Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari

Maungatautari is an extinct volcano covered in mature podocarp forest, and in 2006 a fence was completed around the whole of it - forty-seven kilometres of pest-proof mesh enclosing about 3,400 hectares, at the time the largest such project in the world. Everything with fur was then removed from inside, and species that had been gone for a century or more were put back: takahe, North Island brown kiwi, kaka, hihi, kokako, tuatara and giant weta. What a visitor gets is a forest that sounds the way New Zealand forest is supposed to sound, which is the thing people remember. The southern enclosure has a canopy tower reached on a boardwalk; the northern has the visitor centre, a takahe pair and shorter loops. Guided walks, including night walks for kiwi, are the way to see the harder species. The fence gates are double and closing them is not optional.

What you actually see

• The 47-kilometre fence - the boundary that makes it work.
• Takahe - at the northern enclosure, at close range.
• The canopy tower - above the forest in the southern enclosure.
• The birdsong - the practical result of removing every mammal.

When to go

October to April; spring for song. Night walks for kiwi need booking well ahead and run on set evenings.

Honest expectations

Ticketed, and guided walks cost extra. Kiwi, kokako and hihi are heard far more often than seen - nothing is guaranteed. The two enclosures are a long drive apart on country roads.

Nearby

Cambridge is north; Pureora Forest and Waitomo are south-west.