- Address: New Zealand, Wellington;
- Cost: free of charge;
- Tour starts: 1 hour before sunset
The New Zealand Animal Center or Karori Nature Reserve is located in Wellington , a fifteen minute walk from the city center. Until the middle of the 19th century, the whole territory of the park was covered with dense forest and local authorities decided to burn part of the zone, to cut out the rest of the territory and use cut down trees for the needs of agriculture. For 10 years, until 1860, the huge territory of the park was ennobled. These measures did not harm him, but on the contrary helped the local flora and fauna. Since then, the park has been under the control of local authorities, but it did not carry the status of a reserve.
In 1999, a long, almost 9-kilometer fence was built that protected fourteen species of mammals that were considered pests: goats, pigs, deer, dogs, hedgehogs, ermines, opossums, ferrets, weasels, cats and three kinds of rats. During the year, all animals found inside the fenced area were destroyed. This was done in order to preserve rare plants in the park, as well as for the full life of endangered animals. Two years later the park was officially recognized as the New Zealand Animal Center.
What to see?
Karori Nature Reserve is an amazing place where rare animals live and beautiful plants grow. Today the park combines the virgin nature and civilization in the form of asphalt paths, signs, benches and viewing platforms. Some of the rare plants were brought from other countries in order to make the flora even richer and preserve its rare representatives.
A lot of birds and animals born and grown in the park were released to nearby islands and territories in order to increase their population, for example: kiwi, sparrows makomaco, nestor-kaka parrots, duck black ducks, uec cranes, frog Mod Island, three-eyed lizard hatteria and many others. Also in the park dwells a chestnut mace, which is famous for its prehistoric ancestors. This kind of reptile lived before the appearance of mammoths.
Surprisingly, the tours of the park are completely free, but they are held only at night, so before you go to the reserve, arm yourself with a flashlight and boldness, because a dense forest and a lot of inhabitants are ready to scare even the biggest daredevil.
How to get there?
The reserve is a 15-minute walk to the south-west from the center of Wellington . In order to visit the park you need to go out to Campbell St or Croydon St. They both run into one of Wellington's main attractions.
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