Jo Halley shows Poutini, a chick now released in the wild, to a local schoolboy. Kiwi education is part of the Trust's work. Photo: Stephen Roberts

Good progress for Paparoa Great Spots

Conservation

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Kathy Ombler

A long-time Wilderness contributor and freelance author, Kathy writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation.

By Kathy Ombler

The Paparoa Track Great Walk has opened up access to remote backcountry for a hugely expanded predator control programme that is boosting rare great spotted kiwi numbers.

It’s not just Great Walk trampers and bikers coming to Blackball, great spotted kiwi are also joining the party. “There weren’t any roroa down here 10 years ago, we didn’t expect them to come to town,” Jo Halley says, referring to the kiwi calls they’re now hearing from Blackball as a decade of predator control […]

About the author

Kathy Ombler

Freelance author Kathy Ombler mostly writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation, and has contributed to Wilderness for many years. She has also written and edited for other publications and websites, most recently Federated Mountain Club’s Backcountry, Forest & Bird, and the Backcountry Trust. Books she has authored include Where to Watch Birds in New Zealand, Walking Wellington and New Zealand National Parks and Other Wild Places. She is currently a trustee for Wellington’s Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust.