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Meet Rauhina
Kia ora koutou. Ko wai ahau? Ko Hikaroroa te mauka, ko Waikouaiti te awa, ko Āraiteuru te waka, ko Āraiteuru te tai, ko Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha kā iwi.
Ko Rauhina Scott-Fyfe ahau.
Kia ora, my name is Rauhina. I work in Ōtepoti Dunedin at the Hocken Library as the Māori Archivist, which means that I work with old manuscripts and papers that people have written way back when and also still are writing today. Something I love about my job is that I get to see writing and records of my tīpuna, which is pretty incredible really. And it gives me a real sense of the history of this place. I think it's a really good job for me because I have always loved reading. I've loved writing. I've loved learning new things. And kind of being in this environment has really suited me. So it was never something that I thought of when I was growing up, but I wish more people thought about doing this kind of mahi. Kia ora.
Meet Jim – Coastal Biodiversity Ranger
Ko Hikurangi te mauka o te rohe o Ngāpuhi. Whananāki te wai tai o te rohe o Ngāti Wai. Ko Jim Fyfe taku ingoa.
I'm a coastal ranger down here in coastal Otago district. A job that I've been doing for the last 25 years or so. So I grew up in the far north and came to the far south. And it wasn't long after I started working in coastal conservation that sea lions also, sort of, came back to mainland New Zealand. So my journey has been a journey with the sea lions here in coastal Otago, which is fantastic.
I initially got my love of the coastline up in Northland. Such a lovely coast on the east coast of the far north. And I grew up at the beach, diving and snorkelling, and just really loving the biodiversity and the life that you could see at the coast. So I followed that passion and studied zoology down here at Otago. And pretty much haven't left since, except for holidays.
Meet Robyn
Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai. Ko Mauka Atua te mauka, ko Taieri te awa, ko Moturātā te motu, ko Tākitimu te waka.
Kei Taieri Mouth ahau. Ko Robyn Ashton taku ikoa.
Welcome to Taieri Mouth. My name is Robyn Ashton. My mountain is Mauka Atua, which is up over here. My river is Taieri, which is here. My island is Moturātā. And my waka was the Tākitimu. And I live here in Taieri Mouth. I’ve lived here for six generations, my whānau. And we’re kaitiaki of this area, the members of Moturātā Taieri whānau. So we get to look after the beautiful island of Moturātā. We get to run trapping projects up the Taieri River gorge. And we have a beautiful rātā dominated podocarp forest down the coast that we trap predators in as well. So yeah, welcome to my world and I hope you enjoy a kōrero about the pakake, or the sea lions. Nau mai, haere mai.
Meet Rachel
Tēnei te ruru te koukou nei, kīhai māwhitiwhiti, kīhai māharahara. Tēnei te ruru e koukou nei, terekou.
Ko Pukekura te mauka, ko Ōtākou te awa, ko Ōtākou te marae, ko Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha hoki ōku iwi. He uri ahau nō kā hapū o Kāi Te Pahi, Kāti Taoka, Kāi Te Ruahikihiki. He uri ahau nō te whānau o Wetere Te Kahu.
Ko Rachel Wesley taku ingoa. E rere ana aku mihi ki a koutou.
So kia ora, I am Rachel Wesley. I'm from the hapū of Kāi Te Pahi, Kāti Taoka and Kāi Te Ruahikihiki, Kāi Tahu hapū that hold mana whenua over Ōtākou and our takiwā over the Otago Peninsula.
So I'm an archaeologist and I have had a long association with sea lions through my whānau, where we have resided for generations at Ōtākou on the Otago Peninsula. I have been drawn to sea lions just from them being a part of the background growing up; riding horses around them, farm work around them, and just generally spending time out in the beaches with them.
As I trained to be an archaeologist and ended up working in museums, and discovered the huge use that our tūpuna had of sea lions. It made me more interested around how we look after and interact and manage them nowadays, particularly with the numbers of breeding females that have been exploding on the peninsula and elsewhere over recent decades. Kia ora.
Meet Koreana
Ko Te Atua-o-Taiehu te mauka, ko Te Tai o Ōtākou te awa, ko Ōtākou te marae, ko Koreana Wesley-Evans tōku ikoa.
I'm really interested in restoration and conservation. That's what I'm working on at the moment in our Sinclair Wetlands. But I've always had a passion for pakake. Growing up on this beach, they've always been around. Our whānau have always seen them. And I have been tagging sea lion pups with Jim Fyfe for a couple of years now. And I'm on my way down to the Auckland Islands in January to tag some more sea lion pups.
I really enjoy seeing how much the population has grown since I was a kid. Yeah, we were always wary when we were on the beach, just trying not to walk on them. But yeah, I've definitely noticed them growing here and the other beaches on the peninsula. They’re such a special taonga species, that yeah, it's so important.
Meet Mike
Kia ora tātou. My name is Mike Neil and I'm here with the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust. Now, I love sea lions. I first met a sea lion about 25 years ago at Allans Beach on the Otago Peninsula. It reared up in front of me and gave me a bit of a fright, but I just backed off quietly, and then observed it from a distance, and I've loved them ever since. It was a huge male, and I'm always impressed when I see them.
Now the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, we're here to make sure that New Zealand sea lions prosper on our beaches and in our oceans. We work with anyone possible, especially the Department of Conservation, to make sure that the sea lions are protected, know about them, know what to do around them, and how to protect their habitat. So, anything to do with sea lions, I love! Anyone who loves sea lions, I want to know! And yeah, jump on board and learn about sea lions, and learn what you can do yourself to make sure they become the taonga species that they should be.
Meet Korako
Kia ora koutou. Ko Korako Edwards tōku ikoa. Ko Hikaroroa te mauka tupuna, ko Waikouaiti te awa, ko Tākitimu te waka, ko Te Tai-o-Āraiteuru te moana.
So hello everyone. My name is Korako. I was born and raised here in Dunedin. I work as a kaiārahi taiao or an environmental advisor for Aukaha – a consultancy who do environmental work in Dunedin, alongside local mana whenua or the local indigenous people of the Otago region.
How I got into my work – really just, it began with an interest in the environment and being outdoors. I always really enjoyed being near rivers and the ocean and exploring forests and things around Otago, and Dunedin especially. Probably my interest in science was really stimulated by a science extension programme that I did. It was based out of Ōtākou marae on the Otago Peninsula. It was called ‘Te rakatahi o te moana’.So that was a chance for me to sort of learn a little bit more about the ocean. But really, it really enlightened my interest in science and the environment I suppose.
So one of the things I really enjoy about my work that I do is being able to be outdoors, just like I was when I was young. But also getting paid to do that and getting to be alongside whānau and mana whenua, who are really passionate about the places where they live.
Meet Suzi
Kia ora. Ko Hikaroroa te mauka, ko Waikouaiti te awa, ko Āraiteuru te moana, ko Āraiteuru te waka, ko Puketeraki te marae, ko Suzi Flack taku ingoa.
I have lived here for 30 years; this is where I whakapapa to. And I have a role here as tangata tiaki, and that is looking after our animals, our mammals, our fish, our plants, and enhancing our mahika kai. Part of that is interacting with some of the wildlife we see here and I love doing it. I love engaging with all the animals that we come across and the manu. And one of those sea mammals is the pakake.
Meet Georgia-Rae
Kia ora. Ko Hikaroroa te mauka, ko Waikouaiti te awa, ko Āraiteuru te moana.
Kia ora, my name is Georgia-Rae Flack. I grew up here in Karitāne. And I spend a lot of time in and on the water here, whether it's paddling, sailing, diving, trying to surf. I spend a lot of my days here.
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