NATIONAL PARKS & RESERVES

NZ Lands and Survey Rangers' Archive

Dave Wakelin on Kakapo Research Project

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People DepictedDave Wakelin Last edited by: Barbara Thomson

Date1975

DescriptionAround 1975 the Wildlife Service launched a search for the few remaining Kakapo in Fiordland. The search was carried out in the northern part of the national park, centred around the Milford Sound mountains.

I was lucky enough to go in with Rod Morris from the Wildlife Service for 10 days. We were helicoptered into the steep slopes of the Transit Valley. We spent our first afternoon digging a ledge in the side of the hill to establish our tent and then drainage channels around the tent to stop it washing away in the heavy Fiordland rain.

Our mission was to head up to the valley ridge tops and sit somewhere through much of the night to listen for Kakapo booming. Whenever we heard booming, we would use a compass to determine the direction of the boom. The following morning the compass bearings were radioed to the main search site. By triangulating the directions heard during the night for our site and other search sites they were able to pinpoint the likely area where a Kakapo might be. About midway through the search, we were helicoptered from our initial site to the other side of the valley. I remember that while we were there, we walked through a shallow natural basin on the hillside, and heard Kakapo booming somewhere across the other side of the valley. When we moved out of this natural basin, the sound faded away and came back again when we moved back into the basin.

In all five Kakapo were located in Fiordland, with the last two removed in 1981.

Last edited by: Barbara Thomson

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PersonDave Wakelin Last edited by: Barbara Thomson

NZ National ParkFiordland National Park Last edited by: Barbara Thomson

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Dave Wakelin on Kakapo Research Project