Wellington Zealandia Sanctuary

I visited a sanctuary for native animals and plants where great efforts are being made to preserve or restore the original flora and fauna from before the conquest and settlement by the Europeans, i.e. 800 years ago, at the time of settlement by the Maori.

The motto of the exhibition: "The future can no longer be What is going to happen, it is What are we going to do?" (!)

The birdlife and their songs were enchanting, so exotic and alien to our ears. The vegetation was also completely different to that in Europe and the introduced pines from California are also being systematically eliminated here. What I identified as palm trees are actually ferns that grow as tall as houses and have trunks like palm trees.

I didn't see a kiwi bird, but I did see a tuatara... A relic from the dragon era... 🦎🦜