Then, in 1992, Adele heard that kiwi were in trouble.  The Kiwi Recovery Programme (now Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery) was in town, surveying the Coromandel Peninsula to determine where kiwi still lived, the threats they faced and possible solutions. 

Adele was one of those who responded to the publicity about the kiwi’s plight.  The thought that these birds could become extinct shocked her so much, she became a volunteer surveyor.

Her job was to negotiate with local people to get access onto their land so that kiwi calls could be surveyed.  “I became a contact point for information about dead and injured kiwi, kiwi sightings and what people had heard.”

Because so many of the Coromandel’s kiwi were on privately owned land, Sid Marsh, the contractor for the Kiwi Recovery Programme, recommended a "kiwi advocate" be appointed – someone to lobby for the birds’ protection.   Adele liked the idea, and honed her skills toward that goal so well that, in late 1995 when the Department of Conservation’s funding bid was successful, she was appointed as the Coromandel "Kiwi Lady".  “My life changed irreversibly,” she says.

Adele says she never really chose to work with kiwi – “They chose me... it seemed like destiny.  I already had a lot of the skills and background needed, and people used to call me  "Kiwi" when I worked overseas in the ski industry.”  

Initially the job was about raising the profile of kiwi locally - where they are to be found and the problems they faced.   “We wanted to give people ownership of the birds, and of what they were up against.”

Today her job as Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery’s Coromandel Kiwi Advocate is focused on closely supporting existing kiwi projects to be successful long-term, and to further strengthen the links between DOC, the community and the work of Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery.   This includes another key project - developing a training programme for dogs so they will avoid kiwi.  The initiative was conceived, laid and hatched by the Coromandel kiwi team, and Adele says it is rapidly racing towards fledging – “…always a scary and exciting time!”

As well as working with an Auckland University scientist who is helping assess and fine-tune the method, Adele is organising training sessions for local dogs and their owners, helping other areas develop programmes, and working towards a nationally accepted Standard Operating Procedure. 

When she needs a break from the intensity of saving kiwi, Adele gets her hands dirty as a part-time professional gardener and recreational goat hunter.  “I get a lot of joy from training and hunting my dogs, growing native plants and staying fit.”

High Point

The 2004 national Kiwi Hui was a definite high point for Adele.  “It was great to be with 120 other kiwi savers just as enthusiastic and optimistic as me, about the future of kiwi.  I can remember when we numbered fewer than a dozen.”

Low Point

Adele says a low point is “bumping up against the occasional pessimist, someone who doesn't believe we can do it (and for some reason needs to tell me!).  It just makes me want to prove them wrong though.”    

Thoughts for the Future

Thinking about the Coromandel’s kiwi, Adele says these birds have already survived a great deal.  “The Coromandel was the first successful landfall for both Maori and Polynesian, with their rats, cats, dogs, pigs, hunting and fires. Much of the vegetation was then destroyed by kauri logging, gum harvesting, gold mining and farming.”

But somehow, she says, the kiwi hung on.  “Now it's in the hands of the local people to give them the chance to thrive once again. And I believe we can do it - we have the habitat, a relatively affluent and conservation conscious community and, increasingly, the means and technology.

“In 1995 our kiwi were rapidly heading towards extinction. We now have about 25,000 hectares being successfully managed to protect kiwi - the Moehau Kiwi Zone, "Project Kiwi" at Kuaotunu, the Whenuakite Kiwi Care Group near Tairua and the Kapowai Kiwi Care Group near Whitianga, and this area is soon to increase by a further 6,500 hectares.”

All of these projects are partnerships between DOC, the Regional Council, landowners, iwi and sponsors. “They prove that we can do it!”