Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project Noho Wananga
We are so excited to invite all Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project Project Managers to a noho wananga. This is an opportunity for us to build stronger connections and add new knowledge to our collective kete.
DATE: 13 and 14 October 2026
LOCATION: Mahakirau Sanctuary, Coromandel
KEY ACTIVITIES: Kotahitanga, storytelling workshop, private sanctuary night walk, plant sampling workshop, stomach sampling workshop.
SUGGESTED KOHA: $100*
For more information, this page includes:
Runsheet
Budget breakdown
Packing list
Sleeping arrangements
Stomach sampling workshop details
Rōpū
RUNSHEET
Subject to change.
Tuesday 13 October
8.30am | Begin journey
Two carpooling options:
Waikato MKMT vehicle from Matamata > Te Aroha > Paeroa > Mahakirau
BOP teams meet at 556 Cameron Road to drive in MKMT vehicle
By 1pm | Arrive & set up
Arrive at accommodation, set up and share kai.
Note: Two neighbours have opened up their homes for us that should sleep everyone in their own beds. Please bring your own sleeping bags and/or bedding to avoid leaving mass washing for the homeowners.
1pm - 3pm | Kotahitanga workshop
Louise Saunders will lead a kotahitanga workshop to build deeper relationships and partnerships between Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project teams.
We invite each project to bring a taonga from your rohe to keep in the Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust Waka Huia to symbolise our connection and collaboration.
3 - 3.30pm | Break
Have a break before our next session.
3.30 - 4.30pm | Storytelling workshop
A strong brand and public profile is imperative to land financial investment.
In this one-hour lesson, led by Rebecca Lee, you will learn what makes a good story and how to tell it in a way that gains attention. We will also discuss the difference between earned, owned and paid media, and how to decide when to use what channel.
6pm | Dinner
TBC
8pm | Night walk
Private forest night walk to spot taonga within the Mahakirau Sanctuary. You may see the extremely rare Coromandel striped gecko, Hochstetter’s and Archey’s frogs, and other taonga that call Mahakirau home.
Bring a fully charged torch with spare batteries.
Wednesday 14 October
6.30 - 9am | Breakfast & pack up
Continental buffet style with cereals, fruit, yoghurt, baked goods, tea and coffee.
During this time we must completely clean house and pack vehicles ready for departure.
9 - 10am | Kamahi sampling workshop
The Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project has been invited to participate in a Kamahi/Tawheowheo taxonomic research, led by Rob Smisson of New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited.
In this workshop, led by Louise Saunders, we will discuss this research in full and then complete a short training session on how to collect, label and store the plant material and cover off tīkanga you would like to use during your collection, if you choose to participate.
10am - 12.30pm | Stomach sampling workshop
Stomach sampling workshop including dissection and eDNA testing, led by Sara Smerdon.
You can read about her work here.
*You must bring some predators from your own rohe so you can learn on these creatures. BEFORE the noho wananga, collect at least 3 freshly killed predators. These are to be killed and then kept on ice while fresh to ensure their stomachs are still complete. You will leave the noho wananga with tangible insights of what predators in your area are eating which will help your project planning, funding applications and reporting.
12.30 - 1.30pm | Shared kai
Final shared lunch with Mahakirau members to drop by. Opportunity to whakawhanaungatanga.
1.30pm
Depart
COSTS*
We ask for a koha from your project to help cover the costs. We suggest $100 koha per person which we will split 1/3 to Mahakirau, 1/3 to the homeowners gifting us their whare, 1/3 toward kai and other MKMT expenses.
FULL COST BREAKDOWN:
Accommodation: 2 x homes gifted from neighbours of the Mahakirau Sanctuary
Sara Smerdon's stomach sampling workshop: Gifted by Sara and Mahakirau Sanctuary
Petrol: TBC
eDNA stomach sampling kits: $295 per person
Kai: ~$45 per person for all meals
SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS
We will all be staying in one whare which has been kindly gifted to us by Allan and Judi. This house has been recently renovated to very high spec so please extra caution must be taken not to scratch wooden floors and bespoke walls.
Large double bed (2 share a bed)
2 x single beds
2 x foam mattresses
2 x sofas
2 x stretchers (Louise to bring)
PACKING LIST
Clothes and toiletries for an overnight trip
Bedding (sheets, pillow cases and duvet or sleeping bag)
Linen (towel, tea towel, face towels)
Pen/paper to take notes (or laptop or phone or whatever you find easiest)
Torch and spare batteries
Water bottle and drinking water
Scalpel blade or sharp pocket knife (if you have one)
Sterile nitril gloves
At least three predators, on ice
Warm and wet weather gear for night walk
We invite each project to bring a small taonga from your rohe to keep in the Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust Waka Huia to symbolise our connection and collaboration.
Make sure all gear is clean on arrival... concerns of Kauri dieback and Chytrid.
STOMACH SAMPLING WORKSHOP
We are very lucky to have Sara Smerdon from Mahakirau Sanctuary leading us in a necropsy-eDNA workshop!
You will learn how to cut an animal's stomach open and visually identify what the predator has been eating. We will also do eDNA sampling to get further insight beyond what we can see.
To get the most out of this exercise, please bring at least THREE predators from your own rohe. This way you can learn exactly what your critters are eating and have tangible insights to help your project planning, funding applications and reporting.
Make sure to catch your critter and put it on ice while it's still fresh.
You will need sterile nitril gloves and scalpel blade for the dissection.
RŌPŪ
We encourage you to develop a tuakana–teina relationship between others in the KMRP rōpū to grow your knowledge and capability. Below are the attendees and key topics they're experts in.
Louise Saunders
MKMT CEO
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Rebecca Lee
MKMT Comms & Engagement Manager.
Can teach: All things comms, social, digital and design.
Wants to learn: Te reo Māori and tīkanga
Hiria Te Amo
Tapuika Project Manager
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Kataraina George
Tipu Environmental, Environmental Manager
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Luke Whare
Te Kapu o Waitaha Environmental Manager
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Sara Smerdon
Mahakirau Sanctuary | Operations Manager Mahakirau Sanctuary
Can teach:
Targeted predator control, trap audits, monitoring, field observation and research.
Wants to learn:
Mātauranga Māori and stories of connection to place and species.
Aaron Taylor
Ngāti Tumutumu Trust Kaitiaki Taiao Manager
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Whetu Apaapa
Ngamanawa Inc Project Manager
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Ngāti Hako
TBC
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Te Maire
TBC
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
Wairere Mahi
TBC
Can teach:
Wants to learn:
LET'S CHAT
556 Cameron Rd, Tauranga South, 3112.
PO Box. 3138 Greerton Mail Center, Tauranga, 3142.
For media enquiries: Rebecca.lee@mkm.org.nz
