Family Camp a success for 24 Tauranga Families

Twenty four families, plus invited guests enjoyed meeting local wildlife and challenging themselves in the outdoors with the Department of Conservation (DOC) last weekend as part of national Conservation Week celebrations.

‘This weekend was a great chance for many Tauranga families to experience the magic of New Zealand’s special native wildlife and the great outdoors for the first time,’ said Stephanie Twaddle DOC Ranger. ‘Hopefully this experience will inspire more families to take a closer look at the tui in their backyard or give them the confidence to enjoy local parks independently’.

Kate Akers and her daughter Emsea, who took part in the family camp, described it as a truly incredible weekend. ‘Emsea and I had so much fun and learnt so much. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to experience wild and beautiful nature on our own doorstep and to meet a variety of our local native wildlife – we saw bats, kokako, tui, kereru, stick insects and puriri moths. We’re planning more adventurous trips out into the bush now that you’ve helped us to rekindle our passion for nature and the truly great outdoors, and now that the weather is becoming friendlier.’ said Kate.

Families got to try their hand at kiwi tracking, learnt how to trap stoats, listened to native birds like the north island robin, grey warbler, and morepork, and found palatable plants most often eaten by deer and possums. Everyone got their feet wet in the Opuiaki River, as DOC staff shared their knowledge on the wide variety of wildlife while exploring the ecological hotspot.

In addition to seeing the sights of the Opuiaki Forest, children and their parents had the chance to try out a variety of challenging outdoor activities like flying foxes, orienteering and abseiling.

Many visitors only came for the day but the thirty overnight visitors also met long tailed bats, glow worms, and possums. Ngatuhoa is one of the best places in the Bay of Plenty to see our native bats and the group was treated to an aerial display just on dusk. The small but hardy group who got up before dawn on Sunday to walk into the Opuiaki were rewarded with a pair of kokako, a rare songbird, singing overhead.

The action packed weekend was held at Ngatuhoa Education Lodge, in the Opuiaki Forest, 37km from Tauranga in conjunction with Adventurous Minds. This forest is surrounded by privately owned land so it is difficult for most people to visit. The easiest way is to stay at the Ngatuhoa Education Lodge, already popular with school, family and community groups. Contact the booking officer (ph 07 578 3606) to arrange to stay at the Lodge.

The Opuiaki Forest is an ecological hotspot and a safe haven for native species. The Department of Conservation intensively manages this forest to ensure the preservation and restoration of the kiwi, kokako, other native species and the ecosystems that support them. Protecting the Opuiaki will help ensure that the Bay of Plenty’s indigenous biodiversity remains for future generations.