By Jo Wills
The plopping sound of raindrops falling from the branches into my hot cup of soup is a resounding memory of my first night spent in the ngahere/bush listening for kiwi calls. We didn’t hear any on Saturday. Sunday however was a different story.
My partner Cory and I, along with approximately one hundred other people responded to the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trusts call to join them for the GRŌKS. The Great Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Survey. The first kiwi survey in twenty five years to capture solid data on how many of our national bird calls the approximately 1,200 hectres of virgin native forest their home.
We attended an information evening a few weeks prior to the survey at the Oropi Hall. I expected to be one of maybe twenty people of various levels of ‘Green Banshee’ pedigree (thank you Shane Jones for that glorious description of people who care about nature). What I didn’t expect was to see people streaming through the double doors and more chairs being rapidly pulled out. People I knew from many different professions, and people I was about to meet through shared experience.
Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust Kiwi Team Lead, Andrew Poad, hit the perfect balance between informing us of exactly what to expect and how to stay safe as well as making us feel a part of something special. A comment he made stuck with me. In a world where a lot is trying to disconnect us, this was an opportunity to come together as a community and connect over something truly important for future generations.
The Inner Development Goals (IDG’s) theory of change is based on a world where we’ve become disconnected from ourselves, each other and from nature. The GRŌKS experience was a tonic for all three. It also made me think about the insatiable appetite from those in positions of power for GDP growth. I always ask, growth of what, and for who? GDP will have increased slightly from the GRŌKS event if anyone bought new gear, or filled their car up for the trip out of town. What wasn’t captured was the non-financial transactions of the experience.
Because GDP doesn’t care about a bunch of people sitting in a community hall eagerly awaiting the chance to contribute to something bigger than themselves. And it doesn’t care about future generations. And yet, we were there to play a tiny role in the growth of our native species, the growth of our own wellbeing and the growth of the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust community.
There was no rain on Sunday night, and we were allocated a new listening post. We joined our group and tramped about forty minutes into the ngahere, using trapping lines. The deeper we went into the bush the more my anxiety grew. On Saturday we were on a main trail I had hiked many times, but this was different. Our two experienced leads for the group gave me comfort and I told myself to trust the process I was a part of.
We reached our listening post. A trapping line that ended on a small perch of well trodden ground sitting high above the ngahere below us. Also, as it happens, on a flight path.
Cory and I got settled into our positions, me with a compass and Cory with the chart ready to record what we heard. The sun took a long time to set, keeping the sky aglow with amber through the layers of branches. But the night did come (and the planes stopped).
We sat quietly, listening. My mind stilled as I heard the wind move through the trees before it reached us. My earlier anxiety disappeared. My breathing calmed, ha ki roto, ha ki waho. A voice in my mind said ‘what do you need to think about’ and another voice responded with ‘nothing’.
And then the kiwi started calling.
We heard our first male kiwi call, then another, then a female and then two more. We weren’t close enough to see or smell them, but we heard them and recorded the data. We also heard Kōkako and Ruru.
At 7.30pm the official survey ended. We packed up and started the trek out, this time in total darkness, guided by the reflectors on the tree markers. Though we were deep in the bush our path out was easy, and exhilarating. Being in the ngahere at night is magic.
Our involvement was only due to the incredible work of the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust Team. As well as making the survey a huge success, they also work tirelessly to protect the kiwi and other native species in this stunning ngahere. I’m grateful to them for sharing their joy with us.
My wairua/spirit lifted as a result of my two nights in the ngahere. I connected back to myself and to others, and I deepened my connection to nature.
You can learn more about the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust and donate to them here.
