“I have to say, I’ve spent my life wanting to see a bat, I have seen them at a distance on Little Barrier Island, Hauturu.but never anything like a close encounter like I had on the Richmond Ranges.” The sightings were also the first time the critically endangered bats have been seen in that area of the Richmond Ranges in the last decade. Wright and his wife Annette Lees were tramping through the rugged landscape from Porters Creek Hut to Starveall Hut, which is part of the Te Araroa trail, in December.
Alden Williams/Stuff
Tramper Shane Wright was at Starveall Hut in the Mt Richmond Forest Park when he saw a long-tailed bat. (File photo)