Zealandia Ecosanctuary

Fenced urban wildlife sanctuary with tuatara, kiwi, and native birds

Zealandia sits in the Karori valley about 2 km west of the city centre — a steep bus ride or pleasant downhill walk — and is one of Wellington's most extraordinary assets. A 500-year restoration project, it works by maintaining an 8.6-km predator-proof fence around the entire valley, within which native species can breed without the threat that has eliminated so many from mainland New Zealand.

Daytime visits give excellent chances of seeing tuatara (the prehistoric lizards that were almost unknown on mainland New Zealand before Zealandia), kaka (forest parrots, now common in central Wellington), and a wide variety of native birds. Evening guided tours (book in advance) are the only reliable way to see kiwi — you can observe them actively feeding in near-darkness with an expert guide. The sanctuary also has a visitors' centre with good exhibits on New Zealand's ecological history and the catastrophe of introduced predators.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
Zealandia's 225-hectare predator-free sanctuary was created in 1995 by fencing a water catchment valley and systematically eliminating all rats, stoats, weasels, and possums from within. The results have exceeded expectations: species that were on the brink of local extinction — including the tuatara, little spotted kiwi, and kākāpō (briefly resident) — have recovered dramatically. The little spotted kiwi population has grown from 6 birds in 2000 to over 200.