DOC staff on the West Coast are urging locals and visitors to exercise care after severe weather has damaged many sites in the region. Owen Kilgour, DOC West Coast Regional Operations Director, says teams are still out assessing and clearing where they can.
“There’s lots of damage out there,” says Owen. “Luckily, it seems like most of the damage is from things like windthrown trees, but we also have the odd slip or slump, which visitors need to be cautious of.
Owen says the teams are working to quickly assess other sites for damage. “If there are no updates or alerts on the website, visitors are urged to exercise caution and be prepared to turn back if necessary. If you see any other issues, you can call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) to report it.”
Sites temporarily closed include:
DOC advises outdoor users to check their website for updates before heading out. West Coast alerts are available here and will be updated as work continues. Read the full press release from DOC.
Biggest beech mast in seven years threatens native birds
DOC has modelled the upcoming beech mast and is forecasting this spring’s flowering will result in trillions of seeds dropped come autumn – a feast for rodents and birds.
DOC expects this to be the biggest seed drop in seven years and plans pest control measures in the South Island’s western areas from Kahurangi to Fiordland, where beech is prevalent.
Conservation biologist and Auckland University professor James Russell said rats and stoats would explode in numbers, and once the seed is eaten, look to supplement their diet with native birds. “The forecast masting event next year could be an extinction-level event for many local populations of our taonga animal species.”
A rat plague during a 1999 beech mast wiped out the last population of mohua yellowhead in the northern South Island at Mt Stokes.
DOC national predator control programme manager Peter Morton said it was planning a bigger predator control programme than usual over the next two years. “Operations will be focused on the best surviving populations of endangered wildlife in Kahurangi, Mt Aspiring, Arthur’s Pass and Fiordland national parks. Read more from RNZ.
Wairarapa outdoor activities named ‘must-see’ by Lonely Planet
Each year, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel publication curates a list of the top places to visit and experiences to embrace. For 2026, Wairarapa has been recognised as one of the world’s 50 essential experiences, thanks largely to its outdoor activities like stargazing, scenic hikes and cycling. The recognition highlights Wairarapa’s growing appeal to travellers seeking a blend of natural beauty, adventure, and culture.
Lonely Planet paints Wairarapa as a place where both day and night offer distinct, unforgettable experiences. “By day, Wairarapa dazzles with its award-winning food, boutique shopping, outdoor activities, and picturesque towns,” the guide notes, while the region’s night-time allure promises a completely different kind of magic.
Being included in Best in Travel 2026 is a significant achievement for Wairarapa, placing the region on a global stage and highlighting its appeal to international travellers. Read more from Travel and Tour World.
Couple’s property came with 80 million wasps
When Marlborough couple Nigel Muir and Michelle Clark bought a 200-hectare property in Waikawa five years ago, the first thing they noticed, aside from the whenua’s outstanding natural beauty, was the “plague” of wasps in its beech forests.
Much to the couple’s dismay, they soon discovered their “beautiful” whenua, which is classified a Significant Natural Area, was also home to millions upon millions of invasive german and common wasps.
“There’s up to 40 wasps’ nests per hectare up there, and each nest has about 10,000 wasps, so that’s a ridiculous number of 80 million wasps, and they just wreak havoc on our ecology,” Muir said.
Muir and Clark had since created Wild Waikawa, a restoration project aiming to restore their property, in the hills behind the Waikawa township, to the natural wonderland it would have been 400 years ago, before the arrival of European settlers and their invasive pest companions. “Wasps are absolutely right up there as public enemy number one in terms of their impact on the environment, particularly in the top of the south,” says Muir. Read more from The Press.
Fears for wildlife from vehicles tearing through conservation area
Conservationist Ben Banks spends a lot of his spare time trying to protect the Okorero-Thornton Lagoon wildlife reserve, but it seems joyriders are just as much of a threat as the pests he’s trapping.
The seven-hectare Bay of Plenty reserve provides a protected breeding and feeding area for native birds, fish and invertebrates and is the only remaining wetland on the lower Rangitāiki River.
Banks pointed to tracks crisscrossing the reserve. There was also evidence of people doing ‘doughnuts’ in the sand. “The coastal areas are so fragile, it’s pretty much like running a bulldozer through some of these areas. “They’re just not getting a chance to recover at all so without any intervention or management, it’s likely to get worse over time.
There was plenty of room for everyone to come and have fun and enjoy what the coastal reserve had to offer, but access needed to be managed, Banks said. “It’s just a high ecological area, so it’s almost like everyone’s competing for the same space, which makes sense. It’s a beautiful spot.” Read more from RNZ.
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