This story was first published in Open Space issue 107 in November 2024. You can read the full issue, as well as previous issues of Open Space, on our website.

For Gary Charteris, the 20-year-old QEII covenant that protects his property in Makarora located between Wanaka and the Haast Pass, brings him much enjoyment and he is a champion for its continued protection.

“I’ve had a lot of fun in [the property, now a covenant] over the past 40 years,” says Gary. “One of my main motivations for creating the covenant at the time, about 20 years ago, was I didn’t want property developers to move in and cut the land up into little sections with houses on them and I wanted to make sure the bush was protected from that in perpetuity.”

Gary’s property runs from the foot of the McKerrow Range where it overlaps with a Reserves Act covenant, which buffers Mount Aspiring National Park. Thanks to long-term possum trapping on the covenant, scarlet mistletoe (Peraxilla colensoi, At Risk – Declining) is absolutely thriving on its host, silver beech. A few plants of the red mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala, At Risk – Declining) are also doing well although mountain beech, one of its primary hosts, is absent. But it’s not just the flora benefitting from the covenant – kākāriki/yellow-crowned parakeet and kākā have become regular visitors, and bats have been found on the property.

QEII has been able to assist with the covenant’s protection and enhancement through The Stephenson Fund grants for fencing and pest control.

“I’ve been trapping possums for 40 years,” says Gary. “But Aspiring Biodiversity Trust are doing much of the stoat and possum control now – I’m still doing possum control but I’m finding it harder to get around.”

Gary suffered a spinal injury at about 18 years old, with uncertainty on whether he would walk again. “I proved them wrong, but now that I’m in my sixties, things are stopping working,” Gary says.

Ever resourceful, Gary has a knack for turning old ride-on lawnmowers into customised mobility scooters. “I’ve got about four at the moment and I’m about to finish another one,” says Gary. “I like to have extra in case someone wants to jump on one to come along with me or a spare if one breaks down. I can keep my pruners and loppers with me, just to have the gear right there in case I see a wilding plant.”

A recently completed walking track through his covenant has also meant greater access to his covenant for himself and soon the public as well. “I’ve had reasonably major mobility issues,” says Gary. “Having the track there means I can putt around in the covenant on my mobility scooter.”

The track has been funded and built by Upper Clutha Tracks Trust, aiming to provide an accessible walk for the public through the covenant and the adjoining National Park. While most QEII covenants are not open to public access, sharing the experience of being in this beautiful forest is important to Gary. “I’ve had 40 years of enjoyment of this land, and I thought it would only be right to share that with people,” says Gary.

Rob Wardle, regional representative for the Central Otago region, loves visiting Gary’s and an adjoining covenant. In a region that is largely dry or alpine in nature, it’s a fantastic contrast to visit rain forest. “Walking amongst majestic silver beech, mataī and miro, I have to remind myself that I’m only 130 km away from my home in semi-arid Alexandra”.