It’s a vigorous grower, shade tolerant, and capable of smothering our regenerating bush if allowed to run rampant. It’s pink-white flowers are easily visible in the trees between December and May. In autumn and winter it’s pale green choko-like pods form. The pods carry up to 1000 dandelion-like seeds which can travel several kilometers once the pods have dried and split.
Moth plant flowers.
On Gulf islands land-owners are legally required to remove moth plant, and this is best done well prior to the pods splitting.
Dried pod with seeds.
The sap is a sticky irritant, so protective clothing in the form of gloves and arm covering is a good idea. If the infestation is minor, the seedlings can be pulled out and left to die. If the flowering vines have climbed into the trees, the vines can be cut off near the ground and painted with Picloram gel, a stump paint which works well on moth plant.
Moth plant seedling.
If pods have formed, they need to be removed from the vines, and bagged up to be taken away.
Moth plant pod.
The sites of removal need to be revisited in order to follow up on infestations. It’s an on-going task.
There is a small team of intrepid moth plant removers on Rakino who gather a couple of times a year to try and tackle the moth plant problem in the reserves, but also on private land if required. If you’re willing to volunteer a couple of hours on a long weekend a couple of times a year, the moth plant removal team will almost certainly come and help out with your infestation, and you’ll be justly rewarded for your efforts with an expertly cooked sausage courtesy of Kevin Wragge. Delicious! 🙂
On my most recent island visit I got some feedback that people were looking to do some winter planting on their patches of land to attract our local bird-life, and were looking for advice on how best to achieve that. I’m no expert, and would always advise chatting to Rakino Nursery manager John MacKenzie before embarking on an ambitious planting plan, but here is a bit of basic information to get started with.
Below is a chart of native birds we see on Rakino, and their favoured foods. The nectar feeders prefer insects at nesting time, as they feed their young insectivorous protein. Planting insect attracting shrubs and trees like manuka and kanuka will ensure you always have insect-gobbling fantails and grey warblers flitting through your garden, and will also provide nourishment for the young’uns of nectar feeders. We watched a tui bashing a large stick insect senseless against a tree down at Sandy Bay in preparation for a tui family feast..
Another very good reason to plant manuka/kanuka is that it’s a great habitat for geckoes and skinks. The jury is out on whether we have geckoes on Rakino or not, but we definitely have a number of native skinks. Muhlenbeckia is also a very good habitat for lizards, and John is currently germinating muhlenbeckia seeds due to popular demand.
I have noticed that kakariki love flax seeds, so I would definitely advise the planting of harakeke if you love tui, bellbirds, and are hoping for kakariki to visit, as I am. Aside from this, it’s a great firebreak, and will self germinate readily.
species
nectar
fruit & seeds
foliage
insects
tui
*
*
*
waxeye
*
*
*
grey warbler
*
fantail
*
king-fisher
*
bellbird
*
*
*
kaka
*
*
*
kakariki
*
*
wood pigeon kereru
*
*
A fewRakino birds and their diet, in no particular order.
Below is a list of some of the trees that are generally available to purchase at the plant nursery. Many are currently sold out but I’ll share the link so you can see for yourselves what’s available. The list below isn’t comprehensive, just an indication.
species
fruit& seed
nectar
insects
nikau
*
taraire
*
karamu c. robusta
*
taupata c. repens
*
cabbage tree
*
*
pigeon-wood
*
tawapou
*
kawakawa
*
mahoe
*
harakeke flax
*
*
five-finger
*
kowhai
*
puriri
*
*
karo
*
*
kanuka
*
manuka
*
RakinoNursery trees that provide food for birds.
Most of the above trees are also attractive to insects, but manuka and kanuka are specifically attractive, and flower frequently.
I’d also like to give a plug to the humble bottlebrush, or callistemon. It’s an Australian native, and not available at the nursery, but it’s irresistible to bellbirds, and bees, and flowers readily. If you are bringing bottlebrush over from the mainland, please ensure you place it in a bucket of water and soak it thoroughly in order to avoid any nasties like plague skink eggs being inadvertantly transported also. I soak any plants I’m transporting overnight, such is my level of paranoia about pests.
I’ll defer to John MacKenzie with regard to what to plant and where; some trees don’t like wet feet, some dislike the dry, others are comfortable almost anywhere. Manuka, harakeke, karamu, taupata, karo, and five-finger make great regenerative ‘nursery’ plants and are very forgiving. A hard to kill plant is a good plant. They’ll provide shelter and shade for more temperamental trees.
The other thing to keep in mind is that once you have a few trees in the ground and the birds are visiting, they will spread the seeds they are eating through the digestion process, and many will germinate successfully.
Over Queen’s Birthday Weekend we visited Rakino for the first time since lockdown ended with the daunting mission ahead of planting forty more trees at 9 Woody Bay Rd.
Our aim is to try and smother the tenacious kikuyu grass with shade-casting trees in order to ensure we never have to spend any time mowing grass on Rakino. Unbelievably, neighbour Barry who keeps his considerable lawn immaculate has yet to volunteer his mowing services, and when I mentioned it to all-round handyman Josh, he quickly said “Absolutely not”, so I figure my plan is best.
Winter is the time to get your trees in the ground on Rakino, as it can dry out considerably over summer, so we got our order in early to John MacKenzie, and he delivered all the trees I’d ordered, with a few extra assorted five finger and coprosma. All were duly planted, and I hope they’re thriving with the recent soakings…
The initiative for the development of the Rakino native plant nursery came from the current day trustees, the Thomas family, environmental stalwart John MacKenzie and his wife Carolyn, and Kevin Wragge.
The nursery was started back in 2015, with funding for it’s establishment secured in part from Auckland Cities Environmental Initiatives Fund and also a significant contribution made by the Thomas’, financially, transport, and construction-wise. It’s located on land generously provided by Stephen and Stacey Thomas at a peppercorn rental of $1 per year.
Today it’s a not-for-profit charitable trust; all the sales generated are returned for the upkeep of the nursery; the ongoing costs of pots and potting mix are not inconsiderable. It’s managed and operated by John, with able assistance from Carolyn. They toil ceaselessly to ensure we have trees available for planting, at very inexpensive prices, I might add.
The objective of the nursery is to support the regeneration of Rakino’s denuded environment by offering for sale plants which have been eco-sourced by John. Most of the seeds are sourced on island where possible, but if not they are sourced from Motutapu and Motuihe. As a last resort seed is sourced from the wider Auckland ecological area. This ensures bio-diversity values with genetic adaptation which affords better survival and growth prospects. It also mitigates transportation and bio-security issues. One of the big concerns about trees brought in from the mainland is the possibility that they might harbour nasties like plague skinks, or noxious weeds like asparagus fern.
Karo seedlings waiting to be potted up.
We were very fortunate to have ordered 15 of John’s large eco-sourced kowhai trees, a variant which is unique to Rakino Island. There may still be a small number available from the nursery, but I believe they were a popular purchase this year. I can’t wait till they begin to flower; I might be able to tempt some of John and Carolyn’s flock of tui Hulk-wards if I’m lucky.
The nursery also relies heavily on community volunteers, and community participation. Water to sustain the nursery is kindly provided by the Wihongi family, and permanent residents such as Kevin Hester volunteer for watering duty. I’ve only been available once to volunteer for re-potting duty, but it was a fun activity, and a good opportunity to meet some other islanders. Kevin Wragge wore his best gardening jersey and was a real sport about the compliments he received from all of us.
2019 saw the first year of significant sales from the nursery to enthusiastic islanders; it is envisaged the nursery could potentially assist in the regeneration of other Gulf Islands, such as our neighbours The Noises.
The Rakino Nursery is a significant and valued part of our island culture. The regeneration of the bush habitat is a huge and on-going project. As the trees start to grow and flower we’re noticing more birds visiting and hopefully breeding on island. There are increasing reports of kaka, kakariki, and kereru. I recall being excited at spotting a couple of bellbirds at Albie’s place about thirteen years ago; they’re now regulars all over the island.
The Nursery also hosts events as fundraisers to generate income to plough back into nursery development. ‘Nursery Rhymes’ was an inspired idea held earlier this year on a stage set down by the nursery with a beaut bush backdrop, featuring Jennie Cruse, Stacey Thomas, Tom Donaldson, a star turn by Amanda Frecker, and the ‘kino kids showcasing their choreographed dancing skills.
If you’re considering some tree planting, and I hope you are, I recommend contacting the Rakino Nursery to organise a time to talk to John about plants that are suitable for your site. Visits are by appointment only.
How did I come to BE on Rakino? A very good question indeed. I still wonder at this, & sometimes, I can hardly believe I am so fortunate to BE here now. The interesting thing is, I’d only visited Rakino 3 times before I moved here, permanently. Resident number 20. It was the 2nd visit that got me thinking & connecting the dots. Besides the amazing location, the raw & natural beauty all around, it was the people & their quality of life that really hit home to me. They are a tight knit community of caring souls, who deeply love where they live & have enormous respect & pride in keeping this island pure & natural.
My 3rd visit, with 18 friends & family, we celebrated my 60th birthday on Rakino, late November 2018. On our 2nd day here while out wandering, we came upon an open home & I said “let’s take a look”. So we did, & I think many of my friends could actually imagine themselves standing in this house, admiring the views to everywhere. I was smitten & spent a few hours with the owner while she showed me around & explained how the solar worked plus a few other essential bits one needs to know when living in an off-grid environment. One year later, almost to the day, I moved into my new home, 51 Ocean View Cres. Ta-daa! Just like that.
So, after living for nearly 30 years in Northland, here I am, large as life & loving it. No regrets at all. Yes, there are daily challenges to face, but they are of the sort that makes a person appreciate the finer points of living a wholesome, worthwhile life where everything you do is about making life more comfy & sustainable & encourages you to be extremely resourceful. Go easy on the power, the sun might not shine for long, have I got enough gas in the tank to cook with, is there enough food in the pantry for a month, get the vege garden pumping, when’s the next boat. You see, there are no shops here, not one. I have to think ahead & be prepared. So, when I look around & see folk, some older than me, having incredibly rich, satisfying lives, I knew this was the chord struck in my heart. OK, I already had a foot in the door, I knew a couple of residents I thought, hey, they wouldn’t be living here if it wasn’t paradise.
Then…covid 19. Life didn’t change much, we had our own island bubble so to speak, we all checked in on each other, shared excess food around the island, we even got weekly food deliveries by boat. I knew Rakino was the place for me. I love it here, and there’s no place I’d rather be. Nothing is impossible on Rakino. I love wandering down to Maori Garden Bay, chip a few oysters off the rocks to eat, crunch into some delicious seaweed. Then again, the birds, how tame & unafraid they are, a unique experience right here for me. Walk around the beaches, roads, you never see a scrap of rubbish, none. But really, it’s the folk. Love you’s.
I wouldn’t want Rakino to add anything else to the mix other than what we already have. But, we must preserve what we already have here & care for it deeply with utmost respect.
1) Welcome / Apologies / confirm Quorum After the tyrannical reign of SMcC, CC has seized the chairmanship of the RRA. Quorum confirmed. AT has announced his resignation form the committee. The RRA cannot discuss the circumstances of his departure until the investigation is concluded, but we would like to thank him for his service and continued support.
CC Chaired the meeting.
2) Past Minutes (a) Minutes from the previous Committee Meeting (25 Sep 2019) were circulated prior to this meeting. Proposed by CC for acceptance. Seconded ST. Unanimously accepted.
3) Finances
a) Financial Report – ST tabled the financial reports. There have only been two transactions since the mast meeting.
b) SMcC reported 57 membership subs have been paid,
c) The committee will send a reminder to those who paid subs last year but have ‘forgotten’ to do so this year.
4) Community Feedback NH presented the feedback from the community. People have indicated they prefer the simple life, nature and the freedom that the island provides. They don’t like old cars, and fast driving. No shops was a common theme.
5) Community Hall: Deliberations continue at Council, the election has slowed the process down but CC will keep us updated.
6) Marine Protection Area There has been a lot of for/against polarity in the community. The advocated for a marine protection area will continue to seek funding for an environmental study after which a consultation process will begin. The committee wishes to re iterate that no proposal will be put forward without consultation.
7) Helipad and utility shed. DM tabled a proposal to develop a helipad and utility shed on AT land at the top of Rakino. Jude MacLachlan proposed that the Rakino Trust will help pay for the materials needed to construct the shed. The RRA will seek support from the community to construct the shed and develop the helipad.
8) Local Board 5 year plan. CC circulated copies of the Waiheke Board 5 year Plan, he indicated that the Rakino community should provide feedback in terms of 1-2 important issues that we want included on the plan.
9) New Business: SMcC proposed that the RRA donate $1000 to the Westpac Helicopter Trust, increasing the amount form $500 last year. This amount represents the fuel cost of a return trip by the helicopter to Rakino Island. This was seconded by DM and unanimously accepted by the community.
The RRA will seek permission to place a seat on the path to Maori Garden Bay to remember the service of Rob Everall to the community. The RRA will seek donations form the community to cover the costs associated with this memorial.
The RRA will facilitate the repair of the picnic tables at Sandy Bay as they are no longer serviceable.
The Holland family has volunteered to run events on New Year’s day that utilise the fire lords.
The Macrocarpa (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) on Woody Bay are needing some maintenance to clear dead branches.
The Auckland Council policy for inorganic rubbish collection have changed. Tom will make the residents aware of when to apply for collection. Tom has tidied up the Home Bay depot and has asked residents not to illegally dump rubbish anywhere on the Island.
The meeting closed at 12:30
CC provided really good cake and sausage rolls – thanks mate! .
I was born in Auckland /Tamaki Makaurau, so I have been playing in the adjacent Hauraki Gulf all my life.
I commenced my sailing career in the Gulf in the 1980’s before going on to compete in a few hundred yacht races, for a period on the coastal classic record holder Split Enz ( photo above) and I have completed 16 ocean passages, over half as skipper, on yachts between 37 ft and 70 ft.
I sailed around the island, played on the beaches and scuba dived the coast for 2 decades, waited until the prices took off, duh, then was roped into buying a share in a 10 acre block. That’s when the real Rakino Island experience for me commenced. Simon Mark-Brown called me one day and said “We’ve just bought the most amazing 10 acres on Rakino Island”. I replied whose we? Simon replied “You and Ulli, me and Louise and Helen Taylor.” I replied with something like WTF and Simon said “Come around and we can discuss it, bring your cheque book!” The adventure commenced!
In 2002 we built a house in Swanson and transported it complete, with beds made, pantry full and cold beers in the fridge. Rakino has never been the same since! Henry Backhouse Smith and all my mates built the house for me and relocated it to Maori Garden Bay. Henry got the ‘Rakino bug’, relocated another home here and is now a respected member of the community providing building services between fishing and diving adventures.
In 2015, I moved permanently to Rakino where I now conduct research on the unfolding climate and extinction crisis. I have a monthly radio show on the Progressive Radio Network which is broadcast out of New York. The show is called Nature Bats Last. The 130 + episodes can be found at the Nature Bats Last archive at PRN.FM
I have visited 50 countries in my life and I have the incredible good fortune to be able to live wherever I want on the planet. I am living in exactly that place. Rakino attracts a unique type of person. Irrespective of how much money anyone has the only people who last the course on our beloved rock are folks who are prepared to carry their food, alcohol and luggage and embrace the reality of limited resources. I believe no parent could do more for their children than give them the Rakino Island experience. I’m currently volunteering at the Rakino Island Nursery on an island wide rewilding project; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=688736654615318&ref=br_rs
Photo credit of the aerial shot of Rakino Island goes to Scott Peters.
Hard to imagine the time frames between the images is less than twenty years.
The land is DOC and comprises seven odd acres.
I’m not sure why Linley and I started planting. The Mackenzie clans’ efforts and enthusiasm would have been a factor as they had begun to plant another DOC Reserve abutting Woody Bay Road. Their building platform is visible in one of the photographs.
For what ever reason we decided it would be wise to get formal approval to plant and which I was able to refer to at a later date when challenged as to our intentions.
We began by mowing and planting the area that had been cleared. Tracks were created so that in time a bush walk would be possible.
Kevin on the business end of a lawn mower
Thousands of plants were brought over on Warren Sinclair’s boat; either purchased or grown from seedlings at our home in the city. Our friend Brian brought over two thousand in his fully ladened Mercedes long wheel base van one year.
Later on, with the advent of the Council Environmental Initiative Fund we successfully applied for funding and reached an agreement that DOC would transport the plants to Rakino. It was quite a logistical task to load and then get those plants from the wharf to site. We enlisted the assistance of Council and DOC staff to assist with transportation and planting. It was an out of sight out of mind effort as far as the Rakino community was concerned. Council and DOC realized that we were serious and got to know Rakino and its critical location in the Gulf Island chain. That support was invaluable.
One year we returned a few weeks after a mammoth planting session to find that some kind soul had pulled out every single plant. We have our suspicions as to whom the perpetrator/s were.
With planting of this land, which we named as the Wallis Reserve (Wallis is our daughter and first came to Rakino when she was less than two weeks old) approaching an end we turned our attention to the walk way to West Bay.
That is another story for another day.
Councils support was then sought to establish the Rakino Native Plant Nursery which meant we could mitigate biosecurity, biodiversity and transportation considerations. Income generated from sales could then be reinvested back into the regeneration of Rakino’s badly neglected flora and fauna.
The subsequent buy in and transformation of Rakino as depicted by planting and birdlife is a legacy that not everyone has the privilege of being involved with.
Mention must be made of the MacKenzie and Thomas family’s involvement.
Kevin Wragge
Current day, looking to the west. Twenty year old plantings on the left.MacKenzie plantings, looking to the west.
A few beaut photos of Rakino’s birdlife taken by Jennie Cruse.
Mr. Tui guzzling flax nectar.Plumptious kereru in a pohutukawa tree.Watchful Kotare perching on coprosma.Kakariki snaffling flax seeds.Waxies on the wing, feasting on figs.Oystercatcher wearing a plague-doctor beak.Pukeko! Always the crowd-pleaser..One of the multitudes of fledgling Tui.Piwakawaka on the flit.Alert Mr. Tui, guarding his flax patch.
My Rakino, wow. Where to start? At the beginning seems as good a place as any. Prior to moving to Rakino I had spent a couple of years reinventing my life as I was very unhappy. With support of family I stopped doing things in my life that were excruciatingly tedious and started to become quite selfish for myself. I’d been through an amicable relationship breakup and was looking for a shelter in the Auckland region. Being quite a cheapskate and not a man who has been successful financially I looked up “Cheapest options” on trademe and a beachfront property was available for $80/week in an Auckland suburb called Rakino. I’ve always been a water baby so my curiosity was piqued. A conversation with a landlord had me heading out to sea. The place was elegant in its simplicity and I refer to it as a plywood box on stilts. It sat beneath an ancient pohutukawa and looked out West to the enchanting Woody bay. The long drop toilet was an ex red phone booth which I affectionately named the “Turdis”. Rakino felt to me as a place to heal and have time to delight in the little things.
Community donations for a fine repast.
One could be sold on the exquisite natural beauty but there was more. The community embraced me and rolled out the red carpet. I grew up in a farming community with much neighborly love and this was something I’d missed along the way making tribes of similar and like minded people in large urban centers. Their pace of living was on my frequency and like myself Rakinoites cherished liberty and an absence of rules. The only real rule in the community I could discern was don’t be an asshole. In a small community if one is a prick the voodoo comes back real quick. I knew I was in love with this place and people immediately. People say the locals are crazy, eccentric or like characters from “Twin Peaks”. To me this is ignorance borne of an insecurity in others expressing their natural joy, delight, playfulness and freedom. People sometimes think we are hermetic folk and it’s true we value our own space. One of the phrases used when one doesn’t want humans about is, “I’m caving”. This is a particularly polite way of saying, I love ya but f**k off. We are also very social and create very festive events, share bathwater, have morning cuppas before our various toils, and “sundowners” which is taking a few magic potions and having a laugh, dance and song as the sun treats us to a mystical beauty over and over again.
A couple ofRakino sundowners.
Rakino has made me strong which has empowered me to pursue and realise dreams and for a change, be there for others as they go through their own struggles. We work hard on Rakino to keep the peace and yes it’s not always harmony in the community. These tiffs between each other are known as the “Gulf Wars”. Mostly they are resolved and usually with friends making sure we can see the others perspective. We don’t all necessarily enjoy each others company but when one needs help from trivial to desperate, it’s always there. I’ve lived in communities where fear and mistrust dominates. It’s awful and our community is vigilant in combating crime and less serious frictions. This creates a secure environment for our community to not have to waste energy on defences. I am hopeful that in our little puddle perhaps this will seep into mainstream New Zealand because, it works.
It must have been about 17 years ago now, that we decided to build a shed on Rakino, the section bought by Lisa’s parents, some time in the distant past. I’d jacked up Alistair with his trusty front-loading barge and a local tractor owner, probably called Colin. I’d planned out the timber I needed for a platform; enough to put the shed on, as well as some deck to enjoy the sunset and create a pleasing indoor-outdoor flow.
Waist high kikuyu grass, awaiting a tin shed.
The dwelling itself was to be a 9 square metre kitset garden shed with no windows, so a bit of indoor-outdoor flow was going to be needed. I pre-cut most of the timber to get it on the barge, and to avoid hand cutting joists and decking. We packed the kitset and timber onto a trailer and met Alistair down at Z-pier to back the trailer on. Colin met us at the ramp to tractor the trailer up to the section to offload before taking the trailer back to Auckland. The fun began the next weekend; Easter, I think it was, a long weekend anyway. When you have an intrepid expedition on your hands, in a remote destination, you need a band of experienced and resourceful double-plus hard-bastards. Instead, I assembled a group of software developers who’d never seen a hammer in their lives. Actually, that’s unfair, Phil was a keen DIY chap and dangerous know-it-all.
Michael: a genius coder and handsome man-about-town turned out to be very handy with a hammer, and
Andrew: We’ll never know if he would have shown any great facility with the tools, for he availed himself too fully of the gin, rendering him wasted ballast on the trip.
Lisa: a generally useful member of any expedition, and extraordinarily generous with her advice.
We arrived on a water taxi and made our way up the hill to what was Jim’s place, which we’d rented for the long weekend. The rest of us had walked up but Phil, being the smooth-talker he is, had bummed a ride with Lyndon and Cathy, leaping on the back of their ute with around 50 feral Chihuahuas, and a labrador. Phil may (or may not) have been drunk… history does not relate, but the dogs, being excellent judges of character, administered a right seeing to.
We dug footings, carried buckets of water from Jim’s, set pilings, set up joists and pushed off back to Jim’s for well-deserved gin-tonics and roast chicken.
The next day we got up, gave ourselves a stern talking-to in the bathroom mirror, and tucked into a cooked breakie before nailing down decking and erecting the shed.
Andrew was given the inside job, fixing things in the tin shed, with everyone nailing on all sides and a near-fatal hangover, this must have been akin to being inside Keith Moon’s drum kit on a mushroom trip.
Over the weekend we had visits from our two sets of neighbours. On one side they were called John & Caroline, on the other side, John and Carolyn. Clearly there were some odd Island conventions we might need to be aware of…
John, or possibly John; I can’t recall which, advised us on bracing the shed. Due to the typical 450 knot easterlies, he explained, the normal suburban matchstick framing may prove insufficient. We obliged by bracing it with everything we could find, including the timber the shed came packed in.
