The Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill passed its third and final reading on Tuesday 7 October and will soon become law. We are still finding it hard to believe. It marks the culmination of enormous effort made by so many…
The Noises hold a very special interest for seabird lovers. Being home to at least 10 seabird species, it holds the impressive title of most diverse seabird collection in the inner Hauraki Gulf. This small chain of islands is pest…
Kia ora koutou! It has been rather a long time between newsletters, so we thought we’d go into a bit more detail about goings on at ngā motu over the last wee while, because in between extreme weather events, ecological…
There’s increasing recognition of the kina barren problem in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi and the loss of rimurimu (kelp) forests, which is so important, given that these deforested reefs out of sight and mind for…
The Noises has long been a popular fishing spot for Aucklanders and I first ventured there as a teenager in the early 1990s. Mum and dad helped me buy my first boat when I was still at school – a…
The wētāpunga (Deinacrida heterancatha) is the largest insect in New Zealand. A nocturnal, tree-dwelling creature of the forest, it is a taonga and a striking representative of New Zealand’s spectacular and often bizarre insect fauna. Once distributed across the upper…
One of the neat things about The Noises Marine Restoration Project is that we’re rich in observations and science. Marine biologists, ornithologists, archeologists, and more. It’s been over a year since the Government’s Response Strategy to Sea Change Tai Timu…
Normally so vibrant – I’m drawn to their brilliant colours and varied forms, beautiful underwater beacons of light. If you look closely, you’ll likely find little marine wonders living amongst them. Four years ago, after two successive storms, the sponges…
The archaeological excavations on Ōtata Island in 2020 and 2021 brought back over half a tonne of material to the Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira and additional help was required to sort through the contents. This is where we come…
Shaun Lee is a designer, illustrator, blogger and photographer who regularly visits The Noises. Passionate about conservation, Shaun loves to take pictures of the natural world - on land and sea - with a particular focus on the little things…