WHAREKAHO DUNE CARE
Nau mai haere mai! We were invited to come to the Ngati Hei whenua to help with shoreline restoration and lunch was provided afterwards. This sounded great to three of us from Pukaki Cooks Beach so on a sunny winters morning we headed over on the Ferry to be collected at the Whitianga wharf and driven out to Wharekaho.
Down on the foreshore, alongside spectacular carved Pou and beneath the mighty Wharetaewa Pa we met members of Ngati Hei including rangatahi cadets learning from their elders. Also other Coastcare volunteers from Whitianga, Whaingaroa, Pauanui and Whangamata. TCDC, DOC and WRC staff worked in a support role providing tools, plants and advice.
Ngati Hei kaumatua, Joe Davis, welcomed the group and expressed his thanks. He set the scene with a karakia to help ensure the success of the mahi and even treated us to a short waiata. He described a little of the history of both the tribe and the place and even the nearby burial of the paraoa, “Puhiwai Rangi”.
The group of about forty were told how as little as five years ago the coastal landscape was completely different when the “Tuia 250 Te Powhiri” took place on the site. At that time the Tohetea Awa flowed close to this land and was spanned by a footbridge. This all changed due to Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 with the stream now running towards the north and out to the sea. Only the posts remain of the bridge. Harakeke was still visible growing out of the sand which was once the river bank. Not only had serious erosion taken place but introduced plants had invaded and litter was tangled in the pohuehue.
The main plant culprits were daisies, blackberry, kikuyu and pampas grasses. Some planting also took place of Pohuehue, Oioi, Kowhangatara, Wiwi and Harakeke. Rubbish included a raft made of plastic barrels and numerous beverage bottles. A couple of hours of mahi and much korero resulted in native shoreline vegetation being able to thrive again, the area looking a lot better and several large trailer loads of debris (~450 kg!) were removed to a secure site for disposal.
After the mahi was completed and the team wearied we were treated to kai, including excellent soup and home-made ginger crunch, up at the whare kai at the homestead.
New to the Cooks Beach team was Julie who, despite recent ankle surgery, got stuck in to both the weed clearing and planting projects. She loved the opportunity to meet like minded people who care about the natural environment and want to make a difference. Adele felt privileged to be invited and to work alongside tangata whenua and Sharyn is keen to learn more about all this and loved seeing the east end of “our beach” visible across Te Whanganui a Hei.
We really look forward to returning there for the next working bee and strongly recommend others joining us.
Glossary
TCDC: Thames Coromandel District Council; DOC: Department of Conservation; WRC: Waikato Regional Council.
Ref: “Te Aka” Maori Dictionary app. Note: macrons may be missing. Nau mai haere mai: Welcome, come here; Ngati Hei: tribal group of this place; whenua: land; Pou: pole; pa: village; rangatahi: youth; Whaingaroa: Raglan; kaumatua: elder; karakia: prayer; mahi: work; waiata: song; paraoa: Sperm whale; powhiri: welcome ceremony; awa: stream; korero: talk; kai: food; whare kai: dining room; tangata whenua: local people; Te Whanganui a Hei: Mercury Bay.
“Which Coastal Plant?” by Andrew Crowe. Harakeke: NZ flax Phormium tenax; Pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia coplexa); Oioi (Leptocarpus similis); Kowhangatara (Spinifex sericeus); Wiwi/knobby club-rush (Ficinia nodosa).
“Botanicas Pocket Annuals and Perennials”. Freeway or Trailing African Daisy (Osteospermum fruticosa).
Nau mai haere mai! We were invited to come to the Ngati Hei whenua to help with shoreline restoration and lunch was provided afterwards. This sounded great to three of us from Pukaki Cooks Beach so on a sunny winters morning we headed over on the Ferry to be collected at the Whitianga wharf and driven out to Wharekaho.
Down on the foreshore, alongside spectacular carved Pou and beneath the mighty Wharetaewa Pa we met members of Ngati Hei including rangatahi cadets learning from their elders. Also other Coastcare volunteers from Whitianga, Whaingaroa, Pauanui and Whangamata. TCDC, DOC and WRC staff worked in a support role providing tools, plants and advice.
Ngati Hei kaumatua, Joe Davis, welcomed the group and expressed his thanks. He set the scene with a karakia to help ensure the success of the mahi and even treated us to a short waiata. He described a little of the history of both the tribe and the place and even the nearby burial of the paraoa, “Puhiwai Rangi”.
The group of about forty were told how as little as five years ago the coastal landscape was completely different when the “Tuia 250 Te Powhiri” took place on the site. At that time the Tohetea Awa flowed close to this land and was spanned by a footbridge. This all changed due to Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 with the stream now running towards the north and out to the sea. Only the posts remain of the bridge. Harakeke was still visible growing out of the sand which was once the river bank. Not only had serious erosion taken place but introduced plants had invaded and litter was tangled in the pohuehue.
The main plant culprits were daisies, blackberry, kikuyu and pampas grasses. Some planting also took place of Pohuehue, Oioi, Kowhangatara, Wiwi and Harakeke. Rubbish included a raft made of plastic barrels and numerous beverage bottles. A couple of hours of mahi and much korero resulted in native shoreline vegetation being able to thrive again, the area looking a lot better and several large trailer loads of debris (~450 kg!) were removed to a secure site for disposal.
After the mahi was completed and the team wearied we were treated to kai, including excellent soup and home-made ginger crunch, up at the whare kai at the homestead.
New to the Cooks Beach team was Julie who, despite recent ankle surgery, got stuck in to both the weed clearing and planting projects. She loved the opportunity to meet like minded people who care about the natural environment and want to make a difference. Adele felt privileged to be invited and to work alongside tangata whenua and Sharyn is keen to learn more about all this and loved seeing the east end of “our beach” visible across Te Whanganui a Hei.
We really look forward to returning there for the next working bee and strongly recommend others joining us.
Glossary
TCDC: Thames Coromandel District Council; DOC: Department of Conservation; WRC: Waikato Regional Council.
Ref: “Te Aka” Maori Dictionary app. Note: macrons may be missing. Nau mai haere mai: Welcome, come here; Ngati Hei: tribal group of this place; whenua: land; Pou: pole; pa: village; rangatahi: youth; Whaingaroa: Raglan; kaumatua: elder; karakia: prayer; mahi: work; waiata: song; paraoa: Sperm whale; powhiri: welcome ceremony; awa: stream; korero: talk; kai: food; whare kai: dining room; tangata whenua: local people; Te Whanganui a Hei: Mercury Bay.
“Which Coastal Plant?” by Andrew Crowe. Harakeke: NZ flax Phormium tenax; Pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia coplexa); Oioi (Leptocarpus similis); Kowhangatara (Spinifex sericeus); Wiwi/knobby club-rush (Ficinia nodosa).
“Botanicas Pocket Annuals and Perennials”. Freeway or Trailing African Daisy (Osteospermum fruticosa).