Opening Hours
We are open every day of the year – except Christmas Day
Winter Hours
9:00am – 5:00pm
First Sunday in April – last Sunday in September
Summer Hours
9:00am – 6:00pm
During daylight savings
Last Sunday in September – first Sunday in April
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.
We are located on the border of the beautiful Tararua and Wairarapa regions, on the north island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Conservation
Campervans / EVs
Campervans
There is space to park campervans and motorhomes during the day.
Over-night sites are available, with a guided tour included in the price.
Bookings essential.
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
We have two Type-2 EV trickle charging stations available. 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.
Last Saturday, we welcomed 13 students from Japan’s Clarke Memorial International High School, seven university students and three staff from @ipu_newzealand to our ngahere. 🌳
We had an awesome education session that included a tuna (eel) feed, visits to Kahurangi and Niwha (our kiwi chick), and finding every mokomoko (gecko) that we have on display.
We love connecting people with the unique ecosystems and wildlife that we have here on our back doorstep.
It also gave our Education Director Kelly a reason to dust off her high-school-level Japanese when welcoming the group!
ありがとうございます to IPU and everyone involved for a fantastic day.
Feb 21
One of our rangers recently visited a spot along the Tongariro river where some of our whio we have captive bred over the years have been released. Nothing beats seeing these birds flourishing in the wild thanks to the amazing whio community looking after them and their habitat. Amazing work!
📷: @tara.swanphoto
Feb 20
Our @pukahanz whānau send aroha to all of our friends in Aotearoa in this time.
May we remind you all to keep up to date with MetService weather warnings and advice from your local Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. And lastly to adhere to all advice and instructions from authorities.
May you keep your whānau and pets, wrapped-up, close and safe 💙
Feb 14
Today we caught up our two pāteke whānau consisting of 11 juveniles!!
These birds are part of our breed for release programme, so we disease screened them to go into quarantine where they will stay until their results come back clear. From here they will head to The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust to undergo their pre-release training and then off to the wild!!
Feb 8
We recently announced the exciting arrival of our yet-to-be-named kiwi chick. Our team are lovingly monitoring its growth and can confirm that they are progressing beautifully, almost up to 300g! We won’t know if it’s a boy or girl until a DNA test is taken. Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the update on sex. The little one has started exploring the brooder at night, which means soon we can introduce logs and other natural items it can forage. In roughly 3 weeks, the wee-one is set to make a move to the nocturnal house. We are soaking up all the newborn goodness until then 🤍
Feb 2