Conservation NZ style
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sun 24 Nov 2013 09:23
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NZ has an amazing amount of conservation land for a
developed country which is beginning to make up to some extent at least for
the absolute devastation wreaked on the country by both the European settlers in
the nineteenth century and the Maori before them.
On the way from Opua to Nelson around the top of
North Island we stopped at Motukawanui in the Cavalli islands on the east coast.
This is now an uninhabited Department of Conservation (known to
everyone as DoC) reserve of 3.4 square kilometres; and very beautiful it is
too. The Cavallis were named by our hero Capt Cook on 27 December 1769 on his
first voyage to NZ, he claimed because he was given fish of that name by the
local Maori. Cook probably meant trevally, a common local fish (whose Maori nam
is araara, so he certainly didn't mean that!).
The islands are nowadays famous as the last resting
place of the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace ship blown up by
the French Secret Service in Auckland harbour in the 80s during the height of
the nuclear testing dispute in French Polynesia. Disgracefully, despite sinking
the vessel and killing an entirely innocent man the French state escaped almost
entirely unpunished. How long ago it all seems now! Anyway, today the
Rainbow Warrior is an artifiial reef and a superb dive
site.
Here is the view from the top of the island looking
south:
 Like many of these east coast islands Motukawanui
was briefly a sheep farm. Nearly all the native vegetation was cleared and
replaced with European grass - a huge task. I can only assume that the savings
in not having to erect fences made the project economically viable. But,
thankfully from our perspective, not for long. Nowadays it has been bought by
DoC who have eradicated mammalian pest species and are allowing the natural
vegetation to regenerate as you can see in the foreground above. The island has
now recovered sufficiently to be used as a kiwi nursery.
There is a single maintained track the length of
the island (NZ bush is effectively inpenetrable to humans, so a track is
essential for predator control, and this then allows public access) leading to
this view at the northern end:
 This is derelict sheep pasture which is returning
slowly to native scrub, much more slowly than would be the case in the UK
because the local flora has not evolved to colonise grassland - there simply
wasn't any for it to practise on! The beach hidden below Ali is glorious pink
sand and utterly empty - in fact we were the only people on the whole
island.
As is often the case on DoC land it is possible to
stay in a hut. Here it is:
 This is typical. Simple but functional. There is a
water supply, composting toilet (the green thing with funnel behind the hut to
the left) bunk style accomodation and a cooking area, but no electricity and no
cooking equipment and, as you can see, a delightful location - the veranda looks
out over a beautiful sandy bay. All this is available for a small nightly fee.
And as usual in NZ, the whole thing is spotless. I can't help but think that in
the UK it would be vandalised, or someone would be squatting in it or it would
have been burnt to the ground.
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