Southern Lakes Sanctuary

05/10/2026

🚨 - Hub Update - Predator Free Wānaka -🚨

Predator Free Wānaka has done an amazing amounts of work over the last few months. Packed out talks, installing new trap lines, volunteer training, species monitoring and school education sessions. It’s a wonder they got up the hill to ski at all! (Don’t worry, they did 😉)

Southern Lakes Sanctuary is proud as punch to support the incredible and passionate team of volunteers at Predator Free Wānaka who make all of this possible! 👏

If you don’t already, follow Predator Free Wānaka to keep up to date with all the goings on in the Wānaka area and see what they will get up to next.

03/10/2026

Let’s talk bugs! 🪲 🐝

Check out this awesome interview with our Biodiversity Projects Coordinator, Sam, as he dives into the fascinating world of insects 🤎

Wildlife photographer and entomologist Sam Purdie is here to talk about his latest book, Insects of Aotearoa New Zealand, and we get into everybody's favourite native creepy-crawlies.

02/10/2026

The Wānaka community always showing up 👏🏼

This week’s Takahē Talk with Takahē Recovery - what a fantastic turnout! We were so happy to see such a full room.

Big shout out to Katie from Predator Free Wānaka getting it all happening! 💙

28/09/2026

Calm after the storm ⛈️

The combined Matukituki and Makarora crew took advantage of the break in the weather after the last storm to get some work completed in the West Matukituki. The focus of the work was to enhance the protection in the known mohua habitat as well as prepare for the use of bait stations soon.

The storm certainly did its fair share of damage by dropping tree limbs on tracks, but thankfully didn’t inflict too much damage on roading. However more work was conducted by the SLS ‘chain gang’ team on Downs Creek crossing to make it a lower risk option.

Tom and Paul from Makarora, spent the day giving the Red Beech bait station lines a wee ‘tidy up’ after a few years in hibernation. Recently the Department of Conservation Wānaka crew conducted the tracking tunnel assessment of the area and the result came back as 11% for rats. This is quite a high number for the West Matukituki, but thankfully the majority is centralised in the Red Beech area. Given this result, we intend to activate our bait station network to lower the number or rats before birds fully kick into their breeding cycle. The hope is that less rats will translate into less stoats later in the year due to lowering the food source for them.

At the same time, Markus, Renne and Scotty (Matukituki team), finished off the expansion of an existing trapline (Robin Loop), converting it into two separate lines. This improvement increases the protection to the population of mohua in the area as well as eliminating the need and risk of crossing Rough Creek, which is getting trickier each season.

All this work will help set up the project, allowing for Matukituki Charitable Trust volunteers to get back in after winter and continue the amazing work of trapline clearing for the coming season continuing to protect precious taonga species 💛🐤

28/09/2026

Great work Enviro Leaders! 👏🏼

So fantastic having the opportunity to work with you awesome bunch 😄

Big news from the Shotover Wetland!

This term our Enviro Leaders caught the first ever stoat in our traps – a big adult with the tell-tale black tip on its tail. Stoats are one of the biggest threats to our native birds and lizards, so this is a real win.

Across Term 3 the team made 25 trap visits, removed 5 pests and kept careful records on Trap.nz. Since our trapping began, 64 predators have been removed from the wetland.

This is kaitiakitanga in action. Ka pai, Enviro Leaders and Southern Lakes Sanctuary! 💚

24/09/2026

🤩

24/09/2026

Grumpy he didn’t even get into the top ten 😠

But we would like to say a huge and well deserved congratulations to the karure | kakaruia | Chatham Island black robin for winning Bird of the Year 2026 👏🏼🐦‍⬛

📸 Denis Stojanovic - whio spotted in the Leven this week!

22/09/2026

If you could change one thing for nature in the next five years, what would it be?

Come and hear what our speakers think - and add your own perspective. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

🕧 6.30pm, Thursday 24 September
📍 Patagonia, Tāhuna Queenstown
👉 RSVP essential: https://mobilisingfornature.splashthat.com/

21/09/2026

It’s been a week of celebrating our Co-Chairs! Last week we shared the wonderful news of Greg Lind’s MNZM, and this time it’s Dr Leslie Van Gelder’s turn. 🎖️

Leslie was invested as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) at Government House on Friday for services to conservation and dark sky sanctuaries - a wonderful recognition of her many years of contribution to the places and communities of the Southern Lakes.

As Co-Chair of Southern Lakes Sanctuary, Leslie brings her insight, energy and thoughtful leadership to our work protecting nature across the region. Her contribution to conservation runs deep: she has served with Forest & Bird’s Central Otago Lakes branch, was Executive Officer for the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust, and has supported conservation and community-led initiatives across the Southern Lakes for many years.

As chair of Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Skies, Leslie has played a leading role in the Glenorchy community’s journey to becoming an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, bringing people together to protect the night sky and helping Glenorchy become the 23rd dark sky sanctuary in the world. ✨

Alongside this, Leslie chairs the Queenstown Lakes District Council Climate Reference Group and has represented Tāhuna Glenorchy through the international Preserving Legacies initiative, helping develop approaches to understanding and responding to climate risks at significant sites around the world. Phew, does this wāhine toa find time to sleep?!

Born in New York and now a proud New Zealand citizen, we feel very lucky that Leslie chose to make the Southern Lakes home - and even luckier to have her around our governance table.

Whakamihi nui ki a koe, Leslie. Thank you for all you give to nature, climate and community. ✨🌿

📸 Government House

19/09/2026

WHIO VOCAL CHALLENGE! 🎤🦆

We asked our crew and friends to channel their inner whio… and the results are, well… interesting 😂

But we need YOU to be the judge! 👀
Rate our staff’s whio impressions in the comments - who nailed it and who needs a little more practice?

Then, while you’re here, make your vote count where it really matters… 🗳️💙

VOTE WHIO FOR BIRD OF THE YEAR 2026! 🦆🏆
Voting closes tomorrow - eeeek. Make it count