Te Manahuna Aoraki Project Manager
Simone leads the Te Manahuna Aoraki Project and is based in Twizel. She grew up not far from the project area and decided she wanted to work with braided river species at age 17. After “hassling” DOC scientists they let her volunteer on the Kakī Recovery Programme. She then completed a Bachelor degree at Lincoln University.
She loves the landscape with its rare alpine, braided river, wetlands and dryland tussock ecosystems and has worked in various roles with DOC in the area before joining Te Manahuna Aoraki Project when it was launched in 2018.
Simone says Te Manahuna Aoraki will be a game changer for the Upper Mackenzie Basin and Aoraki National Park, and the people who live and work there. She has a great love of horses and can be found horse trekking in the district in her spare time.