The J.M. Barker (Hapupu) National Historic Reserve protects one of the most remarkable indigenous art sites in the South Pacific: a grove of kopi trees whose smooth trunks were carved by Moriori with stylised human and animal figures, some hundreds of years old.
The site sits in a small reserve in the northeast of Chatham Island. A short boardwalk leads through the bush to the surviving trees, with interpretation panels explaining the carvings and the broader Moriori cultural context. Walk slowly and quietly — this is a sacred place to local Moriori and the carvings are fragile.