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Pukaha Mount Bruce - New Zealand's National Wildlife Centre

Pukaha Mount Bruce is set against a backdrop of the primaeval 942 hectare Pukaha Mount Bruce forest, into which native wildlife is being returned. You can see conservation in action as the future of threatened New Zealand wildlife is secured through pioneering captive breeding programmes at the National Wildlife Centre. 

Surrounded by ancient forest trees and free flying native birds, you will get a sense of how New Zealand used to be. Encounter wild kaka (large native parrots) as they swoop out of the forest for their 3.00 pm daily feed. View kiwi poking through the leaf-litter in the nocturnal house. Watch the threatened native birds kokako, stitchbird, takahe, and kakariki in their leafy realm, and the massive eels churning the water at their daily 1.30 pm feed.

Tuatara
The captive residents include tuatara, the "living fossil" that roamed the earth at the same time as the dinosaurs. Tuataras are reptiles, but they are very different to lizards, crocodiles and amphibians. Their primitive body structure suggests that they have changed little in the past 220 million years, making them one of the world's oldest and most un-evolved species. In Maori, Tuatara means ‘spiny back'. An adult can grow up to 24cm in length and weigh about 500 grams.

Cafe Takahe overlooks the enclosure of its namesake, the colourful flightless bird that was saved from extinction through the pioneering efforts of the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre.

Facilities: Pukaha Mount Bruce has a visitor centre, café, education programmes, audio visual and static displays, and wheelchair access tracks through native bush.

Location: On State highway 2, about 30 kilometres north of Masterton and 10 km south of Eketahuna.

Opening times and costs: Open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm.

Entrance fees
Adults: $15
Children 5 - 15 years: $4
Children under 5: Free
Members: Free
School groups: $1.50 per student.

Guided Walks
Adults: $25
Children: $12.50

These maps are intended as a guideline only; you must check the exact location of the reserve yourself. Wildlife Extra assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or usefulness of the information on this website.