Frequently asked questions

Why do we need open sanctuaries?

Natural, healthy coastal environments are in short supply in New Zealand. In the Rodney area, where Shakespear Regional Park is located, more than 80% of remaining forests are less than 10 hectares in size, and just 1% of the original wetlands remain.
The Shakespear Open Sanctuary includes a pest proof fence which runs coast to coast, enclosing 500 hectares of land at the end of the peninsula.
Pest animals are causing our native animal and plant numbers to decline. By removing them we can reverse this movement and create a pest free retreat. Doing this in a regional park with public access means everyone can witness native species prospering in the wild.

Shakespear Regional Park had 10 species that are considered pests: mice, ship rats, Norway rats, weasels, stoats, ferrets, cats, possums, rabbits and hedgehogs. Given a chance, these species would soon reinvade the area.

Because they are a deadly threat to the native species and plants that remain at Shakespear Regional Park. They are also a threat to Tiritiri Matangi Island species, because many birds journey between the island and Shakespear Regional Park.
Possums and rodents eat the fruit, leaves and new growth of native plants at Shakespear. This reduces the availability of food for native animals. They are also predators of chicks and eggs of many native species.
Mustelids are very aggressive mammalian predators. They feed on native birds, insects and lizards. Mustelids are responsible for the death of 80% of kiwi chicks in the wild.

The Auckland Council was granted resource consent for the pest proof fence in 2009, and the fence was constructed between October 2010 and March 2011.
The Auckland Council was then granted resource consent for the pest animal eradication programme, including the aerial discharge of bait in January 2011.
Pest eradication, which included an aerial application of the toxin brodifacoum, and ground based methods, was carried out in July and August 2011. Three separate aerial applications, a fortnight apart, were completed.
The park was closed to the public for 120 days after the last bait application or until testing had shown the bait had broken down to a degree that met the condition of the resource consent. The park reopened on 1st December 2011.
This closure coincided with the traditional low-use period for day visitors, camping and site bookings.

A 1.7 kilometre pest proof fence has been constructed around a 500 hectare section at the end of the peninsula.
An aerial application of the toxin brodifacoum, along with ground based methods, such as bait traps, was used to eradicate pests from inside the Shakespear Open Sanctuary area.
Ground based pest eradication methods were also used to target pest species in the park’s buffer zone outside the pest-proof fence.

Rodents have very small home ranges – about 10 square metres for mice. An aerial bait drop is the most cost effective solution to combating pest problems because thousands of bait stations would be needed to cover the whole Open Sanctuary area. Installing and servicing such an intensive ground system would be unsustainable and unsafe. Trapping alone generally fails to get rid of all rodents because trap-shy animals often avoid them.

No, the purpose of the Shakespear Open Sanctuary is to enhance visitor experience by restoring coastal lowland landscape and providing a unique opportunity for visitors to experience native plants and animals in a pest free environment.
There are gates along the pest proof fence for the public to enter both on foot and by vehicle.
The Defence Force land will remain off limits to the public.

Imagine being able to camp and walk amongst native kiwi, brown teal, bellbirds and tuatara, and picnic in a puriri and nikau forest alive with bird song
A mainland sanctuary where existing native species can recover in the absence of pest animals but in the presence of human visitors.
Eventually the Auckland Council envisages that a significant section of the park could be restored through natural and active reintroduction, regeneration and revegetation. This will create a representative range of natural communities that would have been present on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula originally. These natural communities will include coastal lowland forest, dunelands, cliff, rocky and sandy shore communities, and saline and freshwater wetlands.

The Defence Force land at Army bay is part of the wildlife sanctuary; however, the primary use of this land is for defence purposes. As such, access to this area remains strictly off limits to the public. The New Zealand Defence Force will continue with routine pest control and will co-ordinate these efforts with the Auckland Council to ensure efficiency.

Community Partnership