The plight of a few native freshwater fish will mean different things to different people, and it can be difficult for us to consider another person’s – or a fish’s – perspective. New Zealand’s giant kōkopu population is...... Read More

New Zealanders are rushing to book domestic holidays as we come out of lockdown but not out of border controls. Usual holidays overseas are thwarted. The absence of international travel gives Kiwis an opportunity and an impetus to discover their country...... Read More

The world outside the sanctuary has changed dramatically in the last few months, but not that much changed inside it. The lockdown meant that all volunteering stopped and rangers were constrained in what they could do, but fortunately predators missed...... Read More

I love our winter skies! New Zealand, in particular, boasts very clean air which provides fantastic opportunities for star gazing. And there is so much to see! If you go outside around 10pm and look towards the east, you will notice two bright stars,...... Read More

Every May, the mallard ducks return to my valley, doing the rounds between my garden through to the neighbours’ ponds and pools. Mallards are homebodies. Research from the New Zealand Fish and Game Council concerning the tagging of mallards found...... Read More

As we move from autumn towards winter, the skies above us change. Orion, who dominates the summer skies is moving off and is now setting in the early evening. Following Orion, the “Dog Star”, Sirius, is also moving out of our night skies....... Read More

The public has until May 26 to make a submission on Waste Management’s proposed new landfill in the Dome Valley. Kevin Smith, managing director of The Board, which represents waste-to-energy company USGIS in New Zealand, insists there are better...... Read More

Life on Te Hauturu-o-Toi during lockdown was in many ways little different from normal daily life on the island. The rangers and family on the island usually lead isolated lives. Visitors must have a permit to land and at times they can keep the rangers...... Read More

In the 2007 book The World Without Us, author Alan Weisman considers what happens when human impact is no longer imposed on nature. He visits Chernobyl, the Korean Demilitarised Zone and Cyprus’s deserted no-man’s-land. In these places of...... Read More

In the absence of people, cars and surfboards, we envisage Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary is being overrun with curious kiwi, territorial takahē and wise wētā. During the Covid-19 lockdown, TOSSI volunteers and the general public must stay away from the...... Read More