Opening Hours
Winter Hours
9:00am – 5:00pm
(We are now closing at 5pm until spring 2022)
Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre is a not-for-profit charity managing an unfenced breeding sanctuary for native wildlife.
Our 942-hectare forest is home to wild birds.
Inside our aviaries we hatch kiwi, kākā and kākāriki for release across Aotearoa New Zealand.
To make a difference, we need your help.
COVID-19
Following the changes to government guidelines, from 5 April 2022 visitors to Pūkaha will no longer be required to show their My Vaccine Pass (vaccination passports).
All staff and visitors will still need to wear masks inside all buildings at Pūkaha.
You may remove masks when you enter our ngahere.
Thanks for your understanding and support during these difficult times – He waka eke noa, we are all in this together.
Ngā manākitanga,
The Pūkaha Whānau
Conservation
Campervans / EVs
Campervans
There is plenty of parking space to accommodate campervans.
View our overnight campervan tours
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
We have two Type-2 EV trickle charging stations available. There is no cost to use our EV chargers however customers will be required to provide their own type-2 charging cable.
How to get here
We’re on State Highway 2 (SH2) in the middle of the lower part of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
We’re 30kms north of Masterton, Wairarapa and 10km south of Eketahuna, Tararua.
It’s about 2 hours to drive north-east from Wellington, a little longer heading south-west from Napier, or an hour south from Palmerston North.