Guided Night Walks, a popular and unique experience
The Whakatāne Kiwi Trust's guided Kiwi Night Walks have proven to be popular again this year! More than 262 people braved the Autumn weather with their team of experienced volunteer guides to explore Ōhope Scenic Reserve at night.
Many clear territorial kiwi calls were heard on the walks. One group were lucky enough to hear a duet between a male and female kiwi and another heard a very loud and clear male call from only 10 metres away. The male call is an upward, shrill, high-pitched single note repeated about 15-20 times, which can travel for over a kilometre. The female call is more of a coarse, rasping cry; also repeated 15-20 times.
Kiwi aren’t the only stars of the show on the night walks. There are usually lots of morepork heard and many different nocturnal creepy-crawly invertebrates come out hunting at night, like spiders and weta, as well as the huge 15+ cm native centipedes. If you missed out this year, make sure you get booked in on one next Autumn to experience Ōhope Scenic Reserve in a totally different light.
One group were lucky enough to hear a duet between a male and female kiwi and another heard a very loud and clear male call from only 10 metres away.
If you can’t wait until then, you can download the self-guided night walk map or pick up a copy from the I-Site team.
