In the morning we drove to the Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. A 47 km long fence was built around a mountain to keep introduced predators out.
The fence protects plants and animals from malicious cats, mice, rats, possums, deer, and hedgehogs (however they got to New Zealand). Some of these animals are considered worth protecting elsewhere, but in New Zealand, they are considered threats to native species.
Our dedicated guide told us all this and more during our "Ancient Forest Tour". We hiked through a dense forest filled with silver ferns and huge trees. Our guide was one of the 300 volunteers who help with the project to conserve endangered species, in addition to the ten full-time positions. We didn't see a kiwi unfortunately (which wasn't expected since they are nocturnal animals), but we did see some of the highly endangered kaka (forest parrots). The animals came close to us mainly because our guide had brought them some peanuts. They skillfully cracked them open and threw away the shells, which they didn't like as much. Afterwards, we stayed in the area for a while and took another walk. Our journey continued towards Taupo through an area with volcanic activity. We stopped at the Thermal Valley. We took a walk on private land with thermal activity. The volcano has been dormant here for some time, but the temperatures just below the surface are still very hot. The paths had seen better days in some places and the activity was somewhat restricted, but you could see steam and bubbling water at various points. An intense sulfur smell accompanied us on our walk as well. Back at the parking lot, we had to first shoo away a peacock and some chickens from our car so as not to run them over when leaving. The little chickens looked very fluffy, but apparently not blessed with much intelligence. Instead of running away from the starting car, one of them hid right underneath... However, we were finally able to leave without harming any feathered residents. We were able to see what New Zealand would have looked like without the influences of introduced species at the Sanctuary Mountain Maungatauari. Afterwards, we made a stop in an area with thermal activity.
