Moerangi track, Whirinaki

In September, a friend and I decided to go on a trip to Whirinaki in the central north Island. The track is called the Moerangi loop and is popular with mountain bikers. It goes past three huts, Moerangi hut, Rogers hut and Skips hut. Whirinaki is known for its huge, ancient podocarp trees. Because many of them are so tall, they are also safe habitats for rare birds like Kaka and kakariki. 

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Moerangi hut.

Skips hut.

Whio / Blue Duck.

One of the highlights on the trip were the frequent sightings of Whio/Blue duck. We saw nine of them in total. They have a haunting, whistling call, and do tend to blend in quite well with their grey / blue surroundings. They like to live in pristine, fast running water, which makes Whirinaki an ideal habitat for them. 

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