happy in a patch of giant Hypolepis fern and aroid lilly
The bush never fails to delight me with the wonderful forms the pohutukawa produce here in this dynamic environment, and the luxuriant thickets of nikau, mahoe and kawakawa, giving a tropical look and feel to the bush which I really enjoy.
There are however, some moments when the challenge of traversing a seemingly endless patch of windfall and bracken fern almost gets the better of us while out weeding. Often in these situations, the intricate details of the bush, lichen and mosses distract me, and a laugh with the other team members about the situation keeps everything in perspective; even an attack by a swarm of bees as Louise can attest.
Where's the track? Polly and Lachlan searching for a way in to a weed plot in Denham Bay
One of the more intense weeding plots we visited recently is one that Chauncey discovered whole doing an aerial survey by helicopter. We managed to remove over 8,000 Brazilian buttercup seedlings and collect many tens of thousands of seeds during a couple of overnight trips.
This was a particularly rewarding plot that emphasised the importance of the weed eradication scheme we are contributing to here on Raoul.
Playing in the ocean
One of the perks we indulge ourselves with is a swim in the surf after a hard and rewarding day in the bush. Oneraki Beach has given us many hours of entertainment, either through surfing, body boarding or swimming. The sea here is warm, clear and has an almost syrupy consistency that, as long as the swell isn’t too large, is a real pleasure to swim in.
Ian, Mike and Polly on a boating trip to the Meyer Islands
Currently there is a churning northerly swell eroding sand from Oneraki Beach. The upside of this means that Boat Cove is wonderfully sheltered. Ash convinced Robbie and I to venture over to Boat Cove the other day to go snorkeling, filling another great afternoon by exploring the underwater landscape of sand, rocks, coral and bountiful fish drifting by in their marine reserve.
Tune in soon for more from me about life on Raoul Island – battling the birds and insects and celebrations on the island.
