Middle NZ: Fun and adventures in Nelson
4 May, 2021 06:00 PM
4 minutes to read
The stunning Queen Charlotte Sound. Photo / File
Linda Hall is assistant editor for Hawke s Bay Todaylinda.hall@nzme.co.nzHawkesBayToday
I ve discovered my new favourite city Nelson still doesn t beat Hawke s Bay, but it s a close second. I ve been on a little break with some of my family including two grandies. It was so much fun.
I have to admit I was not looking forward to the ferry crossing. I ve had a couple of bad experiences but decided I would just have to put my big girl pants on and take a pill.
South Island tīeke or saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus) released at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Rare tīeke (saddlebacks) are being released into Nelson s Brook Waimārama Sanctuary this week in a milestone for the predator-free reserve. The first group of the wattlebirds, with distinctive chestnut-coloured plumage across their backs, were flown from the thriving population on Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds and released in the sanctuary on Monday. Up to 40 birds are being relocated this week to form the first South Island mainland population. Tīeke were once widespread in the South Island but introduced predators made them extinct on the mainland by 1900. In 1964 a rat invasion of their remaining habitats in islands off Stewart Island saw a rescue mission which relocated 36 birds to predator-free areas.
In a
homecoming a hundred years in the making, the release of
South Island tīeke or saddleback (
Philesturnus
carunculatus) at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary today
(19 April) will mean that mainlanders will once again have a
chance to hear the distinctive “cheeet ta-chet ta-chet
ta-chet” of this rare wattlebird.
Up to 40 tīeke
will be released into the pest-free Sanctuary during the
week, with the first group being delivered by helicopter
from Motuara Island today.
Sanctuary Chief Executive
Ru Collin says that the release of the tīeke is a milestone
for native species recovery in Nelson.
“Tīeke were
Press Release – Nelson City Council Andy Macdonald / Toru Collective In a homecoming a hundred years in the making, the release of South Island teke or saddleback ( Philesturnus carunculatus ) at the Brook Waimrama Sanctuary today (19 April) will mean that mainlanders will once …
Andy Macdonald / Toru Collective
In a homecoming a hundred years in the making, the release of South Island tīeke or saddleback (
Philesturnus carunculatus) at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary today (19 April) will mean that mainlanders will once again have a chance to hear the distinctive “cheeet ta-chet ta-chet ta-chet” of this rare wattlebird.
Up to 40 tīeke will be released into the pest-free Sanctuary during the week, with the first group being delivered by helicopter from Motuara Island today.
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Peter de Graaf is a reporter for the Northern Advocatepeter.degraaf@northernadvocate.co.nznorthernadvocat
Peter de Graaf
If you want to experience New Zealand s most beautiful places – and I mean experience them, not just look at them from afar – you need to suffer a certain amount of discomfort.
You need to lug a pack groaning under the weight of a week s worth of food. You need to put up with mosquitoes invading your tent, a wafer-thin mattress and dehydrated meals. Don t even start me on breaking camp in the rain or sharing a hut with a dozen incurable snorers.