Wildlife Past, Present, and Future

PAST

All the Moa were hunted to extinction (for food) by Maori.

Hard to imaging what it would be like to be hiking in the same environment as the Giant Moa. We have no idea if they were aggressive.

These are representations of egg sizes for different Moa species.

Haast Eagles preyed on Moa and went extinct when their food source disappeared.

They were very large but not quite as big as this LOTR display at the airport. 

Gandalf is about ½ size and the eagle more than double size.

All land-mammals in New Zealand have been introduced intentionally or inadvertently. The only native mammals are two species of bat.

PRESENT

Kereru

Magpie

Longfin Eel

Various shore birds

Paradise Shelducks (three females and one male)

Blue check mark indicates species we saw (and a lot more).

FUTURE

Introduced predators are very harmful to native birds. 

Particularly since many are ground-nesting and a few are flightless. 

The Department of Conservation has an ambitious plan targeting the three most damaging predators: feral cats, rats, and possums (introduced from Australia for the fur trade). The goal is to eradicate these three predators by 2050.

It’s super common to see traps along the trails or markers to where traps are located off-trail.

We saw LOTS of traps, but none that had been sprung.

We didn’t examine them in much detail and we have no idea what bait is used.

The traps do work; our campground host on Stewart Island was routinely emptying nearby traps.

Displays in wildlife parks and DOC visitor centers are common.

Possums front right and on the wall next to the TV.

Lots of different traps for different species and situations.

Possums also kill a couple species of tree by eating all the leaves.

This is a possum trap.

These traps were part of a school project in Coromandel Town.

There are other predators (hedgehogs, stoats) and problematic introduced species (rabbits). Possibly they will be targeted eventually but these animals do less damage/killing. Kiwi can defend themselves against a stoat but not the larger predators. NZ Dept of Conservation Predator Free 2050

Coromandel Walks

We did less hiking in Coromandel than we hoped but trails that were open were lovely.

These Kauri are probably about 1000 years old.

This walk on the hill behind our accommodation is home to quite a number of 20-year old Kauri.

Tree size comparisons

Peaks in the area have great views.

Coromandel Town is in the center on the left.

Also Coromandel Town

Driveway entrance of the school in Kennedy Bay.

Qwirky Coromandel

We spent nearly a week in Coromandel hoping to do a bunch of hiking. 

But Cyclone Gabrielle did a lot of trail damage so hiking has been less available. 

This slip (NZ term for landslide) might be fairly recent because the trail was open. 
People had crossed but we chose not to.

Instead we went to the local theme park “The Waterworks”. 

It wasn’t expensive and turned out to be both educational and entertaining.

All the features are made from repurposed materials.

Some you watch, some you control, some you can manipulate to get yourself or someone else wet.

There are lots of playground features, a swimming hole, and a small waterslide.

There are also picnic areas and two BBQs.

They offer an annual membership which would be great if you lived in the area and have children.

Fine weather this morning but likely the stone will be wet later today.

This is an actual road sign. We have seen others nearly this complicated and marveled at the specificity in getting the signs made for each situation.

When we got close to take this photo we saw that the “driveways” are black stickers on the sign. 

That makes customization much easier

Art & Passion at Driving Creek Railway

Taking a narrow gauge train ride to the top of the mountain seemed like a fun rainy day activity. We had no idea it was so much more. 

There is a long and fantastic story about Driving Creek Railway (DCR) which you can read here https://drivingcreek.nz/our-history/. 

The short version is that professional potter Barry Brickell bought the property because of superior clay deposits. He built a pottery co-op and decided to build the railway to transport clay and firewood (for the wood-fired kiln). The railway turned into a passion project and Barry personally laid the entire 1.7 miles of track (with professional assistance building bridges and areas that needed large earth-moving equipment). 

DCR is still a functioning pottery co-op and art abounds on the property.

This tree stump was made part of the artistic landscape rather than being removed.

We were told that Barry had help drinking the wine whose bottles became these retaining walls.

It is a really narrow gauge - only 15”. And the train cars are less than 6’ tall.

Fun Fact - The bricks for the tunnels and retaining walls were made on site.

The steepest portion of track rises 1 meter of elevation over 15 meters of track. 

There are five reversals, a near spiral, and a double-decker viaduct (photos below) in the 370’ of elevation change. Also a bunch of bridges and three tiny tunnels.

Barry did the surveying for where to lay track himself.

End of the line at one of the reversals.

We took this photo from our seat at the front of the train.

We were riding on “Linx” which is powered by a diesel engine. 

There are controls at each end since it changes direction at each reversal.

When Barry bought the property it was grassland. Very early on he undertook to plant nearly 30,000 native trees in order to restore the land to what it was before it was logged and farmed. This photo of the property was taken in 1967.

We took this photo. The difference is astounding!

There are four Kiwi (males and females) living in this forest.

The property also has a small predator-free fenced reserve and a vigorous predator trapping program.

In 1994, Barry put the property into a National Trust Covenant which will keep this forest protected in perpetuity. Before his death, aged 80, in 2016 the business aspects of DCR became part of a trust.

The current art show in the gallery on the property was amazing. 

This wall-sized necklace is named “She is Regal”. 

It was on loan for the show from the owner.

Barry Brickell was not a wealthy man. He was a successful potter and very resourceful and thrifty. It grew and evolved as his resources allowed and passion dictated. Most of the railway (cars, tracks, engines) were salvaged or purchased second-hand. The tracks, in particular, came from closing mining operations. The world and Coromandel Peninsula were lucky to have him.

We know far less about artist Friedrichreich Hundertwasser. His art is quite visible in some places we have been through recently. We drove past the Hundertwasser Art Center in Whangarei and stopped at the Kawakawa Public Toilets.

https://www.hundertwasserartcentre.co.nz/