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The Mahood Lowe reserve was opened in March 2019 after the Native Forest Restoration Trust managed to acquire a block of land adjacent to the Egmont National park boundary at the end of Alfred Rd and secure its protection.  I've been meaning to check out this reserve for a while and finally made it up there today.  The reserve is accessed via a gravel track off the end of Alfred Rd. It is a unique block of mixed podocarp wetland forest. It boarders an area of the national park whe …

I've been meaning to make another trip to Rotakare for a while. Rotakare scenic reserve is a very special place in South Taranaki, a tribute to the local community that has managed to transform this reserve into a pest free sanctuary with a thriving native bird population. I was particularly interested in getting some photos of fernbirds (or matata) as Rotakare is renowned for its fernbird population. Its fernbird population is so healthy that it has been used as the source for translocatin …