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Archives For 30/11/1999

Rotorua Canopy Tours – one year on…

Rob Griffiths —  02/09/2013
People on a swing bridge in the bush.

The swing bridge is part of the Rotorua Canopy Tours experience

How do you take a small reserve, with no visitor/recreation infrastructure, that is low on any biodiversity priorities and make it into a real conservation success story?

Rotorua Canopy Tours has achieved just that in just a little over four years, creating a business that is fun, exciting and engages people in the environment and sees them contributing to real conservation outcomes.

Sometime in 2008 James Fitzgerald got a great idea in his head after reading an online article about the popularity of zip lines (that’s flying fox in Kiwi speak) in Central America – he thought, why has no one done it here in some magnificent virgin New Zealand native forest? Not only would it be fun, the customers could also learn all about the natural ecosystems and conservation in New Zealand while deep amongst it.

After doing a spot of trawling around Google Maps for some likely locations around the Rotorua District, James stumbled upon the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve, just a 15 minute drive from town.

In mid 2010 James strolled into the Rotorua Lakes DOC office and met with the visually formidable yet highly enabling Ron Keyzer, concessions ranger.

“Prior to meeting Ron I really didn’t think I had a chance of setting up on DOC land,” explains James. “However, my perceptions were quickly proved wrong. Ron was fantastic to work with and kindly steered me through the concession application process. In hindsight it was the birth of a partnership that continues to bring mutual benefit to both parties.”

In August 2012 after five months of construction, where every piece of equipment and material was winched in to place by hand, New Zealand’s only native forest zip line canopy tour opened to the public.

Twelve months on and business is zipping along (pun intended). Customers are enjoying the fun and excitement combined with the natural beauty of the forest, with over 10,000 clients through in the first year. However, James and his team always knew that if they wanted to have a truly extraordinary experience they would need to put something back into the reserve to enhance the experience and engage people with the environment and conservation.

Conservation Week 2013 will signal the start of their Forest Restoration Project. The vision for the conservation project is bold: to remove all introduced predators from the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve and create a safe forest sanctuary for the restoration of native New Zealand fauna and flora.

Explaining how the traps work.

Explaining how the traps work

James and his team are clear on the task ahead:

“Our ultimate goal is to significantly reduce the number of pests and return as much of this 500 hectare reserve as possible back to its pre-human state. This will be done by the removal and control of all introduced pests.”

Transport techniques.

Transport techniques

The project will be kick-started with a one week intensive trapping blitz for a full range of pests including possums, stoats, ferrets, rats and mice. James and his business partner Andrew are optimistic about what will be achieved during the week.

“We have worked closely with DOC to set up a comprehensive trap network to ensure we get maximum results from our efforts. Pre feeding has already commenced and we will be clearing the traps daily for the week, so we are confident we will pull a significant number of pests out of the reserve.”

Man in the bush looking at track markers.

Getting directions

Conservation Week is just the first step in setting up the Forest Restoration Project. Funding the project to date has come from both a portion of the trip ticket and donations from customers but plans are afoot to gain greater sponsorship for the project.

“While we allocate a portion of sales back into the project we have been really surprised by how willingly people make donations after being on the tour. The interpretation by our guides on conservation in New Zealand, its challenges and what is being done about it really pulls a cord with people. They definitely engage by hearing of the conservation work we are doing to improve the reserve and want to contribute.”

“As a result we now have a number of local businesses and corporates lining up to get on board with our sponsorship programme and become a part of the project,” explains James.

“We have designed the sponsorship programme to enable people to easily contribute on varying levels, be engaged and become involved. If they sponsor a trap or trap line we will be able to provide them with a location, a measure of their success and opportunities for further involvement via volunteering to assist the conservation work. We can share in the success together.”

Stay tuned with progress on the pest control programme through Conservation Week on the Forest Restoration Project web site.

In the meantime “Happy Birthday Rotorua Canopy Tours!”

In Bay of Plenty, Recreation , , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Robyn Orchard – Communications and Engagement Advisor

Department of Conservation —  02/11/2012

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

Today we profile Robyn Orchard, Communications and Engagement Advisor.

Name: Robyn Orchard.

Position: Communications and Engagement Advisor Tongariro-Whanganui-Taranaki (TWT) and East Coast Bay of Plenty).

Robyn and Mavis at the Sika Show in Taupō with a kowhai and weta painted on their faces.

Robyn and her ‘little sister’ Mavis (mentor with Big Brother Big Sister) at the recent Sika Show in Taupō, who both got face paintings from staff at the DOC stands. Robyn sported the kowhai and Mavis the weta!

At work…


What kind of things do you do in your role?

A male whio/blue duck on the banks of a river.

The male whio I got up close and personal with on a recent trip into Waimana Valley

That’s a really good question and not that easy to answer as I have only been in the role (one of the new ones) for less than three months! But here goes.

As Communications and Engagement Advisor for DOC across both the Tongariro-Whanganui-Taranaki and East Coast Bay of Plenty areas. I provide communications, marketing and engagement advice.  I also work with DOC looking for new opportunities to grow, support and increase the value of conservation.

As well as working on some major national projects such as Whio Forever and the Great Walks, I am also involved in other projects such as Conservation Management Strategies and  Engagement Growth Plans. In Tongariro-Whanganui-Taranaki I work on the strategic direction, Destination planning for Taranaki, Tongariro and the Great Lake and in ECBOP on Central Park, Te Urewera Rainforest route, the Community Volunteers conference and the Tarawera Trail.

As you will have gathered, mine is a shared role, so it is lucky I am a middle child and am used to sharing 🙂

Tuhoe Waimana Kaumatua Paki Te Pou and Robyn crossing the stream on a horse.

Tuhoe Waimana Kaumatua Paki Te Pou and me (the one nearly falling off into the river) on Raven doing one of our many river crossings

What is the best part about your job?

They say that variety is the spice of life and that’s what I love about this new job. Every day is different and I am constantly learning new things.

I am very much a people person so meeting the many people throughout my conservancies who are so passionate about what they do, that it rubs off on you, and is one of the bonuses of my role!

Whio Recovery Group Leader Andy Glaser crosses the stream on horseback.

Whio Recovery Group Leader Andy Glaser on Ziggy Pop and Neo the Whio dog during our Te Urewera Whio adventure

What is the hardest part about your job?

Learning the DOC-isms and all the DOC systems.

What led you to your role in DOC?

Right time right place! An ad in the local newspaper just at the time I was looking for a new challenge. And I think this role is definitely challenging but rewarding.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

A trip into Te Urewera National Park, Waimana Valley for an up close whio encounter with staff from DOC, Genesis, a film crew and some media.

What better way to start a week than jumping up behind Tuhoe Waimana Kaumatua Paki Te Pou on Raven the horse, and trekking back and forth across the river to check traplines, walking with Whio Recovery Group Leader Andy Glaser and his Whio dog Neo seeking out the distinct endangered blue duck.

I wasn’t so keen on Andy’s Whio wake up whistle at around 5am but overall it was one of those memorable experiences, the kind that I am looking forward to having working for DOC.

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Family – husband Dave and daughter Hannah 21, and also the extended whanau which includes our ten international host sons and daughters from around the world who lived with us for their year at school here in New Zealand.
  2. Travel – with sons and daughters (and two host grand daughters) in France, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, USA, Italy, Argentina, Greenland and Iceland, international travel takes on a whole new light. Staying with ‘family’ you see the real culture and taste the real cuisine.
  3.  Good Friends – I love to get together and socialise with good friends.
Robyn and her family with the family of her "host son" in Argentina.

Christmas and New Year in Argentina with our host son Leo was an amazing experience – eating a very meat based Christmas dinner at 11pm on Xmas Eve meant dessert wasn’t started ’til well into Christmas Day!

Three pet peeves

  1. Lateness.
  2. Lack of, or bad, manners.
  3. Nana drivers!

Three foods

  1. Real Italian gelato.
  2. Central Otago Christmas Black Dawson Cherries.
  3. My Italian host son’s chocolate tiramisu.

Three favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Great Lake Taupō (that’s why we live here).
  2. Alexandra (where I grew up).
  3. Mt Ruapehu (isn’t that why we live here).

Favourite movie, album, book

  • Movie: I Love musicals – so classics like The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Mama Mia.
  • Album: The classic movie soundtracks that I can sing along to in the car.
  • Book: I can’t really admit to being a Harry Potter fan so it will have to be anything by Lee Childs or David Baldacci (physcological thrillers)
Jenny Burke, Corporate Brand and Community Investment Executive Genesis Energy, me, Sarah Murray from Sunday magazine (Sunday Star Times supplement) and Sophie Barclay from Element magazine (NZ Herald supplement) .

Jenny Burke, Corporate Brand and Community Investment Executive Genesis Energy, me, Sarah Murray from Sunday magazine (Sunday Star Times supplement) and Sophie Barclay from Element magazine (NZ Herald supplement)

Deep and meaningful…

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

You can do it reach for the moon, achieve all your dreams. But remember a perm in curly hair makes you look like Janet Frame.

Who or what inspires you and why?

I am inspired everyday by smiles. By those people that overcome adversity, challenges and incredible obstacles but continue to throw themselves into life and smile.

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

A primary school teacher or a nun (such a cool outfit), but when I heard they didn’t get paid that well I went off that idea.

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

Rich – having won lotto first division I would be travelling the world visiting family, friends and that 3-year-old boy (that I sponsor) and his village in Malawi!

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Turn it off and recycle.

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

Leave the car at home – ride or walk more. I’m really looking forward to moving into our new office so I can walk to work. And the bike in the garage won’t ride itself!

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

It would have to be the kea – they are so cheeky I think I might be a human kea already!

Robyn's smiling face.

Yep, people say I have the personality of a kea

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

Take care of the environment today so it is there for our grandchildren tomorrow.

In Bay of Plenty, Central North Island, East Coast, Jobs at DOC, Manawatu/Wanganui, Taranaki , , , , ,
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Hunters join with DOC to save huts

Pete Huggins —  16/04/2012
Hunters and DOC Rangers at Motutapere Hut.

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.

Montage showing the hut and people working.

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!

View of the inside of Motutapere 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?

Steel ladder on the way to Motutapere Hut.

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!

In Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Hunting, Huts, Volunteers, Waikato , , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Operation Rena

Department of Conservation —  07/11/2011

Every Monday Jobs at DOC takes you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

This week we meet some of the people working on Operation Rena in Tauranga  

At work…

“Would you like bubbles with your bath?” Penguin cleaning, a part of the de-oiling process

Name: DOC staff involved with Operation Rena

What kind of things do you do in your role?

DOC is providing operational support for the Massey University led National Oiled Wildlife Response Team on behalf of Maritime New Zealand. To cut a long story short, DOC staff are contributing to the following:

Crew Leaders, Sector Supervisors, Skippers’ Safety, Division Commanders, Iwi Liaison, Radio Operators, Wildlife Handlers, Information, Finance, Personnel, Operations, Logistics, GIS/Mapping, Night Operations, Admin Support, the Situation Unit, and the Resources Unit.

What is the best part about contributing to Operation Rena?

People have come from across the planet to help out. They come from a variety of backgrounds, organisations, businesses and agencies to assist in the efforts of the operation. There is an incredible commitment by these people to get the job done—and to meet the objectives of the operation with a huge amount of collaboration and a real lack of egos getting in the way.

What is the hardest part about Operation Rena?

The Minister of Conservation keeping an eye on proceedings at the Oiled Wildlife Recovery Centre at Te Maunga, Tauranga

A number of the staff are spending time away from home and family.

The unpredictability of a boat precariously grounded on a reef in changeable weather is also hard!

What led you to your involvement with Operation Rena?

DOC’s Deputy Director-General of Operations, Sue Tucker, asked and, as keen and willing DOC staff members, we have all happily put our hands up to help out when and where required.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

To date, we have managed to cover 60–80km of coastline per day since the grounding. This has enabled us to recover 402 wildlife members, including little blue penguins, gannets, shags, shearwater and seals. A part of that number was 60 nationally vulnerable New Zealand Dotterels before the spill! All of this was undertaken while keeping our cool, with a high team morale. Phew!

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Clean seas
  2. Clean beaches
  3. Clean birds

Three pet peeves

  1. Grounded boats
  2. Leaking oil
  3. Missing shipping containers

Three things always in your fridge

  1. Milk for the coffee to start the day off
  2. Sardines for the birds
  3. Beer for winding down after a long day

Three favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Tuhua (Mayor) Island—An awesome volcanic environment that is pest free and home to numerous indigenous species with an amazing marine reserve. 
  2. Maketu— the landing site for the Te Arawa canoe and a nesting area for estuarine species including our New Zealand Dotterels.
  3. Motuotau (Rabbit) Island—Penguins galore!

We also used to quite like Astrolabe Reef for its amazing sea life with great diving and fishing, but we’re a little indifferent to it right now!

Loading the DOC boat for Tuhua (Mayor) Island

Favourite movie, album, book

  1. Movie: Free Willy. We’re not a big fan of movies like Titanic or Poseidon at the moment!
  2. Album: Time and Tide by Split Enz, especially the song Six months in a leaky boat.
  3. Book: We’re often found perusing Rena Operation Astrolabe Incident Action Plans for a  bit of light reading at the moment, and have been considering finding a copy of Out of the Channel: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound, but don’t really have the time right now.

Deep and meaningful…

What keeps you motivated and why?

Seeing the huge community effort that has gone on over the last few weeks in response to this disaster. There are an incredible number of small but important jobs that need to be done for an operation like this to keep moving. Often these jobs are picked up by volunteers—anything from sifting sand at local beaches and picking out tiny pieces of oiled sand, to cleaning mucky pens at the wildlife centre after the de-oiling of the birds.

Wildlife Incident Management team in action at the Incident Control Centre in Tauranga

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

Working back in my day job at DOC, tirelessly making New Zealand the greatest living space on Earth.

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

“Kia ora whanau” Iwi Liaison Taute Taiepa making the calls and loving it!

A massive pod of Maui or Hector’s dolphins. We’d go back in time by about 4-5 weeks and be patrolling off the Bay of Plenty coast. There would be so many of us that if a large container ship came past we could nudge it out of the way of any obstacles and escort it safely into port!What piece of advice or message would you want to give to others when it comes to Operation Rena?

A huge thank you to all those that have helped on the operation to date. The support from people who have ‘downed tools’ from all over the country to come and help has been amazing.

To those that haven’t come—we still need your help! This thing isn’t going away in a hurry and it will only continue to function with the support of you all.

For all the best and current info on the situation check out the Maritime New Zealand website.

In Bay of Plenty, Jobs at DOC, Marine , , , , , , ,
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‘Wild Things’ exhibition opening

Rob Griffiths —  21/09/2011

The Wild Things exhibition kick started Conservation Week in Rotorua with a display of the works of Madeleine Child and Philip Jarvis. The work was the results from their Wild Creations residency.

Wild Things exhibition

Wild Creations is the Department of Conservation’s Artists in Residence Programme, run in partnership with Creative New Zealand. Each year Wild Creations gives three New Zealand artists the chance to spend six weeks in natural or historical sites to experience the people, stories and challenges of the site, and draw inspiration from their surroundings to use in their work.

Mt Tarawera in nylon and polystyrene

Sculptor and writer duo Madeleine Child and Philip Jarvis came to the Rotorua Lakes region, with the idea of creating objects for an exhibition using ceramics and other materials from the area. Stationed at Lake Tarawera, the artists had unfettered access to the beauty and splendor of the mountain and lake vistas.

“This work being kind of souvenirs-of-our-time in this weird and romantic region: real and imagined landscapes, the past and present, the mythical and magical, solid and fleeting… volcanoes, rock, mud, dense weed, clouds, ash, mist, reflections,” explains artist Madeleine Child.

Mount Tarawera in nylon and polystyrene

New materials made their way into the works: fishing line, paint on mylar, polystyrene, and plaster. Working drawings and marquettes were created, with some ideas exported back to Dunedin, where further ceramic pieces have been created for the show. In keeping with the environmental theme, the works also use throwaway materials: coffee cup lids, polystyrene, and old CDs.

Lake Weed - nylon & ceramic

Lake Weed - nylon & ceramic

“Wild Creations allows DOC the opportunity to support artists to explore the natural environment, to develop new work and connect a (potentially) new audience with some of our special places via with their art (and the stories it tells).

“Often these stories are told in a totally different method and medium than the traditional forms of interpretation, inspiring others to take an interest or rekindle ones passion,” says DOC’s Robert Griffiths.

The ‘Wild Things’ exhibtion will run from the 9th – 30th September at the Rotorua Arts Village.

In Bay of Plenty , , ,
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