A new visitor’s impressions of Mana Island

A new visitor’s impressions of Mana Island

A trip to Mana Island was conspiratorially put together to surprise our two young sons in June.  We had not been before and it is right on our doorstep – so why not?  Plus, we have friends who are overtly biased in their obvious love for all things Mana...
New bird hide in Waikoko wetland

New bird hide in Waikoko wetland

A bird hide was installed in the Waikoko wetland and a new picnic table was also set up during the FOMI weekend working bee in March.  A big thank you to the many people who helped make this happen: OMV for sponsoring this project. The DOC team of rangers Nick...
Fernbirds successfully transferred to Mana Island

Fernbirds successfully transferred to Mana Island

Our newest residents on Mana Island, 40 fern birds, arrived in April 2019 all the way from Rotokare Scenic Reserve in South Taranaki in a project managed by FOMI.  The North Island fernbirds/mātātā were caught at Rotokare using mist nets over three successive...
‘Annie’ the dinghy returned to Mana Island

‘Annie’ the dinghy returned to Mana Island

‘Annie’ is named after Antonia Tait (nee Vella), one of the daughters of Mariano (Marijan) and Elisabeth Vella. Annie is a kauri sailing yacht which was built by Ted Bailey in Wellington at Shed 49 Clyde Quay sometime after 1909. After 1909, Andrew Vella had taken...
FOMI work trip 14-16 June 2019

FOMI work trip 14-16 June 2019

https://www.facebook.com/manaislandfriends/videos/900976740255781/ The weather was kinder to us on this trip. Sunday was a highlight with sunny conditions after overnight rain. Cool and cloudy Saturday.  This was our biggest group yet at 22 people. There were...