Zealandia

By Richard Fewtrell – Business Development 24 September 2010

ZEALANDIA: The Karori Sanctuary Experience, located just 10 minutes from central Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, has an inspiring 500 year plan to restore 225 hectares of native forest to its pre-human state. A world first predator proof fence encircles the sanctuary and keeps mammal predators away from the re-introduced native wildlife. The fence has been highly successful and several other fenced sanctuaries have been set up in New Zealand using this model.

14 endangered species have been introduced into ZEALANDIA, including little spotted kiwi, north island kaka, tuatara, giant weta and saddleback, to name a few, and they are now thriving in the mammal free zone and provide unrivalled opportunities to see some of New Zealand's most threatened species in their natural habitat.

In April 2010 ZEALANDIA: The Exhibition opened as part of a major new visitor centre development. The exhibition tells the story of New Zealand's natural history and world famous conservation movement. The $17m project features state of the art multi-media exhibits and has an incredible 5 minute movie that plays on a huge video screen. The movie is very thought provoking and is the centrepiece of the exhibition.

The visitor centre also has a cafe, Rata, and the ZEALANDIA Store, which sells eco inspired gifts.

ZEALANDIA is open 364 days a year from 10am - 5pm. Night Tours run daily after sunset. More info at www.visitzealandia.com.