Is This a Summer Like No Other?

By Brian Megaw | January 11, 2023

Is This a Summer Like No Other? Day after day, a cloud barrier sits atop the Ruahine Ranges, a low mountain range east of River Valley Lodge. Most of the time, the rain associated with this cloud bank does not reach as far as Pukeokahu, the farming district where River Valley is situated. This is [...]

Flight of the Kiwi

By Brian Megaw | January 1, 2023

Flight of the Kiwi The Kiwi, the native bird used as a symbol of Aotearoa/New Zealand, cannot fly. It lost the use of its wings millions of years ago as it adapted to the unique conditions it found on this isolated landmass. And yet I saw 10 Kiwi fly. This occasion happened at an event [...]

2022 Hui for Whio

By Brian Megaw | August 29, 2022

2022 Hui for Whio I have written regularly on the conservation efforts undertaken in the Ruahine Ranges to protect and enhance native bird life, particularly the endemic Whio or Blue Duck. The Ruahine Ranges run up the spine of the southern central North Island, from the Manawatu Gorge until meeting the Kaweka and Kaimanawa Ranges. [...]

Changed By Landscape

By Brian Megaw | July 29, 2022

Who Moulds Who? In landscapes where human beings have resided for a long time, often thousands of years, you can see the impact those many generations have had. Hedgerows, drainage ditches, old stone walls, derelict buildings and, on occasion, much older evidence of habitation. Terraced hillsides and meandering paths, some having been in use for [...]

From Zero to Ten is Huge!

By Brian Megaw | April 25, 2022

From Zero to Ten is Huge! For the last decade or more, a dedicated group of volunteers have been sacrificing their weekends to take to the bush, and around here, that means the steep and rugged Ruahine Ranges. However, they are not sacrificing their weekends just for some ramble through the woods. Instead, they have [...]

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