The Ark Down-under?

By Elizabeth Brooke-Carr in Articles

reflections on Orokonui Ecosanctuary as a new Ark

The Ark Down-under?

Blueskin Bay is a long way from Mt Ararat. But further up the hillside from the bay, under the guardianship of Te Korowai o Mihiwaka (The Cloak of Mihiwaka), rests an amazing structure that could easily be mistaken for Noah's Ark. Built not from 'gopher' wood but from shipping containers, recycled rimu, sustainably grown plantation trees, and locally milled macrocarpa the visitor's centre and organisational hub of the Orokonui Ecosanctuary perches above a forested valley, perhaps like Noah's Ark once did on the slopes of Mt Ararat after the Great Flood. In the biblical story God is said to have instructed Noah on how to create a seaworthy Ark capable of protecting him, his family, and a breeding pair of every kind of live animal from the deluge that would cleanse the earth of its corruption. From a distance the ecofriendly visitor's centre at Orokonui melds with the landscape but close up, when crossing its threshold, there is a powerful sense of passing under the prow of a great ship. Or the Ark, maybe?
Original plans for the Orokonui Ecosanctuary were probably not directly driven by divine intervention but they were no less visionary in scope. An early proposal in 1983 for an Ecosanctuary near Dunedin lapsed. But in 1995 Ralph Allen, a member of the inaugural Otago Natural History Trust, (which had also disbanded for a time) revived the proposal. With renewed impetus he set out to follow his dream - to save doomed species in southern New Zealand. Eventually, in December 2006, work started on a predator proof fence. Ongoing restoration of the natural forest, successful eradication of predators, and the managed reintroduction of threatened species have seen that dream become reality.
But for that to happen one man chose to make a huge leap of faith. Others with similar commitment joined him and today the Orokonui Ecosanctuary is a unique mainland environment where native birds, animals and insects are safe from predators, and free to live just as they would in the wild. It is almost impossible to describe the dedication of the individuals and teams working to save some of our most endangered birds and plants from extinction. The Tieke or South Island Saddleback is one among many conservation success stories that celebrate the slender connection between faith and survival.
In pre-European times many thousands of these birds, with bright reddish wattles and clearly demarcated chestnut-brown plumage on their backs, resembling a saddle, lived on the mainland. But with the arrival of settlers, came predators and loss of bush habitat and that population was decimated. Now, with a few breeding pairs translocated from Ulva Island where the saddleback has survived, there is a new community being established at Orokonui.
And there is the Kaka couple, known as Mr and Mrs Roto, who have been the main breeding pair and 'call birds' at the Ecosanctuary aviary since being transferred there from the Dunedin Botanic Garden in 2008. Mr Roto, about 17 years old, who had been in captivity at the Garden since he was a youngster and Mrs Roto, who was unwell when first discovered in a pigeon loft at Maori Hill, eventually became an item and were released earlier this year into the wild at the sanctuary. But life is sweet in their aviary and, as yet, they have been reluctant to move far from their captive bliss.
If you're lucky you might also catch a glimpse of a rainbow in the firmament over Te Korowai o Mihiwaka. But the bird of blessing is far more likely to be Mr or Mrs Roto, than a soaring dove. The Kaka couple are symbols of hope in a world so often besieged by natural and human disaster. Go and spend some time with them at the Ecosanctuary, where visitors are welcome. As you step onto their home turf, look up to the Ark on the mountainside, take in the sight of the regenerating forest down in the valley, breath in Nature's balm (it's pure Godzone) and feel your spirits lift. And if the Rotos aren't home when you call you might get to meet Sirocco, the celebrity Kakapo who will be in residence at Orokonui over the rugby world cup period.
Elizabeth Brooke-Carr