Arthur’s Pass National Park

It’s a fun and interactive way to get to know this special place …

You’re invited to become an...

KIWI RANGER!™

Nau mai, haere mai ki te Tarahaka o Kaimatau - welcome to Arthur’s Pass National Park

Let’s Get Started!

• Care about Arthur’s Pass National Park• Care about plants, animals and conservation• Think this place special and want to know more

Your Name

Where you live

Other parks and sanctuaries you’ve visited

KIWI RANGERS are people who…™

When you are done take your KIWI RANGER Booklet to the Arthur’s Pass

Visitor Centre, where a ranger will check it and award

your badge!

™

If you are aged 6 and under do three activities If you are aged 7 to 9 do five activitiesIf you are aged 10 to 110 do seven activities

To become an Arthur’s Pass National Park KIWI RANGER...™

But don’t stop there – why not do them all!

• Care about Arthur’s Pass National Park• Care about plants, animals and conservation• Think this place special and want to know more

KIWI RANGERS are people who…

If you are aged 6 and under do three activities If you are aged 7 to 9 do five activitiesIf you are aged 10 to 110 do seven activities

Go for a walk in Arthur’s Pass National Park - it’s a great way to really get to know the place!

Getting out There!

Some of the best short walks around Arthur’s Pass Village include:

WHILE YOU ARE WALKING...you can do the ‘Fill up your senses’ activities on the next two pages. Also if you decide to do a

longer hike look at Activity 6 called ‘Taking a hike’

Which track did you walk?

What birds and insects did you see or hear along the way?

What did you enjoy most about your walk?

Which other walks did you do at Arthur’s Pass National Park?

Activity 1

Millennium WalkArthur’s Pass Historic WalkDevils Punchbowl Walking TrackArthur’s Pass Walking TrackBealey Valley TrackDobson Nature Walk

Lake Misery TrackTemple Basin TrackOtira Valley TrackCockayne Nature WalkOld Coach Road Walk

Get up close and personal with nature...

While walking in the forest find yourself a patch of moss. Take off your shoes and socks and ever so gently feel the moss with your toes. Close your eyes for at least a minute. Describe the feeling. What does it remind you of? Write or draw your thoughts below! Remember the forest floor is fragile so tread carefully….

Fill up your Senses!Activity 2

Walk to the Devils Punchbowl Falls. When you reach the viewing platform choose a spot where the spray is swirling. Close your eyes for a minute or two. What do you hear, taste and smell? How does it make you feel? Write or draw your thoughts below.

Fill up your senses some more!Activity 3

The Arthur’s Pass valley is home to the great-spotted kiwi. Some evenings you might even hear them calling! But they’re also under threat from a number of predators.

DIG DEEPER! Check out the trap used to catch stoats. See if you can understand how it works… Also, when

you get home try pecking around the garden like a kiwi. To do this get a 40cm stick to work as your beak,

and use it to investigate the undergrowth!

1. What is the Maori name for the great spotted kiwi?

2. Which fingers in your hand are smaller than a kiwi’s middle toe?

3. What are three introduced animals that kill kiwi?

4. Tracking tunnels show which pests have been travelling through the forest. Draw and name the tracks of one of the pests the rangers are looking for.

5. Ask a ranger at the information desk to play the sound of a kiwi. What’s the difference between the male and female call?

Clever Kiwi!

Pick up the great free pamphlet on kiwi conservation at the Visitor Centre and while you’re there, check out the kiwi display - you’ll be able to discover:

Activity 4

Awesome Kea!

DON’T FORGET! By picking up any rubbish in the park you could be saving the life

of a kea. Thanks!

• What sound does a kea make?

• Can you imitate one?

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

In New Zealand we say A FED KEA IS A DEAD KEA. What are three reasons why people should never feed keas?

Activity 5

Kea are made for the mountains and you will only find them in the Southern Alps – Ka Tiritiri o te Moana. You can pick up the free kea fact sheet and look at the displays in the Visitor Centre to find out more. Write down three reasons why you think kea are amazing…

In early times Maori crossed the mountain passes in footwear made out of harakeke (flax). You can see some great examples of this at Christchurch’s Canterbury Museum. Later on, mountaineers traversed the glaciers using ice axes and crampons like the ones on display at the visitor centre.

When you go on a long day hike, what are the things you should take with you and what should you do? Circle your choices from the list below!

TO FIND OUT MORE… If you’re planning on an overnight trip, be sure to get the free Mountain Safety Council brochure called Going Bush from the Visitor Centre. In it you’ll find a detailed checklist of what to

take and do in the outdoors.

Taking a Hike!Activity 6

Things to do:

Things to take:

pillowbeach towel

suitcase

sunscreenmap

beach ball

jeanscompanions

best-looking clothes

stay togetherset out late

tell someone where you are goingand when you’ll be back

keep an eye on the weather

don’t tell people where you’re going

wear cotton

stay on the track

keep warmsplit upget cold

leave the track

run out of food

thermals

parka

water

food hat iPod

Rain Didymo Cleaning Station

Find & Draw Your Own!

Bellbird / Korimako

Greenstone Adze Spider Web

DOC Sign

Track Marker

Sun

Waterfall

DOC RangerTrain

During your time at Arthur’s Pass National Park look out for these plants, animals, places and things. Cross each off the chart when you see or hear them. Complete at least one row, but why not try for them all!

Scavenger HuntActivity 7

Kea

Jacks Hut

Matagouri

Beech Tree

Ice Axe

Dobson Monument

Braided River

Sandfly

Word Search!Activity 8

See how many of the following plants and birds you can find. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for words that are spelt in reverse and are on the diagonal!

During your walks, keep a look out for two plants you think are fascinating, and sketch them.

My Favourite Plants!

>> How does the shape help it to survive in this environment (think about the number of branches, size of leaves, ways it protects itself)?

>> How do you think it spreads itself?

>> What other plants live near it or even on it?

WANT TO KNOW MORE? Get the Dobson Nature Walk booklet from the Visitor Centre to find out more about

the local ecology around the pass itself.

Also see if you can find out:>> Its Maori and English name?

>> What birds feed from it?

Plant One:

Plant Two:

Activity 9

Activity 10

The route over Arthur’s Pass or Te Tarahaka o Kaimatau has changed over the years. To begin with the valleys were a fast east-west route for early Maori to the pounamu (greenstone) lands of the West Coast. Later, explorers, surveyors and gold diggers made their way over. In time the coach road and railway line were built.

The Stage Coach!

2. When did the first coach travel over Arthur’s Pass?

3. The road was completed in less than a year. Why the rush?

4. Look for the stage coach and imagine you were travelling on this coach to the West Coast … How would the experience of travelling by stage coach be different to how you have travelled here today?

ALSO! Check out the movie that plays in the Stage Coach

Room and find out more about the history of Arthur’s Pass and the building of the coach road. You could also walk the Old Coach Road at Greyneys Shelter

(6 kms south of the village)

Go to the Visitor Centre and see if you can find out:1. Who was Arthur’s Pass named after and why?

Activity 11

Rangers do lots of things, from radio-tracking rare birds, weed busting, trapping pests, looking after huts and tracks, and answering everyone’s questions! What questions do you have about their work? Write them down and when you get the chance, ask a ranger for their answer!

Quick Facts

Ranger Interview!

Q1

Q2

A1

A2

>> There are 279 kms of track & route in Arthur’s Pass National ParkThis includes 12 short walks and 39 tramping routes.>> There are 27 huts & bivouacs in Arthur’s Pass National Park.>> Each year more than 200,000 people come to Arthur’s Pass National Park.>>The park was formed in 1929 and is over 114,000 hectares in size.>> On average Arthur’s Pass Village gets 4000mm of rain every year - thats 4 metres of rain!!!

Activity 12

We hope you’ve learnt some exciting things about Arthur’s Pass National Park... and that you have found out more about nature and conservation, and why it’s so important.

Becoming a KIWI RANGER!

To see what other Kiwi Rangers have said check out their ideas at the Visitor Centre. When you are given your badge you’ll be asked to add yours there as well...

KIWI RANGER™ has been jointly developed by Mick Abbott and Carli Richter. Thanks to… Annabelle, Chris, Hamish, Joel, Guy and everyone at the Department of Conservation, Arthur’s Pass National Park for all your great ideas and enthusiasm … to Joel Bretherton and Guy Ryan for your great design work … and to the University of Otago and the Otago Institute of Design for all your help and support. Queries and comments? email carlimick@orcon.net.nz

© 2015 Department of Conservation

It’s now time to return to the Visitor Centre to get your certificate signed and be given your KIWI RANGER badge.

Just before doing this we’d like you to think about something you’ll do when you get home that’s good for nature and the environment.

Fill in what you’ll do here:

THANKS!

Visit www.kiwiranger.org.nz for more details about the programme

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Become a KIWI RANGER and really get to know these special places!

To find out about our newest places, and also download activities visit www.kiwiranger.org.nz

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ratu

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ons!

KIW

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