The name “mudlark” has two well-known meanings: the bird, or people who scavenge on river banks.
In Waiuku, it is the name of a group of people fighting to free waterways.
Ian Scobie started The Mudlarks in 2005 when he wanted to find a way to kayak to the harbour.
“The bug set in and I just couldn’t stop,” he said.
He recruited some friends and now, twenty years on, they remain at war with the mangrove bushes they say are strangling the waterways.
“They take over a nice sandy area and turn it into mud. Since the mangroves have moved in, a lot of that area has been lost.”
Scobie said the biggest problem they are facing might not be the mangroves but manpower.
“It’s getting younger generations to come up through the ranks and give us a hand,” he said.
Watch Waiuku locals battle the mangroves in the video above.
