In the depths of South Westland, nature is putting on quite a show – with the rātā in full bloom.
The Predator Free South Westland Project has been working to eradicate possums, rats, and stoats from over 100,000 hectares in the area, and flew a cameraman in to capture the flowering at its height.
Photographer Jason Blair, who took the footage, said it was “incredible”.
“It blew me away and caught me almost off guard … it was really dense flowering and really dense colour, super vibrant.”
The flowers were a bit of an enigma, waiting up to seven year before blooming again.
Blair said he has never seen anything like it.
“This year is pretty special for whatever reason and, over 20 years living on the coast, I’ve seen a few.”
He was flown in to capture the rātā canopy in evening and morning light, with the dawn chorus a bonus in the footage.
“The bird song was deafening. We were quite close to the river so the loud rushing of the rapids was under it all, but over that was the birdsong was amazing, and the bright red rātā flower added to it another level of special.”
Courtney Hamblin from the Predator Free South Westland Project agreed, “it’s such a sight to see”.
“It really is like the West Coast forest rolling out the red carpet.”
Predator Free South Westland has been working in the area since 2018, the last time the rātā were in full flower.
“The fact we’re able to protect those trees so that they can continue to be that full to enjoy going forward is really special.”
About 107,000 hectares in South Westland was now deemed to be 85% predator free, with the goal of complete eradication by the middle of the year.
“We know that rātā is particularly vulnerable to possum browse and, within three years, intense possum browse can kill mature trees so it’s really cool to see that and hopefully our work is going to maintain that going forward.”
