Brimming with hope and anticipation, a group of kiwi-loving volunteers sets off into the Otanewainuku Forest. Their mission: to raid the nest of Whetu, a North Island brown kiwi.
Silence falls over the group of Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust members as Dave Wills slides his arm into the burrow.
Growls and scratching sounds
emerge from beneath the forest floor as the 3-year-old bird fiercely protects the eggs he has spent 61 days incubating.
But if yesterday's snatch and grab raid seems a cruel act, it is actually giving the offspring of Whetu and his female partner Maui their best chance at life by allowing them to hatch and develop in the safety of Rotorua's Kiwi Encounter. In the wild less than 5 per cent of kiwi chicks survive.
"This way they get past the stage where they're vulnerable to stoats," Mr Wills said.
Rummaging around inside the burrow he calls out: "Two eggs".
The news sends a ripple of pride around the circle of volunteers. An egg taken from Whetu in December proved infertile, so getting two eggs late in the breeding season is the best the devoted volunteers could have hoped for.
Carefully Mr Wills pulls from his burrow a frightened Whetu. The captive-bred bird was released with Maui at Otanewainuku in March last year. He is passed to Peter Cosnahan, who wraps the bird, protecting him from the daylight.
Slowly Mr Wills, who also works as a biodiversity ranger for Department of Conservation, eases the first of the precious cargo from the nest, handing it to Dave Edwards, who is careful to ensure it stays perfectly upright.
The second egg, slightly cooler than the first, is passed to Carole Long, before both are loaded into a sponge-filled cooler for transportation.
Three of the group will now personally deliver the eggs to Kiwi Encounter where, all going to plan, they will hatch in to healthy chicks in 20 to 25 days.
"The more developing there is naturally, the more chance there is of them hatching successfully at Kiwi Encounter," said Mr Wills.
Upon arrival the eggs will be scanned to establish if the chicks inside are well, if so, the wait for the Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust's anticipated first babies begins.
