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Two cute to be true?
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary and @savethekiwinz teams have been busy over the past few days tracking and recapturing kiwi to remove their transmitters. Thanks to a huge team effort, all ten males were recaptured within just three days.
Some nest burrows held a surprise or two — in several cases a female was present, and a couple even contained chicks. One burrow amazed us all, with not one but two adorable chicks 😍
All chicks are fully independent at this stage of the season, and after quick health checks and transmitter removal, all adult kiwi were safely returned to their burrows.
This special footage was captured by kiwi handler Tamsin from Save the Kiwi, who led the transmitter removal mahi.
We estimate the 20 females and 21 males released in May last year have already produced around 10–15 kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) chicks in their very first breeding season — a strong sign the habitat is just right.
With transmitters now removed from all ten males, the kiwi are completely free, with no further handling needed. Annual kiwi call counts by staff and volunteers will help track the growing population across our 690 ha, ring-fenced, pest-free sanctuary.
Credit: Video courtesy of Tamsin Ward-Smith, Save the Kiwi
Thanks to our partnership with @terunangaotoa Ngati Toa and Save the Kiwi
#kiwipukupuku #littlespottedkiwi #brookwaimaramasanctuary #nelson #thetopofthesouth #conservation #biodiversity #nativebirds #natureloversnz #newzealandwildlife #pestfree #ringfencedsanctuary #conservationinaction
Jan 29
🎻 45 min string quartet concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Come and hear a dynamic young string quartet perform a 45 min concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. We welcome everyone to come along, and bring anyone you think might be curious to hear some classical music in a relaxed environment.
The @antipodes.quartet is part of the Fellowship Ensemble Programme, a joint venture between the @adamchambermusicfestival, @newzealandstringquartet and @chambermusicnz, as a career-development experience offered to four of this country’s most promising young string players.
The Antipodes Quartet are Eden Annesley (violin), Mana Waiariki (violin), Tal Amoore (viola) and Lavinnia Rae (cello).
On this occasion, Brook Waimārama Sanctuary are welcoming everyone at local prices: Adult $15, Child $9; Family $35 (on the door)
Find out more: (Link in bio)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NelsonNZ #Whakatū #WhatsonNelson #NelsonTasman #LiveMusicNZ #ChamberMusicNZ #StringQuartet #ClassicalMusicNZ #AdamChamberMusicFestival #NewZealandStringQuartet #ChamberMusicNewZealand #FamilyFriendly #NatureAndCulture #SupportLocalArts
Jan 27
2026 Bug of the year is here!
The lesser known cousin to bird of the year has come around(wait till they hear about fish or fungus of the year). This showdown aims to highlight the critters that go underappreciated compared to celebrity species like kākāpō. We would like to highlight the strange and wonderful species that occur within the Sanctuary, with the hopes to earn your vote!
Kahuwai | Black Tunnelweb Spider
Porrhothele antipodiana
I have a mixed history with this incredible spider. One hairy individual decided that my jersey pocket was a great place to set up shop. It received a rude awakening upon the home invasion of my unaware hand. Its brilliant fangs pierced and invenomated my finger, and despite the swelling and the shock and the pain… I couldn’t help but feel bad for evicting the guy. Its hobbit-like hole dwelling nature led the spider to my soft, warm pocket. Ironically, but not surprisingly, this species was the inspiration for Peter Jackson’s ‘Shelob’ in the Lord of the Rings films.
Kahuwai, the black tunnelweb spider, forms dense sheets of silk surrounding their tunnels. These sheets are monitored by the spider, who detects vibrations of a passer by. Wētā, land hoppers and any other unlucky invertebrate. The kahuwai swiftly grabs its prey and drags it into the depths. This spider however is also the victim of the endemic golden hunter wasp, who paralyses the spider before dragging it into the wasp’s nest (talk about shoes on the other foot!) and laying an egg beside it. The spider then becomes baby formula.
Despite the bite, this amazing spider has my vote! Check out the New Zealand Bug Of the Year 2026 website! Voting closes on the 16th of February!
Photo: @henry._.hart (in the second image of Shelob`s lair you can see a giant pill millipede has fallen victim...)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BugOfTheYear
Jan 25
2026 Bug of the year is here!
The lesser known cousin to bird of the year has come around(wait till they hear about fish or fungus of the year). This showdown aims to highlight the critters that go underappreciated compared to celebrity species like kākāpō. We would like to highlight the strange and wonderful species that occur within the Sanctuary, with the hopes to earn your vote!
This candidate is the beautifully disguised Rō, the Two-Spined Stick Insect. Micrachus hystriculeus is endemic to central Aotearoa, most common from Nelson, through Marlborough and Wellington. Stick insects display a classic example of crypsis. That is, their behaviour and physiology work in tandem to remain completely undetected and unharmed. They feed on leaves high in the canopy of trees like kānuka. At night you can often spot them, usually with the small males riding on the backs of the much larger females.
All modern New Zealand stick insects are the relatives of two colonisation events from New Caledonia around 30 million years ago. They radiated into nine separate genera and dispersed into coastal, lowland and subalpine ecosystems throughout the motu. This species, alongside at least five other stick insect species, live out their slow and sticky lives within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary.
Will you vote for Micrachus hystriculeus? Check out the New Zealand Bug Of the Year 2026 website! Voting closes on the 16th of February!
Stay tuned for our last candidate…
Photo: Saryu Mae - @invertebratist
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BugOfTheYear
Jan 24
2026 Bug of the year is here!
The lesser known cousin to bird of the year has come around(wait till they hear about fish or fungus of the year). This showdown aims to highlight the critters that go under the radar compared to celebrity species like kākāpō. We would like to highlight the strange and wonderful species that occur within the Sanctuary, with the hopes to earn your vote!
The first species we would like to highlight is the Giant Pill Millipede. Daylight at the Sanctuary is a splendid cacophony of birdsong that many visitors have come to love. The night time however, is a different story. Kiwi and ruru emerge, moths take flight and the incredibly bizarre and slow moving giant pill millipede begins its expedition. This creature spends its whole night foraging among rotting vegetation, recycling dead leaves. They are more squat and heavily armored compared to a typical millipede, and this allows them to roll into an impenetrable ball if under attack. You can imagine the comical result when they decide to go ball mode on a slope!
The genus Procyliosoma belongs to a family that only occurs in Australia and New Zealand. Millipedes are the modern relatives of an ancient group of arthropods known as Diplopods. These ‘double legged’ segmented invertebrates arrived on the scene more than 400 million years ago, tens of millions of years before vertebrates emerged onto land. The largest millipede(and terrestrial invertebrate) to ever live was Arthropleura of the Carboniferous period, which grew over 2 metres long!
Please consider voting for this adorable pokeball. Check out the New Zealand Bug Of the Year 2026 website! Voting closes on the 16th of February!
Stay tuned to hear our next two candidates…
Photo: @henry._.hart
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BugOfTheYear
Jan 23
🌸 Ngahere Neighbourhood: spider orchid (Corybas trilobus)
Tiny but extraordinary, the spider orchid is one of Aotearoa’s most species-rich groups of orchids — and one you might miss if you don’t look closely.
This small, ground-dwelling orchid forms dense colonies across the forest floor, its single rounded leaf sitting beneath a delicate, spidery flower that rises just a few centimetres above the moss. The flowers range in colour from deep crimson and pink to pale green or even white, often flecked with purple.
Identifying Corybas trilobus can be tricky — it’s actually a species aggregate, meaning several closely related species are currently grouped under this name and not yet formally described. This makes it difficult to define its exact characteristics or preferred habitats. What unites them all, however, is their small size and the distinctive three-lobed leaf that gives trilobus its name.
Though each individual orchid may be short-lived, spider orchids often grow in dense colonies that spread slowly underground. These colonies can persist for many years, forming quiet, enduring communities that are part of the rich biodiversity beneath our feet — delicate, intricate, and vital to the forest ecosystem.
🔎 Species: Corybas trilobus
🟢 Conservation status: Not Threatened
📸 Photo by Rebecca Bowater
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #NativePlants #NZOrchid #SpiderOrchid #Corybas #NewZealandNature #Conservation
Jan 22
