Three of the kiwi being brought onto Pukeiti on the Kaitake range.
Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The release is a milestone in a battle against predators on Kaitake being waged - for the most part - by a small army of volunteers.
Kaitake, at 680 metres, is the oldest of the three volcanic cones in Te Papakura o Taranaki.
It forms the north-western boundary of the national park and its sun-loving semi-coastal forest reaches to the outskirts of the seaside settlement of Oakura.
Ngā Mahanga a Tairi hapū member Tane Manu said kiwi once came into the village.
Ngā Mahanga a Tairi hapū member Tane Manu, right, greets Towards Predator-Free project manager Toby Shanley.
A section of the new boardwalk in Te Papakura o Taranaki / Egmont National Park.
Photo: Supplied / DOC
Part of the $19 million Taranaki Crossing project, the work includes building 720m of 1.2m wide boardwalk from the Pouakai Hut down to the Pouakai Tarns, and 650m of 1.2m wide boardwalks across the Ahukawakawa wetland.
Department of Conservation strategic project manager Carl Whittleston said the boardwalks would replace existing track which deteriorated. Previously we ve had timber rafts in there and what s happened over time is that some of those have sunk into the wet areas and people then start to walk around them and onto the fragile vegetation and eco-system.
There are more than 100 sites on the maunga which have cultural significance to Māori. The mountain is an ancestor of the eight iwi in the Taranaki region, and this indivisible connection is one of the elements which is soon to be legally recognised as part of a pending Treaty of Waitangi Settlement. The park is still managed by DOC but Taranaki iwi are expected to take a significantly greater role once the settlement is finalised. Several members of Ngā Iwi o Taranaki, the group negotiating a deal to settle claims related to treaty breaches connected to the maunga, have been approached for comment regarding McAlpine’s concession.