Haakarimata Restoration Trust

Haakarimata Restoration Trust We are a group of volunteer landowners working on bringing the Hakarimata ranges back to life. Planting native trees and removing introduced predators.
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HAAKARIMATA'S SMALLEST BIRD:Our Riroriro (grey warblers) often successfully raise their first brood before pīpīwharauroa...
08/10/2026

HAAKARIMATA'S SMALLEST BIRD:

Our Riroriro (grey warblers) often successfully raise their first brood before pīpīwharauroa (shining cuckoos) arrive in Aotearoa during spring, typically in September and October.

It’s then the warblers’ second brood, or second clutch of the season, that is predominantly targeted for brood parasitism with the shining cuckoo laying its egg in the warbler’s nest and leaving the riroriro to raise its substantually larger chick!
-Greg.

📷: Dave Sheely. Juvenile Riroriro (Grey warbler) Haakarimata.

07/10/2026

4AM WAKE-UP CALL! 😂🐦

Who's that we hear amongst all the Ruru?

The first long-tailed cuckoo has arrived at Haakarimata for spring......and apparently it wanted to make sure we knew about it!

Koekoeā are far more often heard than seen, but there's certainly no mistaking their call.

The echoing sound drifting through the forest is one of the best signs that spring has arrived. 🌿💚

Welcome back Koekoeā. Just maybe…...sleep in a little tomorrow. 😉

🎥: Greg Townsend. Koekoeā (Long-tailed cuckoo back at Haakarimata.

🌿 RETURNING PARADISE 🎶I may be biased….but I reckon we have the most amazing wildlife in the world.One of the things I ...
07/10/2026

🌿 RETURNING PARADISE 🎶
I may be biased….but I reckon we have the most amazing wildlife in the world.

One of the things I love about Aotearoa is that we can go camping in our wild places without having to worry about being eaten by a crocodile or bear… or having our kids carried off by a dingo. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

If you want to envision what a restored Haakarimata could look and sound like again, you don't need to imagine it....

Locally, it's only a short trip to places like Mount Pirongia (Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society) and the Hunua Ranges (Friends of Hunua Ranges) where incredible restoration work is already bringing back native wildlife and the sounds of a healthier forest 🌿. 🎶

Although it can sometimes feel like Haakarimata is a long way off, we will get there.

Awareness is so important. The more people who understand what we've lost and what we could bring back....the more powerful our collective effort becomes.

Help us spread the word. 😉
-Greg

🌿 Haakarimata.com

📸 Brian Cutting (Haakarimata Trust). Kērēru, Haakarimata.

BREAKFAST TIME! 🐦🍽️Our tiny pīwakawaka (fantails) certainly aren’t immune to the pressure from introduced predators. But...
06/10/2026

BREAKFAST TIME! 🐦🍽️

Our tiny pīwakawaka (fantails) certainly aren’t immune to the pressure from introduced predators. But they do at least have a few tricks on their side.

Fantails can raise multiple broods, laying around 2–5 eggs per clutch, and their habit of nesting right at the ends of slender branches can make their nests harder for some predators, particularly possums and cats, to reach.

As insect eaters that are highly adaptable to different habitats, pīwakawaka have managed to hang on at Haakarimata while many of our other native birds have long disappeared.

Every bird still singing here is a reminder of why we need to keep doing the mahi. 🌿
📷: Dave Sheely. Pīwakawaka/Fantail, Haakarimata.

05/10/2026

“Our hope is we'll get some banded rail....maybe bittern, there's some goals we've got going.......it's not just a matter of planting, but protecting what you've got there.” -Neil S.🐦🌿

They are certainly well on their way to doing so!
Landowners constantly inspire us! A massive thank you to Waikato Regional Council for supporting the kick-start of the landowner-driven Predator Free Riverside Way Project off Haakarimata road, through their Small Scale Initiatives funding for landowners.

Nicki & Neil had already done an amazing job planting thousands of native riparian plants and continue to nurture seedlings, with the restoration improving year after year. 🌱....but now that predator trapping has become part of their routine, things are really starting to happen along the river corridor. 🐀🪤

Alongside restoring wetlands/streams and the riverside corridor, they also have an avocado orchard. 🥑
If you want to try some of the best avo's in town, get in touch with Awa Produce!

This is what landowner-led conservation looks like, restoring habitat, controlling predators and creating a future where native wildlife can return. We all have a responsiblily to look after our own backyards and landowners like this who truly go the extra mile inspire us all!
The future is bright. 😎
Love Bittern
Swampfrog Environmental & Tree Consultants

OUR WHY=Whakahokia mai te tangi manu.Bring back the birdsong.Our first step is to create an abundance of the species we ...
04/10/2026

OUR WHY=
Whakahokia mai te tangi manu.
Bring back the birdsong.

Our first step is to create an abundance of the species we already have at Haakarimata.

Then to create a sanctuary where we can safely re-introduce our rarer species back into the recovering ecosystem.

📷: Dave Sheely. Pīpīwharauroa (Shining cuckoo), Haakarimata.

WEEKEND TRAP CHECKS ALONG THE HAAKARIMATA RAIL TRAIL 🪤🌿Get them into trapping while they’re young! 👊If we don't teach ou...
04/10/2026

WEEKEND TRAP CHECKS ALONG THE HAAKARIMATA RAIL TRAIL 🪤🌿

Get them into trapping while they’re young! 👊

If we don't teach our kids why nature is so important, they won’t grow up appreciating it and they won’t grow up wanting to protect it.

Teaching the next generation to care for our native wildlife starts with getting them out there, getting involved and showing them why the mahi matters. 🐦🌱

Appreciate it....protect it.....and pass it on. 😎

📷: Olivia and Jacob Stead, Haakarimata rail trail.

🌧️ We’re welcoming a bit of rain!After our recent planting days, this rain is very welcome to get our plants established...
03/10/2026

🌧️ We’re welcoming a bit of rain!

After our recent planting days, this rain is very welcome to get our plants established....especially with a hot summer ahead predicted. 🌱

📷: Brian Cutting. Kererū pair in a kowhai tree, Haakarimata.

Kererū are monogamous and generally mate for life.

Yesterday we got out to help one of our Haakarimata volunteers Esther tackle a rat problem in her chicken run. 🐀🐔Esther ...
02/10/2026

Yesterday we got out to help one of our Haakarimata volunteers Esther tackle a rat problem in her chicken run. 🐀🐔

Esther enjoys hiking at Haakarimata, has helped us on our volunteer planting days, and most recently helped us set up the new trapline at the Haakarimata rail trail.
What a legend 😎

She’s already been doing a great job with pest control at home, so it was really just a matter of tweaking the trap placement and sharing a few little tricks for catching those harder-to-get rats.
(We also dispatched a hedgehog she had caught overnight....one less pest to worry about).

If you're local and need a few tips or some advice around pest control, don’t hesitate to message us. We’re always happy to help you deal to pests! 🌿🐦
-Greg.

It's getting closer to flax season! 🙌😎Bring on the Tūī and Bellbirds. 📷: Dave Sheely. Tūī feeding on harakeke flowers.20...
02/10/2026

It's getting closer to flax season! 🙌😎
Bring on the Tūī and Bellbirds.

📷: Dave Sheely. Tūī feeding on harakeke flowers.
2025 flax flowering season, Haakarimata.

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