Experience the Aotearoa New Zealand environment as it used to be – an ancient, vibrant forest alive with native wildlife including many of New Zealand’s rarest and most endangered wildlife – on this guided tour to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.

Maungatautari is a 797 metre high extinct stratovolcano near Cambridge in the Waikato region in New Zealand’s central North Island. The forested mountain top is enclosed by a predator-proof fence and is easily accessible to the public. This ancient eco-system has been recognised as a reserve since 1912.  In 2001 Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) was formed and in 2002 the fence build got underway.  By 2004 all mammals were eradicated from the initial two enclosures.  By 2006 the entire mountain, roughly 3400 hectares, was eradicated of mammals except for mice and translocation programmes began. For full details go to https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/ 

During the guided tour, you will learn about the translocation programmes that recently introduced kōkako and rifleman. Sanctuary Mountain now has an estimated population of more than 2500 kiwi.

Follow this with lunch and free exploration time or organise, at additional cost, to take one of the shorter walks with a guide.

The bus for this trip will depart from near the conference venue at 8am and get you to Maungatautari by 11am. The bus to return to Auckland will depart about 2pm.

This 179-ha island lies between Motutapu and Waiheke islands in the Inner Hauraki Gulf a 45 minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland. It is a recreation reserve controlled by the Department of Conservation and administered by the Motuihe Trust.

The varied history of Motuihe Island / Te Motu-a-Ihenga includes being extensively settled by Māori and farmed by Europeans for more than a century.  It was the site of Auckland’s quarantine station for 50 years, a prisoner of war camp, and a naval training base.

Motuihe island was declared pest free in 2005. The eradication programme removed a number of introduced animals from the island that were destroying native plants and wildlife. Ten bird, lizard, insect species and tuatara have been translocated to the island and are thriving.  Work continues to plant forest trees, sourced from the island and propagated within the island’s nursery, and remove weeds.

See also https://www.motuihe.org.nz/

Exact timings to be determine but we expect this tour to take a full day.

Rangitoto is joined to neighbouring Motutapu by a causeway built during WWII.  They were declared pest-free in 2011 after a four-year eradication programme.

The project simultaneously removed seven mammalian pests – feral cats, rabbits, stoats, hedgehogs, Norway rats, ship rats, and mice from the islands. Possums and wallabies were eradicated from the islands in 1992.  Following forest regeneration, native species previously not seen on the islands began to arrive on their own.

Other native species unable to reach the islands on their own have been transferred, including saddleback and whitehead. The flightless native birds takahē and kiwi have been released on neighbouring Motutapu.

Rangitoto’s lava rock seems an inhospitable environment for plant life. Yet the island hosts more than 200 species of native trees and flowering plants; more than 40 kinds of fern; several species of orchid, and the largest pōhutukawa forest in the world.

See also:  https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/auckland/places/rangitoto-island/

https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/auckland/places/motutapu-island-recreation-reserve/

Exact timings to be determine but we expect this tour to take a full day.

Rotoroa is an 80-hectare island in the eastern-most chain of the Inner Hauraki Gulf islands. Privately owned by the Salvation Army since 1908, it was a rehabilitation centre for those with alcohol and drug addictions. More than 12,000 people went through the island’s programme. Now, it is leased by the Rotoroa Island Trust who have restored the island to a predator free coastal forest.  See https://www.rotoroa.org.nz/ for more information.

Norway rats and mice were eradicated from the island by 2013.  The island is now protected by a comprehensive biosecurity system to detect and remove swimming pests arriving from boats and surrounding islands. Stoats, despite being present on nearby Waiheke Island, have not been seen on Rotoroa.

More than 350,000 trees have been planted on the island and five bird and two skink species translocated to this protected environment.  There is accommodation for 44 people overnight in a bunkhouse and self-catering houses. It is a unique example of how conservation and business can go hand in hand to establish and maintain a public conservation park.

On this tour, enjoy a 75-minute ferry trip from downtown Auckland. The ferry departs Auckland at 9:15am, which gives visitors three hours on the island where you will get a guided tour and discussion about the island restoration process, and returns to the city by 4pm.

Join this tour to two examples of coast-to-coast pest-proof fence sanctuaries – Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary near Matakana and Shakespear Regional Park on the eastern end of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, Auckland.

Starting at Tāwharanui experience a blend of conservation, recreation, and sustainable farming, featuring native bush, coastal cliffs, wetlands, heritage sites, and a marine reserve.

Then head to Shakespear, a sanctuary that incorporates the regional park, NZ Defence Force military training base and a wastewater treatment plant.

All introduced mammalian species were eradicated from both areas in 2004, with mice persisting.  At both locations multiple pest incursions have occurred since eradication, with varying longevity and impact. Many absent species of fish, invertebrates, lizards, plants and birds have been reintroduced and many that were unrecorded at the time of pest eradication have established.

See https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/Pages/park-details.aspx?Location=228  and https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/Pages/park-details.aspx?Location=226  for more.

The bus will leave from close to the conference venue at 8am.  It is an 80 km, 1 hr 40 min drive north from the city to Tāwharanui. After lunch the bus will take you 48 km, 1hr 25 mins, southwards to Shakespear. In both locations you will get a guided tour and discussion about the sanctuary restoration process.

Tiritiri Matangi is a 220 hectare island just three kilometres off the coast and 25 km to the north of Auckland.

Like much of the mainland, the forest on this island was cleared for cattle and sheep farming in the 1800s. Four gullies were largely unfarmable, so were left forested and remained a refuge for low numbers of the more resilient native species.

From 1984 to 1994, boatloads of volunteers planted 280,000 trees and shrubs. The on-island nursery provided 30 species of saplings grown from seeds sourced from Tiritiri Matangi and nearby islands.

Around 60% of the island is now covered in regenerating forest. The remainder has been left open to provide a mix of habitats.  The un-forested areas include sections of grassland which are important to protect archaeological sites, allow uninterrupted views of the Hauraki Gulf and provide habitat for species such as lizards and birds, including takahē. 

With the successful eradication of the kiore/pacific rat in 1993, the island flourished as a pest-free haven. It now holds populations of birds, insects, lizards and tuatara that can’t be seen anywhere else around the Auckland region.

The ferry departs from downtown Auckland at 9am and gives you four hours on the island where you will get a guided tour of the forest and discussion about the island restoration process.  For more go to https://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/

Known for its stunning beaches, world-class vineyards, and thriving arts community, Waiheke Island is also home to Te Korowai o Waiheke project designed to eradicate stoats from this human populated and close-to-shore island.  A guide will talk about aspects of this innovative project, show the methods used and discuss the outcomes.  The bus will take you to a vantage point for better understanding of this project in relation to the other near-shore islands of the Inner Hauraki Gulf.  See more at https://tekorowaiowaiheke.org/

Lunch is at one of the many Waiheke vineyard restaurants. 

The ferry for this day departs from the terminal at 8:15 am for a 40-minute cruise to the island.  The bus will return you to the ferry terminal to get back to Auckland by 4:40 pm.