Birds and plants returning to West Coast, tour operators say, as predators eliminated

West Coast tourism operators say they're seeing birds and plants they did not know lived in the area since predators were cleared.

Predator Free South Westland aimed to eliminate every possum, rat and stoat from 100,000 hectares that covered from the Southern Alps to the sea.

They were more than 90 percent of the way there.

A short drive from Whataroa is the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, the country's only kōtuku breeding ground.

White Heron Sanctuary Tours were the only tour company allowed to visit, taking visitors through the rainforest to a special hide-out.

Managing director Dion Arnold said parts of the forest used to look like a lawn mower had been through.

It was a different picture since Predator Free South Westland's mahi ramped up.

"We're seeing plants and birdlife come back into the reserve that we didn't know even was around the area here," he said.

"We're seeing a lot of filmy ferns, liverworts, a lot of regenerating plants - hen and chicken fern and all sorts things coming up that just never had the chance before because some of those pests were nibbling them off."

Kākāriki were one of the species he noticed flourishing as predator numbers declined.

"I've lived here all my life so we've been doing these tours a long time. We've never heard kākāriki in this forest the whole time we've operated here. But the last three years, we've started to hear that more a little bit every year."

The family-run business had been trapping in the area for roughly 40 years.

"Getting rid them completely from the area, we've gone to zero now. We can go months and not have a catch in any of our traps out around here. It's fantastic," Arnold said.

"All around us, we're hearing tūī and bellbird, grey warblers, the fantails and tomtits are around. To see the number of those birds about compared to just seeing one or two, hearing a few in the distance to having flocks of 30 or 40 of them in the trees above us is just incredible, and that's the difference of getting to zero pests in an area."

Predator free was a massive opportunity, he said.

"It's game-changing. The big difference here is this is a model that we hope to be able to, in the future, see rolled out in other parts of the country so for a start, domestic tourism is on the up in this area because people are interested to come and have a look at what could happen in their area," he said.

Across Lake Mapourika, in the South Ōkārito Forest, Franz Josef Wilderness Tours has a track through the rowi kiwi sanctuary.

Director Dale Burrows said they started getting involved in trapping not long after developing the track.

"I was walking along the track one day and I noticed an eggshell next to a bit of a hole going underneath a giant rimu tree and I thought 'there's got to be something going on there'," he said.

"So I took a trap out and set that and in the first month, we got six stoats out of one trap."

Walking past one of the box traps, he said they now used it for education and to tell the predator free story.

It was vital to get the message out so people understood why the work was needed, the difference it was making and what they were setting out to achieve, he said.

"We're seeing seeds on the floor that have always been chewed and nibbled, and they're not. So all of a sudden we're getting plants come through," Burrows said.

"We're seeing kiekie flower in the last few years and I've never kiekie flower before because they've been eaten by rats and by possums.

"We're starting to see the lead on effects of, yep, the birds are coming back. But actually, the forest itself is starting to regenerate."

Okarito Kayaks co-director Barry Hughes said Ōkārito had always been a stronghold for biodiversity but predators were taking a toll before elimination kicked off.

He used to see or hear kākāriki about once every six months, now that was happening nearly very time they went for a paddle or walked through the forest.

"Whether it's the wood pigeon sat up in the tree there. Whether it's literally tripping over fernbirds. We go to wash our lifejackets in the bath behind the kayak shop and this fernbird will dart out from under the bath while we're working," he said.

Ōkārito had been home to marauding bands of kea since predator free, he said.

"We had six juveniles living here for six months a couple of years ago who terrorised the village and we've had to learn to adapt to them. Certainly there are a few chimney boots and vehicles that had to be protected a little bit."

But Hughes said he would choose the mischievous keas and dodging more bird poo over predators any day.

South Westland had an opportunity to put a flag in the sand and lay claim to having the best natural values in the country, he said.

"It's a really bold statement, but I think it's one that we can work towards as a vision for this area down here to both be really proud of what we have, but also for that to be able to support our communities economically and socially."

DOC's South Westland operations manager Wayne Costello said the goal of predator free had benefits beyond the forest and wildlife.

"As glaciers recede and it's getting harder for people to come and see those things, diversifying the opportunities for people when they come to glacier country or South Westland, and coming and having an experience with nature that you won't have anywhere else in New Zealand because of the abundance of it and the way in which it's protected is going to be, I guess, an important part of our future here."

As the word spread, operators said getting to predator free was an opportunity not just for conservation, but for the local economy as well.

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