Please return brochures to box at gate. Thank you. Victory Beach is one of two places outside the Auckland Islands where YEPT 4/08 Okia Reserve Guided Walk the NZ sea lion is known to give birth. They can North End and the display aggressive Margaret Hazel Slope behaviour please: This sheet will guide you through the • do not approach north end of the Reserve. It will take them you through both present and past • do not make loud plantings. The Trust would like to thank Sea Lion noises or disturb their rest. the countless number of organizations Please feel free to observe their antics and and volunteers who over the years have helped revegetate behaviour from a distance and restore the natural biodiversity of the reserve helping n July 1991, the Okia Reserve was I jointly purchased by the Yellow-eyed by the Yellow-eyed jointly purchased Penguin Trust and the Dunedin City Penguin Trust Council. It is currently managedCouncil. by It is currently a committee comprised of both organizations and representatives organizations and representatives from Te Runanga Otakou and the Te from Department of Conservation. Map courtesy of Antony Hamel both the endangered yellow-eyed penguin and other If the weather is favourable this is a nice place to sit wildlife that live here. and enjoy a view of the sea. There is approximately a Please follow the yellow/black markers until you 400 metre walk (about 5 minutes) south where you will make it down the beach where you will then follow the see another yellow/black marker as well as the regular yellow markers back to the pyramids. The walk will take yellow reserve markers that will lead you back to the Small approximately 2 hours with an optional loop of 30 minutes Pyramid and the end of the track. to the Margaret Hazel Slope, named for a dedicated volunteer. Points of interest will be marked with numbers as Please now follow the yellow markers to the start follows: 10 of the walk. As you exit the beach you approach an area targeted for dune development that has been Small Pyramid (optional): Climb to the top for funded through a Dune Stabilisation programme www.yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz 1 an excellent view of the whole reserve and see the administered by the Dunedin City Council. The Okia information about the volcanic history. The pyramids Committee is planting a range of native plant species were formed during the fi rst eruptive phase of an ancient that would be typical of natural dune (and foredune) Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust volcano which was centered in what is now Otago PO Box 5409 • Dunedin 03 479 0011 [email protected] system. Harbour. They are made of a dark rock called basalt On the way back you might be lucky that is hard and resistant to erosion. In front of the small enough to see a Fernbird (Bowdleria pyramid is a cave. Maori history tells of its use as a shelter punctata, Matatta). Walk in silence and for a wounded warrior. listen for a short whistle/click. These secretive At the base of the pyramid you birds use different individual combinations will fi nd the once major dune of short and long clicks to identify each plant of New Zealand, pikao other and their whereabouts in the dense (pingao), Desmoschoenus spiralis. undergrowth. About the size and colour of Fernbird Also known as Golden sedge, a Sparrow but with a more scruffy long tail, pikao is a native sand-binding they can only fl y a few meters at a time, preferring to walk plant with stiff, curled leaves under or hop through the tops of the low shrubs. Pikao coloured green, yellow or orange. australis (cabbage tree), Notable among these are the Easter orchid Earina Pikao is found only in New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (kanuka), autumnalis which can be seen at the end of March, early and is one of our major native dune Leptospermum scoparium April. builders. Efforts are being made to (manuka), and Solanum re-establish Pikao at several sites laciniatum (poroporo). Watch Turn right and follow the Fire Break. During the within the reserve. out for the stinging Urtica ferox 7 summer the Okia reserve (NZ treetree nettle, ongaonga) - can become very dry. The Wetlands. Damp dune hollows naturally occuring. cut grass you are presently 2 are common around the reserve. Planting efforts here are walking on is maintained In wet spells these can form small enhanced by a Department regularly and designed lakes enjoyed by aquatic birds of Conservation grant to the to protect the penguin Volunteers planting and waders such as paradise ducks YEPT as part of their programmeprogramme to support increasedincreased breeding areas should a and white herons. The wetland you biodiversity on private land. This has allowed us to fi re occur in the commonly see here has not ponded for several years but intensively control pests and keep the plants free from weeds used part of the reserve. the moister environment enables the growth to great effect. With this increased effort we expect the natural of many wetland plant species. This area is biodiversity of plant and animals to return to this area at a much Seventeen breeding dominated by the growth of the giant rush faster rate. Imagine coastal forest here in our lifetime! From the 8 pairs of yellow-eyed Juncus gregifl orus. plantings there is a stunning view of the whole reserve. penguins nested at Okia Watch for small lizards. Trust volunteers have observed the in the 2007/08 season. As Slope Stabilization. The area up the common skink sunning itself on the weed mats. yellow-eyed penguins areare shy Yellow-eyed penguin adult & chick 3 hill is a slip site that is in the process of being birds please do not try to get revegetated to prevent increased slippage in Juncus Natural Regeneration. The Bracken fern which has gregifl orus close to them. Okia Reserve was purchased primarily for this area. The area on the hill to right of the slip 5 increased in abundance since retirement of the land from the protection of yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho). Normally site and beyond the reserve fence line is the grazing, plays an important part in the succession process. It they are out to sea during the day except during nesting largest remaining tract of native forest on the Otago Peninsula. provides shelter for other plants such as naturally occurring fl ax, season. You may hear the birds calling to each other. If Taiaroa Bush is largely made up of broadleaf, fuchsia, kowhai, Coprosmas and broadleaf. you do come across a penguin please do not disturb. mahoe and fl ax. To your left up the hill is a Earlier Planting. This area was planted in 1993/94 Margaret Hazel Slope (optional 30 mins). Follow the 6 large circular geological with ngaios, Hebes, Coprosmas and circles of fl ax in 4 4-wheel drive track up to the area currently being planted feature – a rock order to extend penguin nesting habitats. Not all by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. “rosette”, about 30m survived, succumbing to salt winds, poor sandy soils and Planting at the top of the hill started in 2000. Conditions are in diameter. It has been heavy frosts. slightly damper and more sheltered in this area. It is hoped that formed from radial jointing birds in the adjoining bush will use this newly planted area and of an intrusive pod of lava. Relic Dunes. You may have noticed the seeds in their droppings will further enhance our revegetation Due to the inaccessibility of 9 hummocky nature of the area you have just been efforts. the site to grazing animals walking over. These are relic dunes some of which This area is predominantely planted with Myoporum the “rosette” has retained are several thousand years old. Approach the beach laetum (ngaio), Grisilinia littoralis (broadleaf), Pittosporum some of the now less Rock “rosette” cautiously. There may be NZ sea lions resting on the track. eugenoides and tenuifolium, Sophora microphylla (kowhai), common native plants. Coprosma propinqua, Aristotelia serrata (wineberry), Cordyline .