He Ta¯ ngata: Sarah Matthew
I tried many things before discovering conservation. When I left school I studied fine arts and intended to be an artist. I also worked as a chef in Wellington for years. I decided to try agriculture so moved to the Wairarapa to work on dairy farms. Then I went to France and drove tractors in the Picardy region. After six months of that, I really needed some time out, so I walked from Paris and headed south. I didn’t quite make it to Spain because I had a flight to catch but, over a month, I walked about 750km. I only had my steel-cap boots though, which just about ruined my feet. During the walk, I would pick a point on my map near a stream, duck into the woods and put up my tent. One morning I opened my tent and there was a ginormous stag staring back at me. Another time I woke up to gunfire all around me, so I just sat in my tent and hoped they wouldn’t hit me.
After spending time working in a junk shop in Woodville, one night I went home and Googled “volunteer island escapes” and Raoul Island in the Kermadecs came up — and that was the start of my conservation journey. On Raoul the main focus is on weeds; grid-searching in a team, looking for invasive plants. In the weekends we’d explore and romp around in the bush, staying in huts. It was heaven and I was lucky to go back as ranger and team leader. We had a big walk-in chiller there and a food store called Arkwright’s, a lovely homestead and good vegetable gardens. It was so hard to leave at the end of that six-month contract.
When my fiance Chris and I thought we’d take a break, we decided to walk the Te Araroa Trail. It is the most satisfying feeling to have everything you need in your backpack. It’s so freeing and it was a great opportunity to explore New Zealand. We met some great people although Chris will never eat dehydrated mince again. On the trail we were nicknamed “The GoComfies” because we always had wine or whiskey. In Wanaka Chris heard about a job he’d applied for as supervisor on the Chatham Islands, but they needed him to start immediately. It was either take the job or finish the walk — so we packed up and went to the Chathams.
The Chathams are incredible; we loved it and also the outer islands, Ma¯ ngere, Rangatira and Pitt. Being in those huts where such magical people had been before you was very special. On those islands we were mostly carrying out restoration work, and bird monitoring. The night is filled with seabird noises: penguins and petrels, so you need to wear earplugs when you stay there. The Chatham Islands aren’t big, but they’re home to a third of the New Zealand’s threatened species.
We heard about an opportunity at Glenfern Sanctuary on Great Barrier Island by chance and it sounded perfect for us. Tony Bouzaid purchased the 83-hectare property in 1992 and brought in the other landowners on the 240ha peninsula to work on pest control and putting up the predator fences. When he died in 2011 Glenfern was put on the market. With the support of Foundation North and the DOC Heritage Fund, Auckland Council purchased Glenfern. The property is now a regional park and it’s unique in that it’s managed by a charitable trust. Glenfern relies on guests, because funds gathered from accommodating people go directly towards our operating costs. We can sleep 16. There’s a meeting room and a wharf so it’s perfect for corporate groups and families. Visitors can can book guided walks or volunteer in the sanctuary and there are heaps of island activities. A lot of our guests are from walking, photography or birding groups. We have ka¯ ka¯ , kereru¯ , tu¯ ı¯, pa¯ teke, pı¯wakawaka, longtail and shining cuckoos, banded rails, Cook’s petrels. We also have black petrels and those birds amaze me. They breed on Aotea but spend their winters in Peru. Their first flight is more than 13,000km, then they come all the way back here and find the same burrow to breed in. They have some sort of magical inbuilt GPS and it’s incredible.
Glenfern Sanctuary started thanks to one person’s vision, and it is a privilege to be a part of that, and inspire our visitors with the knowledge that anyone can affect change if they want to.