Friends of Flora - Fundraising Project

Des Lehndorf – a long walk to save the Kiwi

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THIS IS A BEGGING LETTER (just to let you know from the beginning).

Friends of Flora is a group of dedicated volunteers who maintain and check over 600 stoat traps in the rugged Mt Arthur area of the Kahurangi National Park.

They have already been successful in reducing the number of stoats and other predators down to a level so that whio (Blue Duck) have been reintroduced into the area, and are now re-established. They now have DOC permission to relocate 7 pairs of roroa (Great Spotted Kiwi) in the autumn of 2010.

The initial cost to carry this out is $24,000, and then up to $72,000 over the next 3 years. This is to cover the cost of locating the 7 adult pairs with specially trained dogs, relocation by helicopter to the Mt Arthur region, radio transmitters and ongoing tracking and checking of their movements etc. Most of this will be done by dedicated volunteers under the supervision of DOC staff.

Having spent a lot of time in this very special part of NZ, this is something that is very dear to my heart. So I am about to set out on a 1250km trek down the entire length of the South Island to raise as many funds as I possibly can to help this project succeed (see attached map).

I will fund all the expenses of this trip myself, but I am asking as many people as I can to pledge a donation to this project on the completion of my walk. If you can pledge1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 (or more) cents per kilometre for my trek it will go a long way to making this a success.

Sure, many of you may never get into this part of the country, but your children or grandchildren might. Take it from one who knows, there is nothing more magic than to be under the stars in the mountains at night and to hear the call of our national icon.

Please, give what ever you can and help this happen. I can supply more detailed info on this proposed project and on the aims and plans of Friends of Flora if required (www.fof.org.nz).

Follow my journey www.fof.org.nz/walk4kiwis

Any pledges can be made by contacting myself or Marilyn on; Phone (09) 412 8711 or 0275 128711

Email address;desandmarilyn@xtra.co.nz

Many thanks for taking the time to read this - Des Lehndorf

Friends of Flora is a registered charity

No.CC39171 – donations can be claimed against income tax. Please let me know your contact details if you would liek a receipt

Des Lehndorf – a long walk to save the Kiwi

1250 kms

14 major rivers to follow or cross.

I have split the trek up into 10 stages ranging from 4 to 12 days.

The whole journey should take me about 100 days.

If you want to join me on any of these stages, you would be more than welcome. I would love the company and you could enjoy some of the best tramping in the world!

The route varies between easy walking on some of NZ’s great walking tracks, to route finding across mountain ranges. If interested contact me for further details, dates etc.

Tel: 03 528 9054 | Friends of Flora, PO Box 317 Motueka | fof@fof.org.nz