Starting young at Sanctuary Mountain
Tama Ngakau Timoti Scanlon is getting an early start in conservation.
The seven month old has one of the best playgrounds a birdwatching tree hugger can imagine at Maungatautari’s Sanctuary Mountain in the Waikato.
Hundreds of people are expected through the pest-proof fence at the wildlife preserve this summer and they would do well to keep an eye out for Tama Ngakau chewing on his soother, banging on tables and inspecting new faces with huge dark eyes.
His whaangai parents, visitor centre co-ordinator Rickie-Lee Carston and lead guide Daniel Scanlon, have made a huge commitment to the ecological island project and are training Tama Ngakau young.
‘‘Since we got this young fella, within a few months we bought a house down the road so we’re here on tap. And when he’s five or six, he’ll know more than I do,’’ Scanlon said.
You’ll recognise Scanlon. He’s the one walking up to 15 kilometre of gravel track each day with bare feet.
It’s something he’s done for eight years. He has two pairs of shoes, he said, but only wears them when he needs to.
And he’ll take up to three tours into the forest reserve a day. Sometimes, he’ll do night tours, but they have to be booked.
‘‘You can see something different every couple of hours,’’ he said.
‘‘You come in in the morning and it’s the dawn choir. You come in the middle of the day, it quietens them down, so I teach them more about the ngahere itself, then we can take you in at night and show you weta and morepork - kiwi if we are lucky.’’
Closed only on Christmas Day, Sanctuary Mountain has been open since Boxing Day and it’s busy with an average of 50 to 100 people per day during the peak.
‘‘Boxing Day is our busiest day, normally.’’
There are a team of workers there - guides, pest controllers, track and fence maintenance crews - and a team of volunteers ready and willing. And it’s vital. A breach anywhere in the 47-kilometre perimeter fence, no matter how small, needs to be contained within 90 minutes.
That’s how long it takes for a possum or a rat or any other furry critter to find it and make its way in.
Carston is originally from Murupara and has a background in travel and tourism. She’s been at Sanctuary mountain for about 18 months.
Scanlon has worked there for three years. He is from Whangarei and worked in hospitality with family from a young age.
Both are used to working through the summer. It’s second nature.
‘‘Being in the industry, it’s always been that way,’’ Carston said. ‘‘You have to give up your holidays to provide the service.’’
She could be a guide. She has the knowledge and easily points out the kowaowao (hound’s tongue) fern and picks the sound of three tui flying through the canopy.
But the visitor’s centre is the first port of call and it’s a role she treats as if she was welcoming groups to her marae.
‘‘It’s where the true little magic moments come from,’’ she said.
‘‘You get talking to someone who’s just walked in from the road and it will lead to so many beautiful opportunities.
‘‘Being able to be the link in that is, umm, yeah.’’