Orokonui Ecosanctuary - Day 1

Orokonui Eco-sanctuary

Our first stop on Monday was at the Orokonui Eco-sanctuary at Waitati. We met Tahu, who was our teacher for the day. We went into the learning room where Tahu explained to us why the esosanctuary had been built. We learned that farming over many years had changed the nature of the land and as result many species had become endangered or extinct in the local area. The purpose of the ecosanctuary is to restore the land as it once was with lots of native bush and hopefully many native species.

Kim got dressed up as a bird and we learned about how animals adapt over time and how we all have special adaptations which are unique to our species.

Tyler, Finn and Keegan investigate a feather and see how it can be 'zipped and unzipped'.

We had a good look around the building and played a number of games. We learned about the special fence that boundaries the sanctuary. It has been specially designed to keep out all predators, including possums, baby mice, stoats, ferrets, cat, dogs etc. It is 9km long and goes around the entire perimeter of the sanctuary.

After lunch it was time to enter the sanctuary and have a look around.

We used the aerial to listen for kiwi, which have recently been released into the sanctuary. They are nocturnal, so there was no chance we were going to see any. We also couldn't visit the Kea cage because they were all nesting and could not be disturbed.

We stopped to investigate the natural stream, where there are 7 native species of fish living.

We got to carry out some scientific tests on the health of the stream. We did a clarity test with Tahu. We tested the PH level with Lynn, and we carried out a number of other tests which all determine how healthy the stream is.

Jameisha's Dad caught a wee lobster in the stream. We all had a look before putting him back in the water.

It took us about 3 hours to walk from the top of the hill to the bottom of the valley. We looked at all the different species of native plants as we went. Luckily when we got to the bottom there were cars waiting to take us on to Sidey Lodge, because it would have been a LONG way if we had to walk back up the hill.

Sofie and Ben helped Tahu out for the day and they each took a group through the valley, which meant our groups were a bit smaller. They were great.

The Eco-Sanctuary was awesome and we highly recommend it!!!!