Ngā Manu…

……………...…..Nature Reserve


BACKBLIP uploaded Monday 30th November for Friday 27th November


Today we drove from Upper Hutt to Waikanae via the Akatarawa Valley road. It’s narrow and pretty, but not for the faint hearted!

Our destination was the Ngā Manu Nature Reserve on the Kapiti Coast at Waikanae where we had booked to stay on site within the reserve perimeter. We got to enjoy the reserve without other visitors and experienced an amazing dawn chorus.  

Ngā Manu means Birds in Te Reo Maori. The site includes a lowland swamp forest remnant and is important as it is one of the largest in the Wellington region. 

Walk-in aviaries, nocturnal kiwi house, ponds and original forest are all found in this reserve - and of course native birds and plants. 

The reserve staff are involved in “breed-for-release programmes which seek to re-establish at risk species of birds and reptiles into the wild. This has seen us participate in breeding programmes for kiwi, whio, pateke/brown teal, kāka, orange-fronted, red-crowned, yellow-crowned and Antipodes Island parakeet, tuatara, and Whitaker’s skinks to name a few. In addition to these programmes Ngā Manu has a long history of involvement in the treatment and rehabilitation of native bird species which are brought to us by the local community. Our aim is to release as many birds as possible back into the wild.”

Featured today is a Tuatara, seen sunning itself, safely behind protective glass. They are also known as the ‘Living Dinosaur’ as they are survivors of an ancient group of reptiles that existed 255 million years ago. 
Tuatara are rare, medium-sized reptiles found only in New Zealand.