Mar 14 2012

Orokonui Ecosanctuary

Published by under Hikers

34 km from car-park.
14/3/2012. Hikers. Orokonui Ecosanctuary. Leaders: Chris, Lesley

Morning tea at feeding station (for the birds?) (Bob pic and caption)

View from feeding station (Bob pic and caption)

Bellbird at another feeding station (Bob pic and caption)

Viewing platform at the same station (Bob pic and caption)

George is rightly suspicious of the Miro berry offered!!! (Bob pic and caption)

The lovely bush track (Bob pic and caption)

A bird that wants this to be a feeding station (Bob pic and caption)

Mechanical track clearer with the twin NZ Tallest Trees in background (Bob pic and caption)

View from the Visitor Centre (Bob pic and caption)

12/11/2008. Hikers. Orokonui. Medium. Leaders: Lesley G, Wendy B, Joyce S
Mopanui. Lunch at top.

Lunch at top of Orokonui Ecosanctuary. Mopanui beyond.

Well, the Sanctuary is BIG.  Much bigger than the writer had imagined.
13km we went, with 9 of them around the perimeter, starting from the
bottom carpark, going around the estuary and clockwise thereafter
ascending from sea level

Climbing Orokonui's perimeter

Climbing Orokonui

to near the top of Mopanui (400m+), then down
to the main top gate where the visitor centre will later be built,
near the junction of Blueskin and Mopanui Roads. We lunched there, couldn’t find the sleeve to Joyce’s thermos though we looked hard (and that was because it was back on her kitchen bench) and then it was all downhill

Orokonui descent

Orokonui descent

back to the cars, but in calm, warm conditions. A really
pleasant walk.

The fence that encloses the Orokonui Ecosanctuary ( the old Orokonui
DoC reserve which includes NZ’s tallest tree, plus all the additional
land) was closed off in July 2007. Almost all pests have been
eradicated, even down to the last goat. An employee behind the fence
explained that they were currently on a spraying programme around the
fenceline as even a bit of gorse widening a gap in the wire mesh will
create a ‘mouse breach’!  While it is not yet open to the public, it
is possible to walk around the fence and marvel at what is being
planned. There are steep sections, especially at the northern end of
the fence but in general the 3 to 4 hour walk was very
straightforward, following the wide, gravelled perimeter track. There
was plenty to see: great views, named fence posts (we spotted No.10
Fleming Street where the PM is in residence) (well, actually it was
Prime Mover Ian and Shirley Fleming’s plaque on fence post No.10) and
varying vegetation. We could hear rosellas and a rifleman, but we
didn’t catch a glimpse of the 6 Kaka that have been released, although
Leslie Gowans, who visits regularly to detail sightings of birds, says
that they have not strayed much further than 100m from their release
site so far. The Orokonui website if you want to know more, can be
found at: www.orokonui.org.nz – Bob M

7/7/2004 Leaders: Ian, Bill, Pat Before fenced in. Right around through entire gully.

1/3/2000. Orokonui, Big Tree. Leaders; Shirley McN, Val.
28/7/1999. Orokonui, Big Tree. Leaders: Shirley McN, Judy C, Val.
30/9/1998. Orokonui, Big Tree. Leaders: Shirley McN, Judy C.
7/5/1997. Orokanui – Big Tree round trip.
6/11/1996. Orokonui – Big Tree Round Trip. Leaders: Shirley McN, Judy C, Wendy.
22/5/1996. Orokonui – Big Tree round trip. Medium+ Leaders: Shirley McN, Judy C, Wendy

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