Puhi Peaks

Puhi Peaks
Shearwater Stream
Town/CityKaikōura District
CountryNew Zealand
Coordinates42°11′24″S 173°46′12″E / 42.18992°S 173.76998°E / -42.18992; 173.76998
OwnerNicky McArthur
Area1,618 ha (4,000 acres)

Puhi Peaks is a high country station in the Kaikōura District of the South Island of New Zealand.[1] The station is located in the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges and includes the highest elevation privately-owned land in New Zealand, with the highest point at 2,438 m (7,999 ft).[2] Road access to the station is through the Puhi Puhi River valley around 20 km (12 mi) north of Kaikōura.[3] The homestead of the station is at an elevation of 610 m (2,000 ft).[4]

The area of the station is 1,618 ha (4,000 acres), but 810 ha (2,000 acres) has been set aside by the owners in perpetuity as the Puhi Peaks Nature Reserve, under covenant to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust.[5][6][7]

History

A former owner of the Puhi Peaks station, Henry Fairweather, was a regular correspondent for the Kaikoura Star in the years between 1929 and 1942, providing reports of monthly rainfall recordings at the station.[8][9]

Hutton's shearwater colony

In the mid 1960's, naturalist and mountaineer Geoff Harrow was searching for the nesting locations of Hutton's shearwater. The birds were known in Kaikōura from the regular occurrences of crash-landing in the town during autumn, but the location of their nesting sites was unknown. The first colony to be discovered was in the Kowhai Valley. However, this colony was remote, and access was particularly difficult. Harrow made enquiries of local residents, attempting to find another colony that was more accessible for the purposes of monitoring and research. One of the responses was from Sam Pilbrow of Puhi Peaks Station, who reported that birds would crash into the lights of the homestead on foggy nights between September and March. After several visits to explore the western area of the station, Harrow discovered a breeding colony in steep bluffs. This is now known as the Shearwater Stream colony.[10]

This colony on the Puhi Peaks Station is one of the only two remaining natural breeding colonies of the endangered Hutton's shearwater.[2][11][12] This breeding colony, along with flyways the Hutton's shearwater use when travelling between the breeding colony and the coast, is within the Ka Whata Tu o Rakihouia/ Kaikōura Important Bird Area (IBA) of 30,800 ha (76,000 acres) designated by BirdLife International.[13]

Ecotourism

A three-day adventure walk through the Puhi Peaks station was established as an ecotourism operation in 2005. Accommodation for the operation was built at Shearwater Lodge, at an elevation of 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[2][7] Nicky McArthur became involved in the adventure walk through the station from 2003, including the construction of Shearwater Lodge. She subsequently became the owner of Puhi Peaks Station and the owner-operator of the Kaikoura Wilderness Walk operation in 2008.[14] Shearwater Lodge sustained significant damage in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.[15]

The Puhi Peaks station participates in the market for carbon credits, through restoration of the native forest on the property.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ Harrow, Geoff (28 March 2005). "Highpoint for climbing duo". The Press. ProQuest 314770406.
  2. ^ a b c Killick, David (20 September 2010). "A natural high". The Press. ProQuest 818699530.
  3. ^ Williamson, Cameron (28 July 2009). "A walk in the peaks". Dominion Post. ProQuest 338357880.
  4. ^ "General News: Snow on Higher Levels". The Press. Vol. LXXVIII, no. 23729. 29 August 1942. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Farm Eco Tourism". Rural Delivery. May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  6. ^ Crick, Caroline (Winter 2011). "Kaikoura Shearwater Lodge". www.aa.co.nz. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b Killick, David (20 December 2010). "Walking the walk in Kaikoura". Stuff. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  8. ^ "Weather Reports". Kaikoura Star. Vol. XLIX, no. 53. 4 July 1929 – via Papers Past.
  9. ^ "Weather Reports". Kaikoura Star. Vol. LXII, no. 10. 5 February 1942 – via Papers Past.
  10. ^ Richard J. Cuthbert (2017). Seabirds beyond the Mountain Crest: the history, natural history and conservation of Hutton’s shearwater. Dunedin: Otago University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-9475226-4-3. Wikidata Q134289872.
  11. ^ Ballance, Alison (21 December 2017). "Good news for Kaikōura's Hutton shearwaters". RNZ. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Hutton's shearwater/Kaikōura tītī". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Important Bird Area factsheet: Ka Whata Tu o Rakihouia/Kaikoura (New Zealand)". BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  14. ^ Dangerfield, Emma (27 January 2010). "Wilderness Walks a winner". Stuff. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Shearwater Lodge". Fox and Associates. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Banking Sector – ASB officially endorsed as carbon zero". LiveNews.co.nz. 18 May 2020. ProQuest 2644473778.
  17. ^ "Health - New Zealand's first carbon zero hospital unveiled". LiveNews.co.nz. 17 November 2021. ProQuest 2644796824.
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