Te Atawhai Whenua, 14 June 2009 3pm

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Today, when you travel from Matiatia to Oneroa, it’s hard to believe that only 16 years ago the flourishing bush on the south side of the road did not exist. Then, the slip-prone hillside had been farmed for many years and was covered in thin grass. It was the late Don Chapple’s vision that saw that hillside transformed: from the time of the first plantings in 1993 until his death in 2005, he dedicated his life to that task.

Don named the 17-hectare reserve ‘Te Atawhai Whenua’ meaning ‘a kindness to the land’ because above all, he wanted to show that it was never too late, that the land could always be healed. Although Don was the main architect of the project, he was assisted over the years by many others who cleared weeds, raised, planted and tended seedlings and who continue his work today.

The walk on Sunday 14 June will be a loop through the reserve and the adjacent wetland, just to enjoy and admire the trees and what has been achieved. The walk will take up to an hour and a half along formed tracks.

Note that while every care is taken, these walks are at your own risk. All welcome.
Meet at 3 pm at the southern end of Matiatia Bay, beside the bridge into the reserve. For more detail contact Jan Ramp 372 8992 or Janet Hunt 372 2450.

Te Haahi Goodwin Reserve, 7 June, 1.30pm

Meet at the Ostend (Belgium Street carpark) at 1pm to carpool to the old pioneer cemetry along Orapiu Road. We will take a 2 hour walk through this remote 35 ha Forest & Bird reserve. There are no formed tracks in this reserve, just routes, so good footwear and a reasonable level of fitness are required. We will see the site of the first school on Waiheke, a mostly weed-free regenerating forest with stunning mosses and fungi on the forest floor, some lovely groves of kauri, nikau and other more rare trees, and a kauri slide close to Orapiu Road.


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Sunday walk 24 May 2009 2pm

Meet at the Onetangi Sports park pavillion for a challenging tramp to Whakanewha Regional Park. This one is not for everyone, you will need to be fit to be able to take part.


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To the island! 1pm Sunday 10 May 2009

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Meet at the end of Margaret Reeve Lane for a coastal exploration around Te Whau Peninsula.

Please note:
Some of the coastal section of this walk cross private property. Thanks to the generosity of the landowners we are able to take you here for a one-off excursion, but do not attempt to walk this route without consent. Okoka Bay is open to the public though.

Sunday Walk, 3 May, 3pm, Enclosure Bay

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This Sunday Forest & Bird and the Friends of McKenzie Reserve will show you around Enclosure Bay, Hekerua Bay and Sandy Bay, with a special tour around what is set to become one of Waiheke Island's great assets: McKenzie Reserve. Thanks to a partnership between Auckland City, the Hauraki Gulf Charitable Trust and a dedicated group of volunteers, an amazing transition is taking place in this former pine forest, with a whole new network of tracks, thousands of new native plants and some interesting new features.
The walk will take 1.5-2 hours. Some sections are moderately steep.

Owhanake and Island Bay walk, Sunday 19 April 3pm

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This week we are dong an old favourite, but this time we're walking anti-clockwise. Meet at the carpark at the end of Korora Road at 3pm. We'll pass through regenerating bush, an interesting oprivate property (with a walkway open to the public), vineyards, amazing lookouts, rocky outcrops and wetlands. The walk will take between 1.5 and 2 hours and has a few steep sections.

Sunday 12 April 2009 3pm: A new reserve

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We are kicking off our Sunday walks programme for 2009 with a special treat: come and join us for an exclusive preview of the latest addition to the Waiheke Forest & Bird Reserves: the Mills Property. Thanks to the vision of the Mills family and the generosity of a private benefactor Forest & Bird has been able to purchase a substantial rural property and add it to the Onetangi Reserve in December 2008. Its still early days - there is a lot of work to do here, but we are delighted to take you on a guided tour of this beautiful property. Meet at the Trig Hill Road gate to the Onetangi Reserve at 3pm.