On the trail of the bronze Kiwi

Okay, so this isn't a tramp or long-distance walk.  In fact, even though it involves some walking, you could have it done in less than an hour (it took me a little longer than an hour, and you will read why shortly).

"The Whakatāne Kiwi Trust is a charitable trust established to support the Whakatāne Kiwi Project.  The Trust oversees management of kiwi in the Whakatāne kiwi project area, helps coordinate pest control, and promotes kiwi through advocacy, education, and public events." (taken from the brochure mentioned below).

The Whakatāne Kiwi Trust commissioned an artist, by the name of Liz Grant, to create 10 bronze statues of kiwi.  These kiwi statues are spread out along both the streets of Whakatāne and part of the riverside walk.  The search begins at the library, where you can obtain a free brochure that not only talks about this initiative, gives details about each statue and that statue's location, but also provides a little handy map (which I should have paid more attention to).

I had visited the library about the brochure a couple of months back but, other than spying the odd kiwi, I left it until today to actually partake in the hunt.  I guess this was created with youngsters in mind, giving them something to do as their parents take them for a walk out toward the Whakatāne river heads (and to take their mind off the fact they are actually going for a walk!).

The first kiwi is situated right outside the library (to the left of the door as you enter), which gives a slightly false sense of "oh, this is going to be so easy."  Its name is Manaia.  Some of the bronze kiwi have a Māori name.  In English, Manaia means beautiful.  The statute is of a newly born kiwi chick and represents the actual first chick born after the Whakatāne Kiwi Project started.

Less than 50 metres away is the next kiwi.  In fact, before I knew about these statues, this was the first I encountered (glimpsed from the corner of my eye as I was walking quickly), and I truly thought (for a very brief split second) that a live bird was hiding near a bench in broad daylight in downtown Whakatāne.  This kiwi is Two Toes, named after an actual bird who had lost a toe to a possum trap.

Surrounded by construction fencing on this particular day, I had to use the digital zoom on my phone camera from a distance to capture this

Then I couldn't find the third kiwi (it was actually the last one I found on today's adventure).  In fact, when I first got the brochure I did attempt in finding this one (as the first two happened to be right along the direction I was walking anyway), but I overthought it and was looking on the other side of the Strand, especially because the clue mentioned the big rock.  We'll come back to number three at the end of the story.

I had seen the fourth kiwi the last time I was in Whakatāne, while I was just walking along the street.  This one is Miro.  The real-life Miro was brought to Whakatāne from the Omataroa Kiwi Project.

I hunted for the fifth kiwi for several minutes, before returning to where I first entered the area and saw it had been just to my right - so much for my sharp perception.  This one is Big Al, with a bronze transmitter on his bronze leg.

Just after Big Al the hunt joins the riverside walk (which follows the river in both directions from this point).  If you head east (the direction the hunt takes you in) you can walk out to the river head.  If you head west, you can wander alongside the river through the township of Whakatāne, past a miniature train (that you can sit on) and through a few parks.

Kiwi number six is in plain view, and very likely the hardest one to miss.  This one is Ōhope, the real kiwi is named after the place near which he lives.

Having found five of the six (so far) kiwi statues, I was full of confidence and thought I could easily find the next four... well, at least three of the four... right?  The booklet said that kiwi number seven was away from the river walk and next to the road named Muriwai.  Okay, I thought, there must be a side-street that angles off the main road out to the river-head, and that side-street is named Muriwai (boy am I dumb).  Needless to say, I crossed over to the side where all of the side-streets headed off, and walked along, admiring what looked like a marae crossed with a school (there was a meeting house, but also what I though were modern-looking prefabs - prefab is the NZ word for what would be called a portable in Canada, referring to a classroom separated from the school building itself).  After passing this, and crossing back to the river side of the road, I keep going, looking and searching for this elusive kiwi.  When I reached the last side-street I angled over, across an expanse of grass toward the river walk, giving up on finding number seven (for now).  In looking for number seven I had been away from the river walk for a fair distance, but...

Number eight was said to be near some steps, and I looked along the path in both directions, but all I could see was flat concrete going in both directions.  I was so intent on looking in the distance for some steps that I almost did not notice the waka on a trailer in a shelter.  And beyond that, the path veered away from the river and back toward the road, and my attention was caught by a cave across the other side.  I detoured for a look and photo and to read the information sign.

Back on the hunt for kiwi, I wandered past the marina car park to where the path rejoined the river.  I still had not found number seven, and I still saw nothing that resembled steps for number eight, although there was a steep slip for taking boats down to the water.  Referring to the brochure, I read ahead, to see what the clues for numbers nine and ten were.  Nine was located near the waka.  What!  I had passed a waka some time back.  Had I been so focused on looking for steps for a statue that I had likely passed by, that I missed a kiwi near the canoe?  I sighed, and thought I would now not only have to find kiwi number nine on the return journey, but obviously eight as well.

Having (kind of) learnt my lesson, I read about number 10, which I expected to be at the end of the road, right out at the rivermouth.  Ummmm... no.  The clue said playground.  As I read that, I realised I was pretty much standing beside the playground, or at least the start of it.  I wandered past the playground, but kept an eagle (huh?  They're kiwi, aren't they) eye out for the last statue.  This one was Te Hau (The Wind) who was the very first project bird who fathered many chicks.

I had reached the end of the search, and could look out over the view of the mouth of the river and Whale Island, but I had only found 6 of the 10 kiwi.

Right, the return journey, and the elusive four.

With more information than I had previously (now having had read most of the information in the brochure that gave clues to the bronze statue locations), I was determined to find the kiwi I had not found.  Number nine's clue was waka (or canoe), so I beat a hasty retreat back to the aforementioned place and was looking for a cleverly disguised kiwi that had foiled my search earlier.  As I surmised, this particular sneaky fellow was positioned in the most unlikely of places - right beside the path.  In my defence, it was situated in a shadow of a rock and, when I was here on the walk out, my mind was on searching for some steps.  This was Pea (which in English means pea - I would never have guessed), the first project chick to both hatch and grow up in the wild.

Now for number eight.  Based on my new theory that the statues were either on, or right beside, the path, I chose to stick to the path.  That idea quickly brought about good fortune, as I found the steps.  They were on the river side of the path and somewhat hidden by some shrubs.  This one, Kaputerangi, situated just at the top of said stairs, is the 100th chick in the Whakatāne Kiwi Project.

Number seven.  What can I say about number seven?  That this one took me the longest to find, spending the most time searching both on the outward search and the return journey?  And that the clue said it was near the marae (hang on, didn't I see what looked like a marae earlier?), and next to a road named Muriwai.  I hurried on back, short-cutting through a car park on the opposite side of the road from the marae, but with a concrete wall between me and the road.  I was distracted by some workers having a smoke, typically upwind of me (always with the smokers upwind!).  I glanced over the wall a few times, to see if I could spot this kiwi, but had to veer around a large truck parked alongside it.  I continued on, past the marae, until I could get through a gap in the wall.  I looked back along the road, but saw nothing.  I crossed the road to double-check the name of the side-street going up beside the marae.  It wasn't Muriwai.  Then I had a brainwave!  Maybe, just maybe, Muriwai wasn't a side-street, but the actual road that the river walk followed!  Okay, I double-checked the little map (without my reading glasses, I could not make out the tiny print showing the street names - but now that I'm home I see that it does indeed call this street Muriwai) and I saw that the trail dotted on the map ran right along the road at this point, but staying on the river side.  I had crossed to the far side, so I crossed back, walked along the road slowly back opposite the marae, and just as I was almost opposite, I passed a tree which had been obscuring Waewae (Feet, in English), one of the founding female birds of the project.

That only left number four, who I almost found only by accident.  The brochure stated that this statue is located at Wharaurangi (there is no English translation, so I am still at a loss as to where, or what, Wharaurangi is).  I was back in town, walking along The Strand, just casting about, looking a bit further beyond than the footpath itself, when I finally saw the final missing kiwi. This is Ahi, which also has no English translation (that I can determine), a kiwi who loved to walk, much farther than you will during this adventure.