TRIP REPORT : Kaitawa Reserve, Raumati Escarpment Reserve

 Saturday :   2 July 2005

Ewekuri / Streblus banksii.   Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

As it was not possible to explore both reserves in one day I will give a brief resume of Kaitawa Reserve’s recent history.   Late in 1995 a Forest & Bird committee member, Molly Neill, noticed an advertisement in a local paper placed by KCDC stating that the Council had too many reserves and planned to sell off some to developers.   Kaitawa Reserve was not known to most members but several visited it and decided it was a gem hidden under a camouflage of gorse, blackberry, cathedral bells, wandering willie, jasmine, willow and pampas, plus a few minor weeds.   Forest & Bird objected to the sale and proposed to Mike Cardiff that a team of seven enthusiasts would go to work on the weed problem if the Council would provide spray and revegetation plants.   He reluctantly agreed to give us a trial (but later became very co-operative).Beginning in the winter of 1996 we have worked Thursday mornings throughout the years (90 out of 100).   Mollie Neill was elderly but she and Judy Petterson did water testing of Wharemauku Stream with WRC help and found that it was a very healthy little stream containing abundant koura (freshwater crayfish), kokopu (a native fish) and other creatures.   We have learnt to provide shade with plantings of Carex secta and ngaio along the banks, and we think we have improved the environment for the stream life.

Some of the trees found in the reserve: maire tawake / Syzigium maire, ewekuri / Streblus banksii, kotukutuku, hinau, kaikomako, kanuka, karamu, kahikatea, kohekohe, kohuhu, mahoe, ngaio, pate, pukatea, tarata, tawa, titoki, northern rata and one rimu.

Hinau / Elaeocarpus dentatus.   Illustration by Eleanor Burton.

On a brilliant July morning, a party of 23 gathered at the Kaitawa Crescent entrance to the reserve.   Equipped with plant lists made up by Barbara and Chris in 1997 we set off through the reserve, across Wharemauku Stream, and up Panorama Drive to the track which was boggy in several places and very steep leading up to the Escarpment.   It would have been easy to have driven up the summit road, but the road ended at private property and the owner had issued a No Trespassing warning.   What we didn’t know was that even the track we took crossed private land and was technically closed.   The only legal entry is at the southern end off Waterfall Rd – a pity, as the bush is exciting.   Of the five blocks, we explored only No. 5 and No. 3.   Since stock has been excluded, the growth of seedlings under the canopy has been fantastic, and it was quite a struggle to push through in many places.   Plants not on the list that I personally saw were tawa, kanono, tarata, a clematis, and kiekie (although some disputed this – I stick to my verdict).   Our return to the cars was much easier – via the road and no one obstructed us.

Graham Petterson