Recently we and a group of friends visited Maungatautari, a nature reserve in the Waikato are of New Zealand. What’s so amazing about this place is that it is an ancient, extinct volcano, which has been surrounded with a 47km-long pest-proof fence. New Zealand’s fauna and flora is very susceptible to predation by introduced species such as the Australian brush-tailed possum, rats, feral cats, mice, etc, all of which have had a huge adverse impact on native species.
We stayed at an awesome guest lodge, Out in the Styx, near the town of Putaruru. They arranged for a bus to take us and other hikers to the northern side of the mountain, where the track starts, and 5.5 hours later we arrived back at the lodge, conveniently situated at the end of the track.
Within the main reserve, two smaller fenced enclosures exist, where endangered species being re-introduced to the reserve are left to acclimatise before being released into the main reserve. We saw a pair of native Takahe, two of only 300 of these very interesting birds left in the world! Anyone who’s interested in conservation would learn a lot from this reserve, well worth a visit. They also run a breeding programme for kiwi, as well as several other species.
The Out in the Styx owners are very involved in volunteer work in the reserve, and are a mine of information. A must-do for anyone who loves hiking and is into nature conservation. I’m happy to supply contact details, if asked, but try Google to start with.
