Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
»
Nga Manu Nature Reserve, Waikanae (
Click here
)
»
Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre, near Masterton (
Click here
)
»
Wellington Zoo (
Click here
)
»
West Coast Wildlife Centre, Franz Josef (
Click here
)
»
Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch (
Click here
)
»
Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Christchurch (
Click here
)
»
Kiwi Birdlife Park, Queenstown (
Click here
)
To get a feel for what the bush used to be like, take a trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island.
This regenerating island is an open sanctuary and one of the country's most successful
exercises in community-assisted conservation.
Bird-watching
The flightless kiwi is the species most sought after by bird-watchers. Sightings of the
Stewart Island subspecies are common at all times of the year. Elsewhere, wild sightings
of this increasingly rare nocturnal species are difficult, apart from in enclosures. Other
birds that twitchers like to sight are the royal albatross, white heron, Fiordland crested
penguin, yellow-eyed penguin, Australasian gannet and wrybill.
On the Coromandel Peninsula, the Firth of Thames (particularly Miranda) is a haven
for migrating birds, while the Wharekawa Wildlife Refuge at Opoutere Beach is a breed-
ing ground of the endangered NZ dotterel. There's also a very accessible Australasian
gannet colony at Muriwai, west of Auckland, and one in Hawke's Bay. There are popular
trips to observe pelagic birds out of Kaikoura, and royal-albatross viewing on the Otago
Peninsula.
B Heather and H Robertson's
Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand
is a comprehens-
ive guide for birdwatchers and a model of helpfulness for anyone even casually interes-
ted in the country's remarkable bird life. Another good guide is
Birds of New Zealand:
Locality Guide
by Stuart Chambers.
