South Wairarapa – you’re invited!

On Sunday, October 25^th, Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre will open its doors to the community and welcome attendees to their third annual Community Open Day. The wildlife centre at Mount Bruce is just a 55-minute drive north of Martinborough along State Highway 2.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend and the centre especially wanted to extend a warm welcome to the residents of the South Wairarapa.

Gates will open from 10am – 4pm, and entry will be by koha (donation). There will be plenty to see and do with a focus on fun, families, and education for all ages. For those who haven’t visited in a while it’s a great opportunity to venture out, see the wildlife and walk amongst nature in ancient native forest. There is even a two-hour looped walking track that takes in scenic mountain vistas with bush habitats that are home to wild kōkako and kākā.

Free ranger wildlife talks will happen throughout the day including at the Kiwi House where Manukura – the world’s rarest and most famous white kiwi resides. People that visit her will be able to get their photo taken with the Manukura mascot. There will be loads of free children’s activities including rock painting, kiwi art making using fern fronds, seed bomb making to attract insects and native wildlife stories read by VIP guests.  

The Two-dollar ice-creams that were popular last year will also be making a welcome return.

Visitors should bring cash with them to support the array of local community market stalls as no eftpos or credit card facilities will be available. There will be everything from informational booths through to arts and crafts, clothing, hand drawn art, knitted animals, face painting and produce items such as vegetables, honey and olive oil.

The Department of Conservation will provide a sausage sizzle and the Kākā Café at Pūkaha will be selling takeaway food items which will cater to various dietary requirements.

BYO food and drinks are allowed inside the reserve and people are welcome to picnic at the tables onsite, but no alcohol will be allowed on the premises and pets should be left at home.

The wildlife centre is also asking those wanting to attend to please consider car-pooling in order to ease traffic congestion on the day. A free return bus service collecting people from Martinborough, Featherston and Greytown is being considered. If the bus goes ahead the details – along with a schedule of what’s on throughout the day will be posted to: https://www.facebook.com/pukahawhanau/

Any monies raised from the Community Open Day will be used to support Pūkaha’s forest restoration efforts, captive breeding programmes and the release of rare native birds into the wild.

So please head along if you would like a fun day out and to support local conservation efforts. Out-of-town friends, family and guests are also welcome to attend.