Category Archives: recreation

Whakarae visits Whangawehi

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On Tuesday the 26th of February 2019, Whakarae Henare from Nga Whenua Rahui came to Taharoa to meet with Sue O’Brien and discuss further work.

Whakarae explained that the new grant requires the land retired to be covenanted depending on the status of the land this can be either a Conservation agreement, a kawenata or a Management agreement. Whakarae had a look at the new project happening in the Mangatupae stream with 15 ha in the process of being retired and planted.

Thank you Whakarae for coming to our rohe and spending some time with us. I am sure you will be back soon. Nga mihi nui kia koe Whakarae mo te haere mai me to tautoko. Kei te tumanako matou ki te kite ano ia koe.

Catchment update

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As you can see from the photo’s-all our trees have grown a lot　over the winter period.　They　are　flourishing and there is nothing stopping them now. Water is flowing very clear in the Whangawehi stream but algae are already starting to　pop up　at Mamangu which is a bit early.

A new tree species-the Poroporo-is now growing along the river which has been self-introduced by birds.　Poroporo is a　native tree already present in the DOC reserve. A small scrub-the Poroporo is traditionally a very valuable plant to　Maori　because of it’s　itch relief properties. It’s a delightful looking plant that is known to grow extremely fast.

It is great to see that the cycle of nature is taking place and allowing the　diversification of our local biodiversity.

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Whakaki Lake Trustees take a tour of the Whangawehi

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On Saturday the 28th of April 2018, the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group (WCMG) offered a guided tour to three Whakaki Lake Trustees-Paihau Solomon, Willy Kahukura and Archie Waikawa.  Aurthur Bowen (Cultural Health Index Coordinator) and Nic Caviale (Project Co-ordinator) showed the representatives a number of key areas of the project starting from the Whangawehi bridge all the way up to Okepuha Station.

On the way they stopped at the Whare on Taharoa where the group stopped to enjoy a bite to eat.  This site offers a superb view of the valley and is surrounded by a collection of flax for weaving.  We exchanged a lot of ideas, dreams and aspirations for the future.

The last stop was on Okepuha Station, award winners at the Balance Environmental Awards.  The WLT group appreciated the recent plantings and the fencing standard.  On behalf of the WCMG we thank you for taking the time to visit our project.  It was great to see there enthusiasm and invigoration.  We hope we inspired them by showing what working together can achieve.  We wish them all the best.

 

 

Moutain Bike Ride arrival time

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Hi all,

The MTB ride wasn’t a race but several bikers requested their arrival time. Please check out the following document : Mount Bike Ride arrivaltime.docx 2

Thank you for supporting this event. We welcome all bikers to our planting week ends on the 9th and 16th of July. See you there.

Mountain Bike Ride 12 March 2016 – Feedback.

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Fantastic – Well organised!! Thanks Stef

Awesome – friendly well organised – [name]

Great Ride and well organised [signature]

Bruce – awesome [signature]

Thank you very much for organising a great ride [signature]

Awesome Thanks !

Absolutely awesome !! Well done organising team – I would even pay to come & do this.

Dreydon Hughes – Absolutely awesome track!!

Awesome downhill section. Very scenic.

Great ride, would definitely do again.

How Amazing experience, wonderful

Good idea to mow forest road

Loved it – Sore butt J Tina

Amazing would do it again great organisation.

Beautiful Ride – a Bit rough in patches& water crossings

Awesome ride great downhills.

Fantastic event. Loved the ride Well organised and very friendly people J A++++

I felt very safe knowing there are checkpoints.

Lovely Ride, Really enjoyed it. Rod K.

Fantastic Event – Well Done

Fantastic!

GR8 race/ride. Need to put a bike rack on 4wd Backup vehicle if multiple issues. Carry Biker & People.

My First Trail Bike Ride after having walked it. Excellent.

FAN – TAS – TIC!!! Great ride for young and old. Shame more rides aren’t around like this. Thanks Heaps.

Good fun – clud push it more as a family event + or for riders who haven’t done much mountain biking.

Loved it – tick that off Bucket list !!!

Simon Firm – Great Ride

Mark # 109 THANKS FOR THE LORD? !

AWESOME – would love to do it again – AU OF IT.

Music to start when first people arrive. Approx 11.30am

Awesome event thanks & well done to organisers It would be great if there were mountain bikes payable local clubs ran support letting people use their clubs bikes, like Adventure Wairoa. people could use on the day at no cost to them to draw more people including tangata whenua. It would be good also to promote the event more to local Marae and people like those who run fitness programmes for Maori like Patu & Iron Maori local crews. Massive event, great to see planning & work of Whangawehi Catchment management group along the way.

Awesome Ride. Thanks for keeping an eye on us!

Excellent. Well organised & marked. great track.

 

A fantastic ride

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The Whangawehi Mountain bike ride, held in Mahia last Saturday, was a real success. 67 participants came from as far as Hawkes Bay and Gisborne to support this first initiative. Bikers from all age gave the ride a go from 9 year olds to mid 70s… well done to you all.

This event was part of a series of community engagement activities (including guided walks, displays at the A&P Show and the Mahia Market as well as evening presentations etc.) organised during the summer period in order to share the Whangawehi restoration story with the wider community and raise further support.

This free event was an opportunity to promote and invite all bikers to our community planting days planned for the 9th and 16th of July 2016.

The WCMG wants to acknowledge the support received from all landowners, the Whangawehi Community, volunteers, DOC, Wairoa Adventure Club, GO Bus, QRS and Wairoa District Council.

The event wasn’t a race but several participants asked for their arrival time ! We will provide this information later on during the week. Our local Triathlete Rod Kirwan completed the loop in 1h10 minutes…not sure he took the time to admire the scenery 🙂

Thank you all for supporting this event. We welcome your feedback, please get back to us.

If you want to receive regular updates on the groups activities, become a “follower” of our journey : click on “Follow ” (bottom right hand corner of this page).

Rare birds thriving at Whangawehi

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At the end of January, pest control and bird watchers experts from HBRC came for a field visit at Whangawehi. The goal was to receive feedback from the wireless trial underway and also assess the potential for habitat enhancement in the future. The day was well worth while and gave Landowners the confidence that what they had started was already successful. Hans Rook, Bittern expert, was amazed by the scale and the quality of the wetland habitats protected. He encouraged the group to raise water levels in the wetlands  and urged them to increase their pest control effort. While on site the group assessed the possible site for a predator free fence that would allow native birds to colonise a predator reduced environment.

The group was most impressed to spot the rare Fern Bird on the frindges of one of the wetlands. With the return of the white baits and the increase in eel populations in the Whangawehi river, Hans Rook predicted a significant increase in bird life in the very future.

The WCMG group is grateful for the assistance received so far and is looking forward to implementing more pest control work in the catchment.

 

A success for the last guided walk

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Friday was the last of a series of 4 very successful guided walks for the Whangawehi group. Nearly 50 participants attended this last event for a walk starting at the Waste Water Treatment Plant and finishing at the Whangawehi bridge. The public was given en explanation of the scheme as well as the restoration programme undertaken downstream  by the community. The large numbers of participants reinforced the group’s conviction that there is a demand for a walk way/cycle way in order to show case the work done and share some of the stories associated with local Maori history with the wider community.

All participants were impressed by the work done and some will come back to support the community planting weekends. Thank you to the landowners for opening their gates for these special events and thank you to Arthur and Malcolm for sharing their knowledge of the area.

Stunning turn out on the third guided walk

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Over fifty visitors, both local and international turned out for the third guided walk this summer.  Due to previous request, the day started at the Mahia Beach Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Jamie Cox, Manager of the Wairoa District Council Engineering Department, allowed the group to specially access the site and also gave a comprehensive explanation of the whole system and how it functions.  The group then traversed the forest where Leon Symes,  Treasurer and one of the original foundation members of the W.C.M.G. spoke about the significant sites for local Maori.  Arthur Bowen, Cultural Health Index Co-Ordinator, explained the life cycle of the Whitebait in the Catchment and underlined the positive impact that the Restoration Programme is having on this rare fish species.  The day ended at the Whangawehi Bridge where Malcolm Smith, DOC ranger, talked about the Blue Penguin Restoration Programme and the many other birds that are returning to the area.  We thank all the visitors who have supported these guided walks and welcome them in the future for any new guided walks or community planting days.

Next guided walk Friday the 15th of January