Sanctuary Mountain : A welcome Dose of Green Therapy

Okay. So this is the second time I am writing this post. I accidentally deleted the whole thing a few seconds ago. Don’t you love that? Perhaps a lesson in saving often. Learn from me folks, go now and save all your unsaved work .

Anyway. I don’t feel like repeating myself, so this article will be short and more anecdotal in nature.

The Beginning

On a rainy and grey day, I decided to go to Sanctuary Mountain | Maungatautari, one of the largest pest-proof fenced projects in the world. The fence is 47km long and it protects 3400 hectares of nature from outside threats, such as possums and stoats.

It is a safe space for many New Zealand endangered animals, from kiwi to tuatara, to giant wetas. This place is a sanctuary for many different species of flora and fauna.

I find on a day when the clouds hang heavy overhead, grey and dreary, is the best time to enter the bush? On days where all is awash with different shades of grey, I wish to create my own world of green wonder.

Arriving, I paid at the information centre. Three tickets. Myself, my mum and John. I managed to wrangle them in for a bush walk despite the bad weather. The cost of entry is $23, which is not too bad. And taking in the fact, the money goes back to conservation efforts and keeping this fenced sanctuary running, is not bad at all.

Entering the bush, you travel down a long winding hill. And you can’t help but think of the journey you will have to make at the end of your adventure, the uphill slog. The battle upwards. The point in time where your calfs will burn and you sweat bullets of agony. But hey, that time was to come in the end, but right now I was about to enter sanctuary.

Birds and nature is the best cure really for a blue kind of day.

Entering Paradise

We came to a door. Or two doors to be exact. To enter the sanctuary, you first have to open a door to enter a small enclosed area, close that door behind you, and open the next door. This is to lessen the chances of predators entering with you.

Do you know that feeling when you first enter the bush? Like all stress, anxiety and worry slides off you like melted butter off a crumpet.

As soon as I am amidst the ferns and the trees and the bird song reaches my ears, I feel ease and relief. Welcome peace from the myriad of anxious thoughts that have been hounding me lately.

I was home.

The first bird to make our acquaintance is a cheeky North Island robin or toutouwai.

Toutouwai are often the first bird you encounter when you enter a New Zealand bush. They appear as a friendly little welcoming party, and a very cute one at that with their little stilt legs and round body. They are hard not to melt over, I positively was a puddle on the path after meeting this robin.

Huffing and puffing, we finally made it to the clearing. A area where the bush opens up and their is a feeding station for the kaka.

Before we arrived at the sanctuary, my mother asked me what bird I most wanted to see. And I answered, kaka. I love kaka mostly because of their cheeky and loud antics. I could watch them forever, as they are essentially the entertainers of the bush.

And it must have been my lucky day, as in the clearing, there was not one cheeky kaka but three. All three were playing together, chasing, flying, making a lovely old racket. As I attempted to take one photo of this boisterous trio, I thought to myself that these guys are one of the hardest subjects to photograph. Always on the move.

Or turning away from the camera, so all I can see is a feathered butt. But sometimes, a feathered butt photo is better than nothing. Am I right, folks?

The Tower

After the show, we went for a climb. Sanctuary Mountain has a very verry tall viewing tower, with many maaany stairs to climb until you reach the top and you are above the canopy. All the forest laid out before you as far as the eye can see.

My mum wasn’t too keen on this. Heights are not her thing, and fair enough. Heights can be scary.

But she didn’t want to miss out on the fun, so she followed us up and tackled her fear in hopes of seeing some beauty up top. And it is quite beautiful up there. There is something special about being in the canopy, as the birds do. And on a windy day, you feel yourself swaying with the wooden platform as if you were on top of a tall tree dancing in the breeze.

Just don’t look down when you are up there. I may not be afraid of heights, but falling is a whole another story.

On the climb down, we meet a pair making the trek up, one equipped with a pair of binoculars.

This is a good idea for anyone thinking of venturing to Sanctuary Mountain as binoculars are a great way to see the birds up close and personal. Or you could lug in a telephoto lens.

The Walk

There are many walks to choose from at the Sanctuary, we went with the Rimu Walk. A loop that goes from the Southern Gate back to where you started. It takes around an hour and a half and the real strenuous parts of it is in the beginning where it is all up hill and you feel like your lungs will never know the sweet relief of oxygen again. It is fun. Trust me. Nothing puts a spark in my heart like the upward climb through a forest. The bird song is motivating almost, as they offer a sweet melody to your hard sweaty climb.

There are four other walks that you can do from the Southern Entrance, all of which you can find out more about at the visitor centre. The walks range from 30mins to two hours. You can also opt to get a guided walk, where a guide will tell you all about the sanctuary and show you some cool flora and fauna.

There are also guided night walk options, where a guide will show you around as night falls at the sanctuary, be marvelled by glowworms and weta. You may even see or hear a kiwi during this experience.

Back to reality

As we walked the Rimu Track, we didn’t see too many birds. But that is the way with wild creatures. You can never predict what you will see or hear, and that is part of the fun. It is always a surprise when you walk into the bush. I heard tieke or saddleback laughing their little beaks off, and saw some more sweet toutouwai or North Island Robins hopping along the path, looking out for worms and bugs.

We eventually emerged from the bush. And the dreaded hill faced us. There is a hill you must conquer to get back to the carpark, and it is a big one. I made the mistake of not bringing snacks on this journey, so my stomach was grumbling at me alongside my lungs begging for oxygen and my legs begging for a rest.

But we eventually made it up that dreaded hill, and once back in the car I scoffed down my weight in popcorn. The only way to end a good walk is with copious amounts of reward snacks.

Things to Note

• There is an entry fee to get into the Southern Enclosure, but think about it like this. All your money is going towards this wonderful conservation project that is helping birds and nature flourish and live. That is kind of cool

• On paying, you get a white keycard. This gets you through the turnstile gate. Keep hold of it while in the bush, as you will need to return it once you exit. You do this by placing it in a letterbox outside of the gate.

• Do not feed the birds - obvious but needs to be said. There is plenty of food in the bush for these guys

• Open every day, expect Christmas. Open 9.00am to 4:00pm daily.

• Dress warm. It is colder under the forest canopy, so bring a jacket or jumper in with your even if it looks a bit warm.

• There are toilets at the visitor centre as well as one in the Southern Enclosure.

• There is a small cafe also at the visitor centre, serving hot tea and coffee and snacks.

• The sanctuary is located at 99 Tari Road, Pukeatu