Tui / Tiritiri Matangi

Tiritiri Matangi Island is a wildlife sanctuary just a short ferry trip from downtown Auckland, and one of New Zealand’s most important and exciting conservation projects.

60% of the native bush that was cleared for farming was replanted by volunteers in the 80’s and 90’s. All mammalian predators were eradicated and a number of threatened and endangered bird and reptile species have been successfully introduced, including the flightless takahe, one of the world’s rarest species, and the tuatara. There are few places in New Zealand where you can readily see and walk amongst so many rare species.