Pukenui Western Hills Forest Trust

04/10/2026

🌿 A busy week in the ngahere!
The Rangers have had a busy and productive week, making great progress with some additional help from Zac, Alex, Benaiah and practicum students Maia and Kate.
Senior Ranger Andy reports that there are some challenging — and at times, “amusingly steep” — sections of bush to navigate in Pukenui! 🌿😅
A big thank you to everyone for the extra mahi and support this week. 🙌
Photos by Ranger Andy: student Maia and a waterfall.

02/10/2026

🐾 Spaces still available!
We still have spaces available for this free training session.
📧 Email [email protected] to book your dog in.
Each dog’s training session takes approximately 10 minutes.
We’d love to see you there! 🐕🌿

29/09/2026

🌿 Signs of spring in the ngahere 🌿
From Ranger Andy:
A lovely flowering puawānanga (Clematis paniculata) provides one of the first signs of spring 🌱🌸
And a less sunny photo of a stream near Woods Road.
A welcome reminder that the ngahere is waking up and spring is on its way! 💚

22/09/2026

17/09/2026

📸 A rare sighting of Ranger Andy!
Finally, we have Andy in front of the camera… although, true to form, he’s still behind it too! 😄
Craig and Andy were out trapping and doing a spot of weeding when they came across this spectacular old pūriri – one of many magnificent trees scattered throughout the ngahere.
Some trees just demand to be photographed. 🌿🌳
Thanks to Craig for capturing the rare sighting!
📸 Ranger Craig

15/09/2026

🌿 Ranger Andy continues to commune with nature…
Last week, Andy had a lovely interaction with a tuna – longfin eel, quietly lying on the rocky riverbed and facing into the gentle current.
The longfin eel is the largest freshwater eel in the world. Females can grow up to 2 metres long, weigh more than 20 kg, and may live for 80–100 years or more.
Not a bad companion to encounter while out in the ngahere! 💚
📸 Ranger Andy

13/09/2026

🐌 How to make a giant snail!
Step 1: Find a teeny, tiny snail — about 3–4 mm — on a Porokaiwhiri (pigeonwood) leaf.
Step 2: Add Ranger Andy, a microscope and a camera.
Step 3: Be amazed as your tiny snail becomes a giant snail! 🔬🐌
While working on improvements to the Umber Trapline, Andy spotted this little brown snail and managed to capture some incredible macro images — including its tiny eyes squirming into position. He then recorded the wee fella having a look around. 👀
Andy's observations give us a fascinating glimpse into the world of snails. Rather than relying heavily on sight, land snails use their shorter lower tentacles to smell, taste and feel their way around. Their eyes can’t focus, so their world is blurry and fuzzy, with vision mostly limited to changes in light and large shadows.
And if danger approaches, those delicate eyestalks can quickly be pulled back inside the body for safety.
Not bad for a creature only a few millimetres long! 🌿🐌
📸🔬 Ranger Andy

09/09/2026

From Ranger Andy:
While making his way out of the bush, Andy spotted several kōura in a small rocky pool at the bottom of a gully. A lovely little discovery tucked away in the ngahere! 🦞🌿

" Almost 300 million years ago, the crayfish ancestors of kōura lived in the forested streams of the supercontinent Pangaea. When runaway climate change at the end of the Permian period killed three-quarters of life on land, freshwater crayfish survived. One hundred and eighty-five million years later, when an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, the crays once again hunkered down in secretive waters to last out the long, dark winter that followed." NZ Geographic #189

07/09/2026

Some views from Ranger Rose, who said it was great to get amongst the more untrodden corners of the bush. She was particularly impressed by the fragrance and camouflage of what she thinks is a Alseuosmia macrophylla / Toropapa, Karapapa. Thanks for sharing your day with us Rose! 🙂🍁📷

03/09/2026

🦒 Giraffe weevil romance? ❤️
Ranger Andy spotted these two giraffe weevils enjoying a rather close encounter in the ngahere!
Another fascinating little moment captured up close by Andy. 🌿🔍
📸 Andy