They began by feeding and caring for kokako in the aviaries at Boundary Stream, and setting traps in the bush.
Soon they were drawn to working with kiwi.
"The rest's history," he said. "Ever since then, every weekend we've been in the Kawekas doing kiwi recovery work. We enjoy it - it's really rewarding."
The programme, which began with fewer than a dozen birds, now has 50 birds fitted with transmitters and 22 birds which are potentially nesting this year.
He said the work had changed since the turn of the millennium. In the old days, they would spend all day traipsing through the bush, trying to triangulate a bird's position with the original transmitter technology.
Now, the transmitters are more advanced, and they are able to read vital information about a bird - even whether it is nesting.
They used to take eggs from nests and transport them to Rainbow Springs in Rotorua for hatching. This would mean sitting up all night, waiting for a bird to leave the nest.
"If you got a good bird he'd come off his egg about 10pm, and a bad bird would come off at 3am."
These days they wait for the chicks to hatch, before transporting them to an area contained in a predator-proof fence at Lake Opouahi, where the birds "fatten up" for six months before being re-introduced into the Kawekas.
There are setbacks - six years ago, a predator believed to be a single ferret wiped out 24 transmitting birds.
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