Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience

Love it. Love it. Love it. This is a huge peaceful area with lots of trails. One very easy trail goes a long was back and passes by interesting animals and birds (with feeders). There are benches in key areas for the tired. Bring your camera.
I love the trails, walking on the bridges over big valleys and seeing the natural habitat.
There is something so special about bringing back the native vegetation and animals to this sanctuary. I am a huge fan.

Wow, we had SO much fun doing this last night, it was almost surreal being there! My wife and I continued our honeymoon in New Zealand by going to the night experience at this bird sanctuary, and we enjoyed every minute of it. After getting a brief explanation of how the birds and habitat have been getting destroyed over the years, you learn that they have created a large habitat surrounded by a gate that protects the many rare and endangered birds within from outside predators. Entering the park feels like going into «Jurassic Park», and then our two tour guides led us in for a night adventure we wouldn’t forget! (One is the leader who explains everything, a second guide trails and makes sure nobody gets lost, which she also was trying to spot birds to see.) We were hoping to be lucky enough to see one kiwi, and we actually got to find 3 of them! It was surreal and exciting becuase we were walking around in the dark with tiny flashlights and literally searching around for these rare birds, and what a payoff it was when we found some! The other birds that you will definitely find were already cool. The Takahe are both rare and hilarious to watch as they followed the guide knowing they were about to get fed. The Kaka birds were like the loudest parrots I’d ever seen, jumping from branch to branch right in front of us. We spotted a few cute Tuataras, a few Weta insects, and you’ll even see some glow worms along the way. What a fun and exciting excursion, we didn’t want it to end!
We had only one complaint, and that was the planes that kept flying overhead. When looking for kiwis, you are being as quiet as possible and listening for the slightest rustling in the bushes. Unfortunately, several times during the night outing we had to wait and listen to loud airplanes flying overhead or right nearby, possibly ruining the chances to hear or see wildlife. Hopefully the park will find a way to get the planes to stop disturbing the sanctuary. But other than that, what a great night we’ll never forget, a scavenger hunt for living creatures!

I was really looking forward to Zealandia. Being able to get up close to native birds, insects and reptiles in a sanctuary while doing some bush walking sounded like a nice day out.
The highlight of Zealandia was definitely the bush walks. It was nice to be outside and Zealandia has beautiful views, with a walk to the upper dam and also along the river flowing through. Another highlight was seeing a Tuatara up close and hearing all the birdsong along the way. But these were the only good things about Zealandia.
To be honest, I didn’t see as many birds as I would have liked to. Sounds funny, but I’ve seen more Tui’s in the trees down my driveway than I actually saw at Zealandia. Pretty disappointing I must say! As for the other birds, well we saw the odd saddleback at a feeding station, but in 10 seconds, they fly off and you don’t see any for a while. The bird we saw the most was the blackbird, which is not a native bird and is most commonly seen around Auckland. It seemed as those this was the most popular bird at Zealandia.
Another set back is definitely the general admission price. At $ 17.50, it is pretty expensive. Initially, I thought this was a good price, considering what they are doing to protect our native birds, insects and reptiles, but honestly after the experience and seeing so little, I would rather have visited the Botanic Gardens again (in Wellington) where we saw Tui’s and a Kaka (also a native bird) for free or if I’m in Auckland, I would pay a little bit extra and go to Auckland Zoo or Tiri Tiri Matangi — at least at these places you actually get what you pay for and you can really experience our native wildlife.
Overall, I was disappointed with Zealandia. I had high hopes for this wildlife sanctuary, but it did not live up to its promise… I so wish it had!!!

LOVED this place! I was fortunate enough to see all the birds (minus the kiwi, though we did hear both male an female calls).
I was also incredibly lucky to see Sirrocco while I was there. He was well worth the price of admission seeing how I credibly rare (and adorable) they are.
The park was beautiful and was a great way to spend the afternoon. The entire premise of the park was fascinating.
It’s a must see for a true New Zealand experience when in Wellington

Maybe my favorite thing in Wellington.
Yes, this is a real life Jurassic Park for New Zealand including 2 of the 240 Takahe in which you can get within a meter of!
The paths are gorgeous, animals fascinating, and well worth the price of admission (and more than likely the membership if you’ll go more than 4 times in a year (yes, you will)).
Add this to any Welly’s list (and perfect for vistors like myself!).