The bush of the Kaimai Ranges is unforgiving: slippery clay, tangly kiekie and steep ridges. For predator control crews, this is daily life. For Ngāti Hako, kaitiakitanga of this rohe for centuries, the mahi (work) is worth it. Since 2021, the Hako Restoration Project has been bringing life back to the lands behind Karangahake Gorge destroyed by colonisation, logging, and mining.
When these operations ceased, the land was effectively abandoned, and the weeds and introduced predators took over. The Hako Restoration Project is restoring the mauri of their traditional tribal lands through predator control and native planting.
Rebecca of Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust leaves behind her office desk and joins trapper Laura Barton (Whakatōhea and Ngāti Porou) for a day on the traplines.
