NZ Raptor Trust/Kakahu Bush
15th November 2020
The NZ Raptor Trust is located at Redruth St, Timaru and is housed in four shipping containers, with a green space behind. Ron provided a presentation of the background of the Trust and how it came to be. He then told us the story of Tom, a Harrier Hawk, who was rescued as an orphan along with his 2 siblings. His siblings were flying at 6 weeks old but Tom was slow to develop and didn’t start walking until 5 weeks old, sometimes using a concrete ledge to support himself with his wings. It was encouraging for those volunteers at the Trust to nurture Tom over the last 18 months and now see Tom a capable independent Hawk who will be released in the near future. Ron had Tom on a Creance line which was attached to his leg and with some food on our hand, he flew onto our arm. A lot of Raptors get injured by harvesters and vehicles. Also with Cole, who had been injured, he was now at a stage where he could creance. He will stay at the Trust as he had some neurological injuries, but he will provide advocacy for other raptors. There was also an Owl, “Grumpy” who we didn’t get to see. Learning about the Raptors behaviours was extremely interesting and the good work that Ron, Vaughan and the volunteers do is so inspiring. Vet Life in Timaru are heavily involved in the Raptors survival also. The NZ Raptor Trust is keen to show groups, particularly school groups, what they do. Check them out on http://nzraptor.org/ See our video on The New Zealand Raptor Trust on Facebook.
After a coffee, we arrived at Kakahu Bush in time for a quick lunch and then off on our walk. It was hot so being in the bush was pleasant. The first part of the walk was a track where they used to bring marble from the top down to the kiln. About thirty minutes later, we arrived at a TB Sanatorium site, a flat cleared area in the bush but there was no remains of any buildings. Apparently, fresh air was good for recovering from TB so respite institutions were built far from civilisation. Further up, we could hear a pig scuttle away into the bush, surprising as there were a number of people on this walk. We came to a clearing which we could see out towards Fairlie and also look down onto Kakahu Bush and take in the various prominent trees. Not long after, we walked up to the lookout and found Robbie looking out! A quick snack and a discussion on the type of rock and we were off downhill. We came to the Balancing Rock which is a huge menhir. Soon we were back to the vehicle and headed home.
Thanks for your company John and Robbie, Bess
