Adventure Puketi Forest Walks Bay of Islands New Zealand

Tom & Margaret walked the Waipapa River track,this track follows the river through the middle of the Puketi Forest.It is a two day walk,with a camping area four hours walk down the river.The second day of the walk is eight hours,mostly walking in the water.The water is very warm this time of the year,it is best walked in the summer.Puketi forest has a very high rainfall in the winter which makes the walk hazardous. Flora and Fauna is at its best in the summer ,making the walk picturesque.

Today we witnessed conservation at its best,the New Zealand Robin released in June 09 is now flying freely through the Puketi Forest .Today was the first time Adventure Puketi has been able to show our clients what the Puketi Forest Trust and Volunteers, their success of six years of hard work.Sabine and Lynn from Switzerland love Nature and it was a pleasure to be able to show them the conservation effort being put into Puketi forest.

Wow what a night to remember.After recent rain our usual nightwalk took us an extra hour to complete.The forest was alive with nocturnal creatures .My clients had weta walking on their skin for the first time in their lives , our forest has nothing to be afraid of ,night or day.Conservation in this area of the forest has really brought the forest back to its usual state.

Puketi Forest is continuing to benefit from six years of hard work andgenerous donations by volunteers and supporters of the Puketi Forest Trust. At the end of October, the first two North Island Robins to have hatched in Puketi in more than a hundred yearsleft the nest. Since then three more young Robins have been seen in different parts of the forest which shows that at least four pairs have bred successfully. Two other pairs, which are being monitored are sitting on eggs or feeding chicks in the nest.That the Robins,which were reintroduced in June,have bred successfully,proves the effectiveness of the trusts control of Mammalian Predators

Congradulations to Father and Son Dan and Danny Waldsmith from South Carolina USA for choosing Eco tours in Northland New Zealand.Northland is now been recognised as a Destination not to be missed for the Top Quality Eco Tours .From Forestwalks ,Diving ,Boat tours ,Conservation and Scenery.

Adventure Puketi recently hosted walkers from the cruise ship The Amsterdam.Our walking guests were from North America and Europe,the age varied from Fifty to our oldest walker ever Ninety One.After recent rain the smell of the fresh clean forest was over powering,with musty odours to sweet fragrance of the many flowering native trees. The Tui ,Grey warbler,King fisher,Tomtits were heard throughout the walk.From small ferns to the Mighty Giant Kauri tree the walkers were in awe with the sizes and the abundant Spring growth.An awesome day for all.

On dusk the Tui calls echo through the forest,as daylight diminishes the call of Morepork(Ruru)creats an eery feeling as others answer in the distance .later we hear Kiwi ,only one maybe his partner is incubating the egg.

The cilents were WOWEd by the clean clear water, the size of the Kauri, with the growth of the spring flowers and conservation at its best.

We had the pleasure of a visit to the Puketi Forest of famous conservationist Sir David Bellamy. David wanted to come and see the forest, he was instrumental in the conservation effort to save the Pureroa Forest, 25 years ago, which he had dubbed the “Dinosaur Forest”

We took David on the board walk through the Kauri Forest, talking about the age of the Kauri trees and how the have survived through the many changes in history.

He was really interested in the smaller, rarer type plants in the forest and we talked about insects including our local Cave Wetas.

Here is a picture of David and his wife with Barbara and I on the board walk.

A tour viewing Kauri Snail beside the track, just some of the nocturnal creatures that life in the Puketi subtropical Rainforest at Night.