Edition 117
Upcoming Volunteer Trips
We have these midweek group trips coming up, travelling by Dreamweaver from Pier Z:
- Thursday 24 September
- Thursday 26 November
If you are a group interested in joining one of these trips (or another date), please email Simon on volunteermotuihe@gmail.com
We have these volunteer trips coming up, all travelling by water taxi from Okahu Bay:
- Saturday 22 August (endangered plants – full)
- Saturday 29 August (general volunteer day)
- Wednesday 2 September (midweek weeding)
- Sunday 20 September (endangered plants – full)
- Saturday 26 September (general volunteer day)
Individuals can book on any of these trips by registering here or email volunteers@motuihe.org.nz
Last Month for The Motuihe Photo Competition
The 2026 Motuihe Photo Competition closes on 1 September, remember to send your entries to info@motuihe.org.nz. Full details about the competition are on our website: Motuihe Photo Competition
Volunteering Opportunities
Chris Cotter does an excellent job of keeping our tractor running, we rely heavily on our tractor for all kinds of tasks and it’s important that it is reliable. If you’d like to learn how to do this important job, please get in touch at operations@motuihe.org.nz. You’ll need to be practical and resourceful, as maintenance on an island isn’t always the easiest!
Weeding Blitz Mon 31st Aug – Fri 4th Sep
We have arranged professional weed contractor Kane Kvasnicka to manage a moth plant weeding blitz from Monday 31 Aug to Friday 4 Sept. It’s a great opportunity to work alongside Kane to maximise the impact of having him on the island. You’ll learn weeding techniques, and contribute to grid searching areas to find and kill moth plant using the drone weed location data secured earlier this year.
Options to assist are as follows:
- Mon 31 Aug to Wed 2 Sept overnighting Monday and Tuesday
- Wed 2 Sept to Fri 4 Sept overnighting Wednesday and Thursday
- A day trip Wednesday 2 Sept
If you are interested in taking part or would like to know more please contact Anna (volunteers@motuihe.org.nz) or Stuart (Stuartm@motuihe.org.nz, 027 538 3834).
An Update on Bird Flu from DOC
DoC recently held an online update about the arrival of the H5N1 strain of avian flu to Aotearoa New Zealand; you can watch the presentation here: DoC update on Avian Flu
Progress On The New Tunnel House
Chris Cotter has been working hard to erect our new tunnel house. The shelves and irrigation have been installed, and it is really starting to take shape with the plastic cover over the outside.
A big thanks to Chris and his hard-working team.
A Note About Carl Kircheiss
Lois drew my attention to an article on Facebook posted by Tony Brunt about Kircheiss. Tony had come across some photos owned by the Bunge family – their relative Karl Bunge, a business man from Samoa, had been interned on Motuihe with Kircheiss. The Bunge family were able to tell Tony Brunt that after World War I Kircheiss returned to Germany where he gained a reputation as Germany’s most colourful seafarer of the 20th century. He converted a 70-foot North Sea fishing cutter which he renamed Hamburg and used it to circumnavigate the planet, training young German sailors. He also joined the lecture circuit. He spent some time in Macassar in Indonesia where Karl Bunge had a trading post. He married in 1933 at the age of 46 and had a son and daughter. He died in Hamburg in 1953. As you can see from the photo he was awarded two Iron Crosses for bravery.
(Fiona Alexander)
Carl Kircheiss was Count Felix von Luckner’s first officer and an incredibly clever navigator. His navigation skills were particularly valuable when, after their ship Seeadler was wrecked in French Polynesia, a group of 8 sailed across the Pacific in a small open boat stopping at several islands and eventually arriving in Fiji. One description had Kircheiss standing on a crew member’s shoulders, hanging on to the mast with one hand and taking a sun shot with his sextant with the other. He was interned on Motuihe with von Luckner and was part of the group which escaped from there, and it was Kircheiss who navigated Moa (the boat they captured) to the Kermadecs. We knew very little about him and have never had a photo of him by himself.
New Furnishings for the Woolshed
A big thanks to Marjet and Bruce for donating a sofa bed. With our new bunks (thanks Fiona) and photo display wall (thanks Lois and Jackie) the woolshed is more and more comfortable for our hardworking volunteers.
Video Snips
Our trail cameras have been hard at work while we are not on the island – see what our residents have been doing while we are not watching!
Have you Ever Seen Tuatara Poo?
This piece was snapped recently on Motuihe!
Sunday 12th July – General Volunteer Day
A team of 15 left Okahu Bay on a very chilly but beautiful 6 degree morning. Yes, some of the team were wearing gloves and drinking hot coffee to warm themselves up.
On arrival the tractor decided it was just too cold to start and went on strike. (Chris Cotter with Ranger Paul’s assistance will come to the rescue on Monday and give the John Deere the kiss of life or sweet talk it into starting).
The team split up with Barbara, Jill and Caroline heading out to work on specialised weeds. This team are hunting down weeds other than mothplant, woolly nightshade and rhamnus.
Paul Taylor and his grandson did a grand job of building the new bunk bed and then helped the nursery team in the afternoon.
Kevin & Joke spent their day on deconstructing the two-bail dairy shed roof which is seriously degraded with rusted corrugated iron and rotten beams. When repaired this will allow the spray team to lock the chemicals away separately from the normal weeding gear.
Welcome back Hazel who did an amazing job in the nursery today bagging up heaps of Karaka. In the afternoon the track clearing team assisted Hazel and the 182 Karaka bagging is finally complete along with 23 Manuka and a general tidyup around the nursery. On arrival earlier in the day the woolshed looked as though the Pukekos had been partying up madly in our absence.
The track team of Jackie, Juanita, Nathalie, Victoria, Peter, Angela and Lois tackled the final 230 metres of the western coastal track, north of Grand Canyon. Fantastic effort team to get this completed. It was great to see some island visitors walking this track as well.
Jackie, Peter & Angela walked through Tieke track in the afternoon dealing to a few mothplant vines and overgrowing branches.
A great day for the soul today. Most of the group had time-out in the afternoon to simply enjoy the wonderful beaches before departure.
Photos: Lois Badham
Thursday 16th July – Honda Planting Day
The Honda team were excited to head out to Motuihe for a day’s planting. The weather gods played their part in making sure the island looked fabulous. Apart from an extremely foggy delayed start to the morning, the day ran smoothly. The team was supported by Motuihe leaders John Laurence and his grandson Rupert, Graeme Seymour, Stuart & Denise MacIntosh, Ants Cotton and Colin Megson. 201 canopy trees were planted in the same area as last year’s Honda planting. The day also provided a great opportunity to check out how much last year’s trees had grown. After lunch, the Honda team enjoyed a walk along Tieke Track and listened to the birdsong from the increasing native bird population. A bonus sighting of a Tuatara was a great thrill for the group.
A big thanks to Honda New Zealand for their commitment to the ecological restoration of Motuihe island and we hope we will see you back again next year. Thanks for your ongoing support of the project. Thanks as always to the Motuihe leaders for their time and enthusiasm on the day.
Photos courtesy of Honda NZ
Sunday 18th & 19th July – Kiwi Call Overnighter
A team of 12 headed out for our final kiwi call survey of the year. During the day we split into two groups to visit all of the camera sites and swap the SD cards. Then, one of the groups went on an intrepid mission to look for possible new kiwi burrows around Tīeke Track Extension. We ended up mostly finding tall cutty grass and no burrows, but I did have the surprise of shining my torch into a hole at the bottom of a tree and being greeted by the tail and hind legs of a rather sizeable tuatara!
In the evening, we recorded what I believe is the highest number of kiwi calls ever (49), including several duets (where a male and female call one after the other). We ended the night with spotlighting for kiwi and wētāpunga, and while the kiwi remained elusive several wētāpunga were sighted, including a moulting juvenile. I’ve very much enjoyed leading the kiwi call surveys this year, and am looking forward to our next biodiversity monitoring trip, which will be the annual bird survey in September (Katie Vanderstok).
Group photos: Ajay Yadiki
Wētāpunga: Cage Cardon
Wednesday 22nd July – Midweek Weeding
We had a small weeding team following John and Lois’s lead. A small group but truly unstoppable. When we tried to take a break, someone would spot another pod, and we would keep going. We collected a big bag of pods. While it isn’t a huge amount compared to previous records, many were just about to open, which means we’ve done a very timely and important job.
Jill and Melanie went out and installed a couple more trail cameras near the penguin burrows. This will help us learn more about their habits and keep a closer eye on their nesting activity.
A special thanks to Chris for installing the solar panel on the tractor shed roof. This will help keep our tractor battery charged so it’s always ready when called on.
Thank you to Kevin for taking care of the dairy shed, and to Jackie for clearing the Tieke track entirely on her own. Finally, thank you to Fiona for taking such good care of the woolshed and making it so clean, warm, and welcoming.
Sunday 26th July – Endangered Plants Day
Following reports of significant Pukeko damage to some of last month’s Scandia Rosifolia plantings, we conducted a quick survey of the sites to assess how localised the impact had been. Thankfully, we found that although nearly all of the Scandia plants at one site had been uprooted, the damage appeared to be restricted only to South Beach. Scandia is a hardy plant, and despite having been left uprooted on the surface, the plants appeared healthy enough to replant, which we did.
We also planted a variety of species at Billy Goat Point, including Scandia Rosifolia, Kākābeak (Clianthus Puniceus), broom (Carmichaelia australis), akepiro (Olearia Furfuracea), and the native grass Dichelachne Crinita. Billy Goat Point is a particularly exposed and dry site. Kākābeak planted there in 2023 did not survive the following summer; however, with several Kākābeak plants ready for planting in the nursery and the planting season drawing to a close, we felt it was worth giving the species one more try at the site.