October 2025 Newsletter
Upcoming Volunteer Trips
We have these midweek volunteer trips coming up, travelling by Dreamweaver from Pier Z:
Tuesday 18 November
Wednesday 19 November
Thursday 20 November
Friday 5 December
Friday 12 December
If you are a group interested in joining one of these trips (or another date), please email Simon on volunteermotuihe@gmail.com
We have these volunteer trips coming up, all travelling by water taxi from Okahu Bay:
Sunday 23 November (endangered plants)
Saturday 13 December (endangered plants)
Sunday 14 December (general volunteer day)
Individuals can book on any of these trips by registering here:
Register or email volunteers@motuihe.org.nz
As we have limited space on each trip, please only register for a trip once you are sure you are able to make it
Motuihe Features on Seven Sharp
As part of our 25-year celebrations this year, Motuihe was featured recently on Seven Sharp.
Anyone who missed the excellent article can view it here:
Seven Sharp episode
A big thanks to Fiona Alexander for making this happen.
Welcome Anna Wang - Our New Volunteer Co-ordinator
Anna has visited the island many times, and is passionate about the environment and Motuihe. We are thrilled that
Anna has offered to be our volunteer co-ordinator, her warm, friendly nature make her perfect for the job, along with her endless enthusiasm.
Anna is learning how to organise our volunteer trips for individuals, and is contactable on volunteers@motuihe.org.nz. Introduce yourself to Anna when you see her on Motuihe, and let her know if there is any training you would like to do or if there are any particular projects you'd like to be part of.
Introducing Our Summer New Contractors - Grace & Shanaye
Grace and Shanaye will be staying on Motuihe for much of the summer, carrying out grid searches and controlling invasive weeds. This continues the good work done by our team of volunteers. Say "Hi" to Grace and Shanaye when you see them out and about, they're keen to learn as much as they can during their visit. Steve Flynn has spent a week training Grace and Shanaye, so they are already well-and-truly up and running.
Steve has weeded on the island regularly since 2005, and commented:
"Another moth plant area of note was J6, off Tieke Track towards the coast. This was an area of about 150 sqm of moth plant. Control over the years has left some damage to native species - small trees and shrubs had been affected in the past. I have not visited this site for a number of years. I had the opportunity to work at this site during my recent visit. Moth plant was down to a few juvenile vines and scattered seedlings. The stand out to me was that native plants had re-established and were quite dense. I saw kawakawa, coprosma, mahoe, hangehange, kohekohe and karaka seedlings and many more. These results are due to the ongoing work of volunteers and the Summer Weeders. Well done."
Shanaye (on the left) & Grace (on the right)
Wētāpunga Release
Ngati Manuhiri and the team from Auckland Zoo along with our Motuihe volunteers released 318 juvenile wētāpunga into Orchard Bush, Disaster Gully, and von Luckner Bush. All eighteen people in the release group got to experience opening the containers to release the willing (and not so willing) juvenile Wētāpunga, to be welcomed to their new homes by nearby ruru song.
The highlight of the release was firstly finding adult Wētāpunga at all three release sites with one female seen laying eggs. And the second highlight was finding 40 Wētāpunga in the preceding nights as part of the survey to establish the success of the previous releases since 2019. This project has been made possible by our generous sponsors, the expert Zoo team, the DoC pest control work, and of course the habitat management work of Motuihe Trust volunteers.
We are looking forward to releasing more rare species as this is a hugely rewarding part of what we do on Motuihe. It will be fascinating to follow future survey work to see how these marvelous ancient critters adapt to living on the island.
Lois has put together a video of the release, you can watch it here Wetapunga release - thanks to Ants Cotton also for the video footage.
Photos courtesy of Ants Cotton
Breeding Season has Begun!
It's a lovely time of year to visit Motuihe, with breeding season in full swing for the inhabitants. Our first dotterel and oyster catcher chicks have hatched on Wharf Bay, and our fluttering shearwaters have arrived at Billy Goat Point (have a sneaky view here: Fluttering Shearwater video
Remember to keep a respectful distance from parents who are doing their best to raise their young.
2026 Calendars
2026 Motuihe Calendars - We're taking pre-orders now!
Thank you to all the keen photographers who entered wonderful images into the Motuihe Photo Competition. The independent judges have deliberated and made their top 3 selections in each of the 4 categories. The winning images will be announced at the 25-year celebrations. A calendar with these great images has been produced and is available for pre-order now, with a limited supply available for purchase at the 25-year celebrations.
Cost is $25.00 per calendar (postage is additional if needed). Pre-order by emailing info@motuihe.org.nz.
New Water Treatment System
Filtec has kindly donated a new water treatment system for the woolshed. We have been having problems with our current system so once the new system is installed, our drinking water supply will be assured into the future. Thanks to Matt Ewen and his team.
Saturday 27th September - 5-Minute Bird Call Counts
We have these midweek volunteer trips coming up, travelling by Dreamweaver from Pier Z:
Tuesday 18 November
Wednesday 19 November
Thursday 20 November
Friday 5 December
Friday 12 December
If you are a group interested in joining one of these trips (or another date), please email Simon on volunteermotuihe@gmail.com
We have these volunteer trips coming up, all travelling by water taxi from Okahu Bay:
Sunday 23 November (endangered plants)
Saturday 13 December (endangered plants)
Sunday 14 December (general volunteer day)
Individuals can book on any of these trips by registering here:
Register or email volunteers@motuihe.org.nz
As we have limited space on each trip, please only register for a trip once you are sure you are able to make it
Motuihe Features on Seven Sharp
As part of our 25-year celebrations this year, Motuihe was featured recently on Seven Sharp.
Anyone who missed the excellent article can view it here:
Seven Sharp episode
A big thanks to Fiona Alexander for making this happen.
Welcome Anna Wang - Our New Volunteer Co-ordinator
Anna has visited the island many times, and is passionate about the environment and Motuihe. We are thrilled that
Anna has offered to be our volunteer co-ordinator, her warm, friendly nature make her perfect for the job, along with her endless enthusiasm.
Anna is learning how to organise our volunteer trips for individuals, and is contactable on volunteers@motuihe.org.nz. Introduce yourself to Anna when you see her on Motuihe, and let her know if there is any training you would like to do or if there are any particular projects you'd like to be part of.
Introducing Our Summer New Contractors - Grace & Shanaye
Grace and Shanaye will be staying on Motuihe for much of the summer, carrying out grid searches and controlling invasive weeds. This continues the good work done by our team of volunteers. Say "Hi" to Grace and Shanaye when you see them out and about, they're keen to learn as much as they can during their visit. Steve Flynn has spent a week training Grace and Shanaye, so they are already well-and-truly up and running.
Steve has weeded on the island regularly since 2005, and commented:
"Another moth plant area of note was J6, off Tieke Track towards the coast. This was an area of about 150 sqm of moth plant. Control over the years has left some damage to native species - small trees and shrubs had been affected in the past. I have not visited this site for a number of years. I had the opportunity to work at this site during my recent visit. Moth plant was down to a few juvenile vines and scattered seedlings. The stand out to me was that native plants had re-established and were quite dense. I saw kawakawa, coprosma, mahoe, hangehange, kohekohe and karaka seedlings and many more. These results are due to the ongoing work of volunteers and the Summer Weeders. Well done."
Shanaye (on the left) & Grace (on the right)
Wētāpunga Release
Ngati Manuhiri and the team from Auckland Zoo along with our Motuihe volunteers released 318 juvenile wētāpunga into Orchard Bush, Disaster Gully, and von Luckner Bush. All eighteen people in the release group got to experience opening the containers to release the willing (and not so willing) juvenile Wētāpunga, to be welcomed to their new homes by nearby ruru song.
The highlight of the release was firstly finding adult Wētāpunga at all three release sites with one female seen laying eggs. And the second highlight was finding 40 Wētāpunga in the preceding nights as part of the survey to establish the success of the previous releases since 2019. This project has been made possible by our generous sponsors, the expert Zoo team, the DoC pest control work, and of course the habitat management work of Motuihe Trust volunteers.
We are looking forward to releasing more rare species as this is a hugely rewarding part of what we do on Motuihe. It will be fascinating to follow future survey work to see how these marvelous ancient critters adapt to living on the island.
Lois has put together a video of the release, you can watch it here Wetapunga release - thanks to Ants Cotton also for the video footage.
Photos courtesy of Ants Cotton
Breeding Season has Begun!
It's a lovely time of year to visit Motuihe, with breeding season in full swing for the inhabitants. Our first dotterel and oyster catcher chicks have hatched on Wharf Bay, and our fluttering shearwaters have arrived at Billy Goat Point (have a sneaky view here: Fluttering Shearwater video
Remember to keep a respectful distance from parents who are doing their best to raise their young.
2026 Calendars
2026 Motuihe Calendars - We're taking pre-orders now!
Thank you to all the keen photographers who entered wonderful images into the Motuihe Photo Competition. The independent judges have deliberated and made their top 3 selections in each of the 4 categories. The winning images will be announced at the 25-year celebrations. A calendar with these great images has been produced and is available for pre-order now, with a limited supply available for purchase at the 25-year celebrations.
Cost is $25.00 per calendar (postage is additional if needed). Pre-order by emailing info@motuihe.org.nz.
New Water Treatment System
Filtec has kindly donated a new water treatment system for the woolshed. We have been having problems with our current system so once the new system is installed, our drinking water supply will be assured into the future. Thanks to Matt Ewen and his team.
Saturday 27th September - 5-Minute Bird Call Counts
After one postponed attempt due to poor weather, a clear window on 27th September finally allowed our enthusiastic team of birders to make the trip to Motuihe Island for the second spring 5-minute bird count survey. Upon stepping off the water taxi, we were immediately greeted by a pair of nesting oystercatchers and dotterels on the beach — a wonderful start to the day! The island was alive with birdlife following heavy rain the previous day, and we enjoyed ideal conditions for surveying. Across the 40 monitoring stations, we encountered an abundance of native species foraging, flying, and singing, including tūī, saddleback, grey warbler, kererū, and shining cuckoo. It was a rewarding and enjoyable day in the field. Big thanks to the dedicated team of new and returning volunteers who made the rescheduled survey such a success: Katie Vanderstok, Helen Bucksey, Riley Ellery, Nathan Denmark, Cass Mark-Chan, Douglas Fotheringham, Janina Castro, Anna Wang and Cage Cardon.
The bird count team (Michaela Scarrott)
Sunday 12th October - General Volunteer Day
A really productive day for our water taxi load of volunteers. It was great to have the marquee finally cleaned and erected, and to know that it is going to look after us well during our celebrations. Thank you Simon and Craig for helping with this, along with Paul our ranger, Fiona and Paul Taylor. Thanks also to Simon and Craig for bringing your delightful girls (Cosi, Zara and Natalie) to add a cheeriness to the day! As well as for their help to Barbara in the nursery, and to get some of the flaxes into the ground.
In the monitoring department, no penguin burrows were found at Calypso, but great to see our fluttering shearwaters have arrived and are sitting on nests. No new dotterel nests were reported, but it seems as if the pairs have established their territories around the island and we hope to see eggs soon (yes, in fact we had chicks by the end of the month!).
Thanks to Philip and Karen for their ongoing dedication to weeding - without attention to keeping our invasive weeds under control our restoration would go backwards quickly. And Lois and Jill managed to slip off to cut back overhanging vegetation from the first part of the Tieke track.
Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th October - Gecko Grid Maintenance
The weekend provided a window of perfect conditions for our reptile team to prepare monitoring stations in preparation for the annual survey weekend December 6 and 7. Our annual survey checks on the abundance and spread of our three translocated gecko species: Raukawa geckos (South of bald knob), Duvaucel and Pacific geckos (centred near Tieke Track). Experienced leaders and new recruits worked long hours in steep and rocky terrain to successfully prepare a total of 133 stations over two grids.
This involved:
• Navigation to find the station (using maps, GPS, and experience)
• Cutting safe pathways to access some stations
• Treating wasp nests near access to some stations
• Flagging all Raukawa stations and overwriting all refuge numbers
• Clearing and weeding around each trakka tunnel or ACO refuge for efficient access during the Dec survey
• Helping new recruits to practise the correct protocols for the Dec survey, esp. ID and counting of gecko species and data recording.
• Replacing or repairing damaged or missing parts of the refuges (Tunnels, ACO’s, and foam CFC’s)
• Setting up additional stations at the periphery of both grids
• Packaging up damaged onduline and foam for removal from the island without transporting any lizards off the island.
• Cutting safe pathways to access some stations
• Treating wasp nests near access to some stations
• Flagging all Raukawa stations and overwriting all refuge numbers
• Clearing and weeding around each trakka tunnel or ACO refuge for efficient access during the Dec survey
• Helping new recruits to practise the correct protocols for the Dec survey, esp. ID and counting of gecko species and data recording.
• Replacing or repairing damaged or missing parts of the refuges (Tunnels, ACO’s, and foam CFC’s)
• Setting up additional stations at the periphery of both grids
• Packaging up damaged onduline and foam for removal from the island without transporting any lizards off the island.
We are looking forward to hearing about the results of the full survey in December
Wednesday 15th October - Midweek Weeding
Our small dedicated team headed down towards Ohinerau, and while it was disappointing to find such a weedy area on the island it is heartening to know that these areas are fewer and fewer. We left a trail of destruction as we worked our way through large areas of small and large woollies, as well as moth plant seedlings and vines. It will need revisiting for some time, but we definitely left our mark.
Meanwhile Denise painted the inside of the new toilets, and the solar panels were cleaned. The woolshed is looking tidier and is working more efficiently after every visit.
Thursday 16th October - Corporate Volunteer Day
There’s always a first on a Dreamweaver trip - we turned around in the Marina to pick up a late arrival: ‘never leave one behind’. Graham Banks and Simon came over with 55 volunteers from Serko, IAG and Chep to be met by Lois driving the tractor. Graeme, Ants and Lois came on the taxi as part of a wider operations team.
One small team stayed in the nursery bagging up Puriri for next year’s planting season while another small team pulled kōwhai seed from their pods and scarified the seeds for tray germination. The track team finished up combining with the weeding team. While trying to locate them, we came across young Rewarewa trees in flower so we’ll monitor these to ensure we collect the ripe seed. Another step forward for our juvenile Rewarewa. The weeding team, augmented with Graeme and Ants with their pole saws, ended up between Von Luckner and Taraire. Massive woolies session with the odd moth plant and even a couple of rhamnus dealt to. It was a perfect ‘Goldilocks’ day for weeding; not too hot, not too cold. Really good effort from all concerned.
The BBQ had a work over and after a beach clean we got on a much bumpier ferry as the SW had got up. After an interesting swing across the waves we all got back to Z in good order safe and sound.
Young rewarewa in flower (Lois Badham)
The teams from IAG, Chep and Serco (Lois Badham)
Sunday 19th October - Kakabeak Volunteer Day
Two boat-loads of volunteers, plus special VIP guests from 7 Sharp, were met on Wharf Bay by a pair of oystercatchers and a pair of dotterels, each with three young chicks, much to everyone’s delight. Up at the nursery it was a hive of activity with the shade house receiving a spring clean and tidy. The benches are now wonderfully orderly.
The volunteer teams divided work up with one group dashing about the island applying snail bait to ‘orchard’ plantings of kākābeak, another planting native plume grass (Pentapogon crinitus) and weeding the woolshed cliffs site and the third in the nursery pricking out seedlings (native broom Carmichaelia australis, turutu Dianella nigra and hangehange Geniostoma ligustrifolium).
The (seemingly) endless task of pricking out Scandia seedlings has finally drawn to a close with the last three trays finished. This mammoth task has been a regular part of our team’s volunteer efforts for months and is a huge achievement. More than 1000 Scandia have been pricked out this season - it might have felt endless, but it is very worthwhile as it will enable us to improve the genetic diversity of our plants on the island. This plant is nationally vulnerable and the work being done to grow it on Motuihe represents a significant step in staving off extinction for the species. Have a look for plants put in the ground last year along Wharf Road, where they are now in flower.
A great day's work by a hard-working and dedicated team - thanks everyone.
Scandia in flower (Bella Burgess)
Pricking out in the nursery (Bella Burgess)
Thursday 23rd October - Midweek Weeding
With Shanaye and Grace now on the island for the summer, a group headed over to share some training with them.
Keith Salmon from the Environmental Weed Coalition kindly joined us, and gave us tips to get started with our weed management plan using iNaturalist and CAMS (Field Maps). This system will allow us to map invasive weeds around, and then to record when we've taken action to control these.
Graeme Seymour trained Shanaye and Grace, as well as some of our other regulars, in how to use the pole saws. These have been invaluable in opening up access to weedy areas, so the more volunteers who can use these safely the better. Graeme also showed the team how to clean, sharpen and maintain the saws to make sure they continue to work well.
A big thanks to Keith and Graeme for spending time with our weeders. We managed to get some weed control practice in between sessions, every little bit helps!
The volunteer teams divided work up with one group dashing about the island applying snail bait to ‘orchard’ plantings of kākābeak, another planting native plume grass (Pentapogon crinitus) and weeding the woolshed cliffs site and the third in the nursery pricking out seedlings (native broom Carmichaelia australis, turutu Dianella nigra and hangehange Geniostoma ligustrifolium).
The (seemingly) endless task of pricking out Scandia seedlings has finally drawn to a close with the last three trays finished. This mammoth task has been a regular part of our team’s volunteer efforts for months and is a huge achievement. More than 1000 Scandia have been pricked out this season - it might have felt endless, but it is very worthwhile as it will enable us to improve the genetic diversity of our plants on the island. This plant is nationally vulnerable and the work being done to grow it on Motuihe represents a significant step in staving off extinction for the species. Have a look for plants put in the ground last year along Wharf Road, where they are now in flower.
A great day's work by a hard-working and dedicated team - thanks everyone.
Scandia in flower (Bella Burgess)
Pricking out in the nursery (Bella Burgess)
Thursday 23rd October - Midweek Weeding
With Shanaye and Grace now on the island for the summer, a group headed over to share some training with them.
Keith Salmon from the Environmental Weed Coalition kindly joined us, and gave us tips to get started with our weed management plan using iNaturalist and CAMS (Field Maps). This system will allow us to map invasive weeds around, and then to record when we've taken action to control these.
Graeme Seymour trained Shanaye and Grace, as well as some of our other regulars, in how to use the pole saws. These have been invaluable in opening up access to weedy areas, so the more volunteers who can use these safely the better. Graeme also showed the team how to clean, sharpen and maintain the saws to make sure they continue to work well.
A big thanks to Keith and Graeme for spending time with our weeders. We managed to get some weed control practice in between sessions, every little bit helps!
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