Department of Conservation Pipiriki ranger Shane Woolley retires after 26 years

Retiring Pipiriki ranger Shane Woolley (centre front) with the Department of Conservation team at the Pouri Hut site in Whanganui National Park. Photo / DoC

A Department of Conservation ranger’s six-month contract has come to an end - 26 years and plenty of hard work and laughter later.

Shane Woolley, who will retire as Pipiriki ranger at the end of May, made his last helicopter mission into the Matemateāonga Range to clean up the old Pouri Hut site in Whanganui National Park.

The hut was destroyed by fire on December 11.

“We had a good team in there,” Woolley said.

“We removed all the burnt iron from the old hut, cleaned up a few trees for safety – it’s all clean and level now, like there was never a hut. We also brought in a water collector so visitors don’t get caught out.

“The three days out there were all hard work and laughter, which is what my time at DoC has been about.”

His initial job with DoC in Pipiriki was meant to last six months.

“Then 26 years later… The place grabs a hold of you; it’s hard to get away from the river. And there’s nothing like this team, you can’t beat these funny, cheeky buggers."

Woolley said it had been “an amazing time”, not only on the home front.

“Working with DoC gave me the opportunity to deploy internationally to fight fires in Canada and Australia several times in the last 10 years or so. Their fires are huge and angry; I will never forget those life-changing experiences.

“But we all gotta move on sometime, and I’ve got mokos to spoil. I’m definitely going to miss it all.”

Fire and Emergency NZ could not determine the cause of the Pouri Hut fire. Wood burners and cooking equipment were ruled out.

Visitors to the Matemateonga Track should bring their own tent if they plan to stay overnight between Oamari and Ngapurua Huts, DoC said.

DoC Whanganui is working on options for a replacement hut.