24 June 2009

IPC Fieldtrip to Nga Manu Nature Reserve, Waikanae

Translated by Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Chris Muckersie and Moira Blake.

Masahiro Sagae (right) touching the Tuatara held by a staff member at Nga Manu Nature Reserve

"I didn't know that a kiwi walks so fast." commented Masahiro Sagae, a 2008 student. He and another 12 students were watching a kiwi bird as it was walking along the ground, using its long bill to search for food.

The group was in their first year environment paper's fieldtrip to the Nga Manu Nature Reserve on Wednesday, 17th June. Their lecturer Chris Muckersie accompanied the group. The Nga Manu Nature Reserve is located near Waikanae in the Kapiti Coast area, about 1 hour from Palmerston North by car.

First, one of the reserve staff members introduced the students to a tuatara, a reptile that has the nickname "the living fossil". The tuatara is an endangered species and can only be found in New Zealand. The students could touch and feel the spikes along its back and the cold temperature of its body. According to the staff member, a tuatara's gender is decided by the temperature surrounding its eggs. Just one degree up and almost all of the babies would be male. This makes the tuatara population vulnerable in temperature changes caused by global warming.

The most interesting part of their trip was when the giant fresh water eels came for the feeding time. The eels were attracted to the vibration created from people walking along the bridge over their habitat. They are about 2 metres long and can live up to 60 years. However, because of the human invasion of its natural habitat, it is one of the endangered species.

After that, the students walked through the nocturnal display, featuring the morepork owls and kiwi birds. Next they walked through bush areas to watch the native birds, such as tui and fantail, and then went into the aviaries to observe more of the birds. In the aviaries, a playful kaka sat on the shoulders (and heads) of several of the students. A kaka is a large parrot species found only in New Zealand. Observation of the native waterfowl species around the wildlife ponds and the scaup (a kind of duck) dive tank were also included in the trip.

Ruka Shimomura, also a 2008 student, said, "Watching the scaup dive steadily 3 metres deep in the cold water was a very rare opportunity."

The students watching the feeding of the giant eels	Feeding the ducks
A kiwi bird spotted by the students	Yoshihiro Okukawa with the playful kaka on his shoulder

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