Te Papa Press recently published Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao – A guide to the wildlife and wild places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika. Author and photographer Michael Szabo introduces this innovative new book about the region and its wildlife.
We instinctively know that getting out into nature is good for us but where and when to go and how to get there are not always easy choices. Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao can help you with that. Written with input from Te Papa’s expert Natural History team and mātauranga Māori from mana whenua about the region and its wildlife, Wild Wellington illustrates the true richness of the interconnected nature of Pōneke and Te Upoko-o-te-Ika.
It covers the wider Wellington metropolitan area from the capital up the Kapiti coast, the Hutt Valley, Wainuiomata, and the wild south coast. An amazing variety of wild places and wildlife can be found among the hundreds of public nature reserves and scenic reserves in this part of the country.
The book showcases a representative selection of 30 of these wild and urban places, all except a couple of which can be accessed by public transport. There is something for everyone with short walks in urban parks, longer walks up and down maunga, and all-day visits to offshore islands such as Kāpiti and Mana.
Each chapter describes a site, the wildlife and habitats you can expect to see there, tips on how to find them, and when the best time is to visit them.
Some of Te Papa’s Natural History team add their insights to the places covered in the following abridged extracts.
Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Reserve
“The gardens at Ōtari make it easy to experience the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s native plants. And the hillside beyond has several tracks to explore within the regenerating forest, all the way up to the Skyline Track for the adventurous.”
– Curator Botany Leon Perrie, Te Papa
Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush is just a couple of kilometres by bus from the city centre. It has a rich diversity of native plants and old-growth lowland podocarp forest with a diverse range of native birds and insects, and some big tuna.
It’s the only place where you can see such a wide diversity of our native plant species. The 100-hectare reserve and 5 hectares of native botanic gardens have over 1200 plant species, which is about half the total number of native vascular plant species found in Aotearoa.
Along with Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne it is one of the main wild places supporting the increase in native birds and other species in the capital.
Kākā, red-crowned kākāriki, kārearea, and kererū all nest in the forest there, which also has some very old trees in the forest including Moko, the 800-year-old rimu, the oldest and tallest tree in the capital.
The reserve is alive with bush birds, native plants and ferns. You can see the world’s largest and smallest species of fuchsia (both endemic to Aotearoa – tree fuchsia and creeping fuchsia) as well as big old kōwhai, rātā, and rewarewa.
You can also find native passionfruit and native jasmine vines there, peka-a-waka, and colourful insects like yellow and red admiral butterflies, and the giant bush dragonfly.
East Harbour Regional Park
“You don’t have to go to Aotearoa New Zealand’s most remote forest to see some of our most striking native orchids. A visit to the East Harbour Regional Park, about 40 minutes from the Wellington CBD, will reward its visitors with a great diversity of perching and ground orchids. If you visit at the right time of the year, you might be lucky to spot the elusive ghost orchid (Corybas cryptanthus) half-buried in the leaflitter.”
– Curator Botany Carlos Lehnebach, Te Papa
Across the harbour in the Eastbourne hills, you can visit the northern section of the East Harbour Regional Park. The book describes some of the main tracks there, which are accessible by bus or the Wellington harbour ferry.
This is one of the most species rich wild places covered in the book. At the moment the hills there are literally alive with the sound of pīpīwharauroa and korimako, and the sublime fragrance of flowering native orchids and native kaihua.
It’s an important hotspot for native orchids with 25 species recorded there, which is about a quarter of the native orchid species that occur in Aotearoa – from fragrant sun orchids and bamboo orchids to greenhood orchids and green tree orchids.
There is also mature beech forest and the largest intact terrestrial rātā forest in the region, and a lush variety of ferns from small filmy ferns to big black tree ferns which grow up to 20m tall.
Taputeranga Marine Reserve
“The Wellington region is home to a fantastic diversity of marine habitats: from rocky coasts, sheltered harbours, estuaries, sandy beaches. Then there’s the numerous creeks and rivers. All of these habitats support a diverse range of unique fishes, invertebrates, and algae. We are really spoiled with the range of choices and there is always a lee shore away from the wind and waves for people of all ages to explore and discover.”
– Curator Fishes Andrew Stewart, Te Papa
Middle-earth and Hogwarts may have computer-generated dragons, but Taputeranga Marine Reserve has real fantastic beasts, from coppery aihe to bright yellow manaia.
It runs for about 5 kilometres along the south coast from Te Raekaihau Point to the old Owhiro Bay quarry and out about 2 kilometres, and it’s the only no-take marine reserve in the world in a capital city.
The adjacent coast has scenic sandy bays and rocky reefs, and spectacular views to the south of the Kaikōura Ranges in the South Island.
Populations of fish species there have been increasing since the marine reserve was established in 2008, such as rāwaru and ngutere.
The island itself has breeding matuku-moana, kororā, and tarāpunga. Summer flocks of tara use the rocks on the coast to roost on and passing seabirds include toroa and pāngurunguru.
Aihe and maki are increasingly seen on this coast in summer while kekeno are mainly seen in winter, plus there’s the chance of seeing whales and leopard seals!
The nature restoration capital
“Mana Island stands out as a textbook ecological restoration success story. In addition to being one of the key sites for takahē conservation outside Fiordland, the island is the focus for the world’s most complex seabird restoration project.”
– Curator Vertebrates Colin Miskelly, Te Papa
Wild Wellington also tells the story of how many rare and threatened species have been brought back in the Wellington area after having lost them in the past. Tīeke, hihi, kōkako, and weka were lost as breeding species here and others such as kākāriki, karearea, and tītitipounamu only hung on at the periphery or at Kapiti Island.
They have all returned now thanks to nature restoration and conservation work described in the book. For example, since 14 kākā were released at Zealandia in Karori between 2002 and 2007, over 1300 kākā chicks have been banded there and they are now frequently seen and heard in city parks.
Kāpiti Island and Puketahā Forest in Wainuiomata have been important in helping to establish new populations of kiwi pukupuku and tītitipounamu at Zealandia.
Until recently, Mana Island had the largest takahē population outside of their Fiordland stronghold, with the surplus of young takahē being sent for release at other sites and to help establish new populations in the wild. Mana is also being used as a source population to help establish a new rowi population near Fox Glacier.
So, if you want to escape the urban jungle and recharge your batteries in some world class wild nature, this could be the book for you!
– Michael Szabo is the author of Wild Wellington and editor of Birds New Zealand magazine.
Further reading
- Read Michael Szabo: biography and 10 questions about Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao
- Buy Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao: A guide to the wildlife and wild places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika at Te Papa Store, via BookHub or all good bookshops.
