Can you spot any Bellbirds? In the shorter months of the year, they feed on berries here.


The Kaikōmako tree tucked under the Black Maire here is a female tree covered in tiny white flowers in November and hundreds of tiny black berries in autumn and winter. These berries are the favorite food (kai) of bellbirds (kōmako).

There are only a few kaikomako trees in this forest. However, I found 15 or more all around the edge of this clearing in mid-December when they were still covered in tiny white flowers.



TEENAGERS

In old times, Maori made fire by rubbing a pointed hika of Kaikomako hardwood up and down a kaunoti fireboard of Mahoe softwood until a groove formed, with fine dust settling at one end.

If it was then rubbed VERY vigorously, the dust would smoke and could be fanned into a flame that set fire to dry moss placed on it.

Experiment (at home or at school) with different woods, shapes and ways of creating friction and find the fastest way to make fire this way. Know how to do this may save your life one day.

Kaikōmako is called Pennantia corumbosa. There are only 3 other Pennantia species; on the East coast of Australia, on Norfolk Island, and on Three Kings.

Ritual ceremonies were performed before almost every Maori activity. Many of these ceremonies involved tapu fires and steam ovens. Fire was looked upon as representing the sun, and so was seen to be a divine being, shut up in wood. Elsdon Best gives more details HERE