3141 Pureora Baiting

Weekend 6th - 8th September 2024

This is a chance to get out into the bush while contributing to an important conservation project looking after rare forest bird species, particularly Kōkako, in Pureora Forest Park.

Birds like robins, kaka, whiteheads, tomtits and kakariki (red-fronted parakeets) as well as kokako to be heard. We will be helping the Pirongia Restoration Society who manage a 1000 hectare pest control operation in the Okahukura valley. We will be based at the Pureora Forest Lodge for the weekend (think hot showers, warm rooms) so pack your ‘luxuries’. At 7.45pm Friday night there will be a safety briefing, and everyone will find out who their teammate will be, load up their supply of safety gear, and their allocation of rat bait (old pack is useful).

This means that you will need to leave Hamilton by about 5.30pm as it takes 2 hours to get to the accommodation. On Saturday morning we will leave the Lodge at 7.30 and drive for a further 40 minutes to the valley for you to then make your way to your allocated bait lines. Time to empty your pack as you go, putting a bag of bait into each bait station along the line. Each team of 2 people will have 2 lines to complete before returning to the base for the trip back to the Lodge.

If there are enough volunteers, there is a good chance we can visit all 954 bait stations on Saturday. If not, a small group will return on Sunday morning to complete the last lines. Tramping club members could help with this or head off on short walks around Pureora (such as Totara Walk, the forest tower, Mt Pureora even). There is an easy loop track in dense podocarp forest beside the Lodge that takes about 1 hour.

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