What do you get when you cross a knight with a kiwi? The grand opening of the nocturnal house

Photos of the opening of the nocturnal house have now been added to Chapter 5. It was an auspicious event, with Governor General Sir Paul Reeves and Lady Reeves in attendance and more than a little kiwi-hugging taking place.

Always wanted to know how to build a nocturnal house?

To find out about Nga Manu’s grand public opening, how the Trust got its big break (a chance to go free-hold), and how to build a nocturnal house, read Chapter Five as it progresses.

Nga Manu History gets a restructure

The Nga Manu History has had a restructure. Now, all the chapters sit under the page “Nga Manu History Book“.

As chapters are added they will appear on this page, and also on the right-hand side-bar.

Remember that by using the handy search field at the top of the website, you can easily find pages or posts that make reference to any key word.

Peter smells a rat! (or how not to be outsmarted by a greenfinch)

As the fascinating story of Nga Manu continues, find out about the mystery of the greenfinches, and how Ruth McKenzie’s nailpolish ultimately enables Peter to outsmart these persistent little feathered interlopers.

See Chapter 4 “Filling the Ark“.

Photo: Though innocent-looking enough, a greenfinch can play havoc with a person’s bird-seed supplies!

Chapter 3 progresses: encounters with bulldozers, chainsaws and botanists

As Chapter 3 progresses, find out how an unfortunate encounter with a chainsaw leads Peter to a serendipitous encounter with a leading New Zealand botanist – one that was to result in an enduring relationship with Nga Manu. Also read about the other key figures who shaped and supported the fledgling sanctuary in its initial critical stages.  And, learn about the surprising bird-attracting powers of the unassuming tree lucerne, and its important role in the regeneration of Nga Manu.

Photo: Sir Charles Fleming bird-watching at “the lagoon” (Waikanae?) (Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library must be obtained before any re-use of this image, ref. 87-208-399-01)

Chapter 3 started – doorless planes and what a bloody mess!

Chapter 3 has begun! With the lease secured, work on the site begins in earnest. Read this chapter to find out about how to plan after the work is done (and amaze your local councillors in the process), what doorless planes are good for (apart from parachuting), and who said “What a bloody mess!” and what they said it about…

Photo: Aerial shot of the newly excavated ponds and the surrounding bush remnant.

Who’s looking?

Check out the new “widget” on the right-hand panel. This tells you, in real-time, where visitors to the site come from (city, country). Since this site was launched, visitors from 35 countries have looked at the site. Go to the HIT MAP on the right-hand panel and click on “click to see” to see a list of countries from which visitors have come.

Chapter 2 – finally, a site found and development can begin!

A first draft of Chapter 2 is now complete. Read about the long search for a suitable site for the sanctuary, and how one dead-end led fortuitously to what probably could not have been a more optimal site.

Finally, with the search over, the “real” work could actually begin – out with the bulldozers! (Chapter 3 will continue the next phase of the story – the transformation of a 13 hectare block of farmland to a wildlife sanctuary.)

Photo: the trustees surveying initial excavation work on the site.

Subscribing to Nga Manu history project updates

It is super-easy to subscribe to Nga Manu history project updates. Just click on “sign me up” under “email subscription” on the right-hand panel. Your email will only be used to send automatic updates and for no other purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Chapter 2 in progress

Follow the story of the people, ideas and circumstances behind the founding of the Nga Manu Trust and the long search for a suitable site for the sanctuary. Click here to read to read Chapter 2 as it progresses.

Photo: A red-crowned parakeet, or kakariki, that Peter McKenzie bred at the Paraparaumu facility while waiting to find a suitable sanctuary site. Some of these birds were released as far afield as Tiritiri-Matangi Island and the Waitakere Ranges.