The kaumātua and the karamū bush

Māori kaumātua (elder) Opo Ngawaka lives on one of the most remote islands in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a population of just three. He’s seen the degradation of the moana (sea) and the ngahere (forest) all of his life.  But now mahi being done by Tū Mai Taonga,  a predator free project on Aotea Great Barrier island - is restoring biodiversity and Opo is seeing changes he never thought he would witness in his lifetime. 

Kaumātua Opo Ngawaka is seeing karamū bushes carry berries for the entire summer for the first time in his life.

Kaumātua (elder) Opo Ngawaka lives off the grid in one of the most remote parts of the world.

With his wife Elaine, their son Jeremiah, their dog Missy and one of the largest tākapu (gannet) colonies in Aotearoa, they are the only kaitiaki so far residing on a windswept Māhuki Island — one of the Broken Islands off Aotea, Great Barrier. And while it’s an isolated existence, Opo has seen a lot in his time.

“As a child,” he says, “I remember the excitement of watching the humpback whales breach out of the water off the shores of Rangiahua.”

Since then, Opo has witnessed the degradation of the moana (sea) and ngahere (forest). Whaling stripped the moana of the humpbacks. Kauri milling and introduced predators stripped the ngahere of birdlife and bush.

This summer, though, has given Opo hope. He’s witnessed something simple but hugely symbolic.

“This is the first time in my living memory that I have seen the fruit remain on this

tree,” he says, pointing to a karamū bush on Māhuki.

Karamū is a relatively common plant from the coprosma family, with yellow flowers and orange berries. It is known to Māori to have healing qualities for liver and stomach problems, and even as a cure for vomiting.

It’s not the medicinal qualities that excite Opo, however. It’s the fact that the plant has been able to flower and produce berries for the first time in his life, due to the work of the Tū Mai Taonga field team, which has removed rats from Māhuki Island.

Apart from a small number on the coastline the pests have been removed by an intense trapping network.

“As well as this flowering, I have also seen a group of 12 kererū sitting together on one tree. They were big and plump, stuffed full of berries. I so wished I had a camera to take a photo. I have never seen this in my life here before either.

“I was so excited—it made me realise what a huge problem the rats on the island were and what a threat they have been to our native birds and plants.”

“We reckon the tākapu colony is growing as well.”

Rats used to be everywhere on the island—in the house Opo built with his own hands on their share of Māori land, under the house, in the tākapu colony—everywhere, taking over the island. They feasted on birds’ eggs, seeds, reptiles, the strawberry patch and anything else in their path. They destroyed the island’s biodiversity and the more vulnerable bird and plant life.

The removal of rats from Māhuki and other Broken Islands is part of phase one of Tū Mai Taonga’s predator eradication plan. The lessons learned from this project will help determine the strategy for removing rodents from mainland Aotea.

As the former Chair of the Ngāti Rehua, Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust Board, which oversees Tū Mai Taonga, Opo is encouraged by these small but significant gains. He’s optimistic that the health and wellbeing of the ngahere—and of the mana whenua of Aotea—will be restored through the project.

“When the project started, we could not imagine what the restoration might look like. And now we are starting to see the gains in birdlife and native plants. It’s uplifting.

“And our people are healing too— coming home to jobs that weren’t previously available on Aotea.”

The project is underpinned by te ao Māori principles, a Māori worldview that emphasises deep respect for nature and a holistic understanding of the connection between people and the taiao (environment).

“We, as Māori, believe in living with the land and not harming it. If we look after the moana and ngahere, they will look after us. If we genuinely work together, we can restore both.

“We also want to continue our partnership with our funders. We have had support to get started, and now we want to maintain those partnerships throughout this journey. We have something special to offer and we can do the mahi. But we do need to build our knowledge and keep the work going.

“If we all continue to work together and support each other, we will be able to celebrate success in the future too.”