We set off to Rakino with a number of tasks to undertake; a rubbish audit, water testing with Bert, and penguin sign construction. We ended up achieving the first two tasks, making some progress on signage, and taking on a few extra jobs besides. All to the good; a roaring northerly extended our stay by a couple of days and we didn’t mind at all.
You can read about the rubbish audit here https://www.rakino.org.nz/2025/06/08/rakino-waste-audit/ and I’m confident Bert will report on the stream and pond testing in due course.
The penguin signs are a work in progress, so hopefully Matariki long weekend will see them installed, FINALLY.
The coolest thing that happened to me was sighting a live little blue penguin for the first time ever on Rakino. Usually I just document dead kororā, so I was really happy to finally see a young’un, hunkered down under a rock ledge in the vicinity of Maori Garden Bay. There are plentiful penguin tracks around the coast currently, with many double tracks heading out into the tide, indicating parents off fishing for the day. Please, dog owners, ensure your dogs are within sight and under control at all times.
I also got to photograph a kākā at John and Carolyn MacKenzies. Accounts over the weekend are of up to five of them skraarking around overhead, which is pretty exciting for a kākāphile like myself.
A couple of weekend downers; the moth plant infestation has reached epic almost out of control proportions, and the pods are beginning to split. Land owners with moth plant are going to be removing seedlings for years to come, as will their neighbours. Here are the rules for moth plant on Rakino and Waiheke.. https://www.tiakitamakimakaurau.nz/protect-and-restore-our-environment/pests-in-auckland/pest-search/Araser
The second bummer was the burgeoning bloom of clay sediment out into Maori Garden Bay which exacerbated as the rain intensified. This was particularly heartbreaking for me, as it is in the same area as our little blue penguin sighting, and also the numerous penguin tracks we had seen the previous day. It’s unacceptable to cause this level of environmental damage on Rakino, and should have been anticipated and mitigated.
Generally an excellent week spent hanging out though, some tasty pizza dinners cooked by Kate as she refines her offerings in anticipation of the Bay Belle floating pizzeria, https://www.instagram.com/baybellenz/
and many sociable evenings spent with all our island friends. I can’t tell a lie though; the rubbish audit was way too much fun.
Author: lisa
Part-time Rakino-ite; mainly Auckland-based. I like writing stuff and making things.