Among many things Matariki is a time of reflection, hope, togetherness, and our connection to te Taiao (the natural environment). We hope everyone across the motu gets time over this period to reflect, share kai with friends and whānau, and enjoy the nature around us.
To ensure those in our local community have the opportunity to access nature this weekend we are offering half price entry for adults alongside kids go free, making family entry the same price as standard adult entry.
No need to book just visit Orokonui this weekend 10th, 11th, and 12th of July 2026. With the sanctuary open to visit 9:30am-4:30pm(last entry 3:30pm) and the cafe open to get some delicious kai between 10am-3pm.
Adults: $13, Kids (Under 18): Free
Kids can take part in our free school holiday activity “Leafy Lookout” and there is plenty to see in the sanctuary at this time of year. With the forest looking its most lush and many birds coming lower down into the forest for great viewing.
Above: Kererū feeding on ripe miro fruit is a sight associated with Matariki
From Sunday morning to Wednesday evening the sanctuary received more than 200mm of rain with some very intensive periods. Extreme rainfall events like these are perhaps one of the most destructive weather events the sanctuary can experience. Around our fence a number of highly specialised culverts work hard to allow the flow of water both in and out of the sanctuary whole preventing incursions from unwanted mammals. High rainfall has the potential to overwhelm these culverts risking blowing out the fence or creating slips that can damage critical infrastructure.
In this most recent event the sanctuary got off relatively lightly. Thanks to the efforts of staff who spent much of Monday evening managing the culverts and clearing drains, as well as strategic infrastructure work carried out over the last couple of years seems to have prevented damage to the fence. Ensuring the biosecurity of the sanctuary remains secure. However, with the volume of rain experience there has been damage across the sanctuary to tracks and the fence road. Some requiring remediation through heavy machinery like diggers. The quality of our tracks and roads don’t just enhance visitor experience, they are also vital to how our staff can effectively and safely respond to the needs of the sanctuary.
As we begin the clean up costs to get everything back in tip top shape are already looking upwards of $10000. While things could have been a lot worst any cost like this has large impacts for us as a not for profit. Any donations towards supporting the sanctuary at this time would go along way to ensuring remediation work can be carried out we can be as prepared as possible for any future event.
To make a donation you can do so by heading to our donation portal here, if you would prefer to make a donation via internet banking please use the details below, and email accounts@orokonui.nz to let us know so we can send you a receipt.
Account Name: Orokonui Ecosanctuary Trust
Account Number: 06-0901-0377788-00
Particulars: Surname, FirstName
Reference: Donation
Part of the sanctuary that should not be a river, captured by one of our operations team on Sunday night
School holidays and Puaka Matariki is just around the corner and we have some great offerings at Orokonui for everyone to enjoy. So make the most of these stunning winter days an get out into nature this July.
Kā Whetū o Orokonui – School Holiday Programme
Discover how kā whetū (the stars) of Matariki connect with the natural world. Meet some of the “stars” of Orokonui and learn how people have looked to the stars and the environment for knowledge, guidance, and wellbeing for generations. Make sure to book your spot as these programmes often sell out, book your spot here.
Kids Go Free for July School Holidays
Free self guided entry for under 18s during the July school holidays. Learn more about leaves in the forest with our free leafy lookout kids activity. Where young explorers will need to find and draw some of our favourite leaves to get a free winter treat from the Horopito Cafe. No need to book just show up and ask at reception during your visit.
NanoFest 2026 – Orokonui Eco Explorers at the Wall Street Mall
Come see our education team in the Wall Street as part of the International Science Festival NanoFest. Try out nature-based games, get creative with craft activities, and learn simple, practical ways to make your own backyard a safer haven for native species. Wednesday 15th and Friday 17th in the Wall Street Mall.
Orokonui is a long term project. With a 1,000 year plan ahead of you it can be easy to forget where you have been. Luckily there are photographs, these records of our past allow us to see just how much this place has changed in a relatively short period of time.
A group stands in front of the visitor’s centre site in 2007
The same view capture in 2024
The visitor’s centre was built in 2010, one clear marker of it’s position is the large tī kōuka/cabbage tree out the front. This tī kōuka also marked the entry to the Swain farmhouse, the image below from the 1920’s shows two tī kōuka either side of the door. We don’t know which one of these trees is the one now in front of the visitor’s centre, only that one of them survived to welcome visitors to the sanctuary more than 100 years on. It was the Swain’s who also farmed this land wth cows. The historic stone byre who’s foundations are still present near the visitor’s centre was where milk was collected before being taken by horse and cart to the roadside for collection.
The Swain homestead circa 1920. Note the tī kōuka/cabbage trees out the front
When built, one key features of the visitor centre is the wetland area in front of the deck. Not only an important part of the view, these ponds help process water from the building and carpark, ensuring it is in the best quality possible before continuing down the Orokonui stream.
The change in this area is phenomenal, each year a great display of toetoe and harakeke occurs. Many birds now use this area, including kakaruai/robins and titipounamu/rifleman which have been seen hopping through the bushes. Keep an eye out on a warm day because this area has also become popular with tussock skinks. Most recently this area has become home to a moa, or at least a carved wooded sculpture, providing guests with an opportunity to consider those birds lost before being wowed by those that remain.
View of the ponds from the ramp just after construction in 2010
The same view showing huge plant growth in 2024
Planting for the rare plants garden began in 2010. This has become a great asset to the sanctuary with many examples of plants rare or uncommon in the surrounding landscape. Inside the sanctuary with no grazing pressure from goats, deer, rabbits or possums plant growth has been at its most extreme. Many of the plants in the garden have taken very well to their environment, and the display of flowers such as the daisy Celmisia hookeri at the right time of year is truly remarkable. If you haven’t spent time slowly wondering this area you should. As well as the large flashy and unusual. There is also a suite of smaller equally as incredible plants amongst this collection.
The rare plants garden not long after establishment in 2010
The rare plants garden in 2024
Looking from the other end of the garden you can get a sense of how much this part of the sanctuary has grown. So much in some places that tracking tunnels that were once out in the open have been swamped by native plants. Where gorse once dominated a future forest has pushed up to take its place.
Interestedly where once planting was a focus, control of this vegetation is now a major task for our team. To ensure we can carry out our conservation activities we must keep clear our 60+km of monitoring tracks and to avoid incursions or fence damage we must keep trees off both sides of the fence.
View towards Mihiwaka showing grass and gorse in 2010
Mihiwaka is now only barely visible above the growing vegetation in 2024
Most excitingly in terms of plant growth we are now also seeing a proliferation of young podocarps like tōtara, miro, and rimu emerging. These are the future of our forest, and their return to this landscape is a big part of the sanctuaries 1000 year vision. We may not be around to see them get big, but we can we can be happy that we got to experience and enjoy Orokonui, and that others will as well for generations to come.
Ever thought your favourite reality TV show could do with more screeching and flapping? We are super excited to announce #KākāCam is now live!
Port Otago and Orokonui Ecosanctuary are this week launching Kākā Cam, a 24/7 camera situated deep in the sanctuary and focused on a busy feeding station.
A kākā gets up close and personal to check out the new camera.
The camera is a sister to Valley Cam, which is attached to the ecosanctuary’s visitor centre and overlooks the Orokonui Valley towards the mountain Māpounui.
Setting up this camera wasn’t without its challenges though. This launch itself was delayed by the kākā deciding the camera and transmitter were new toys put out just for them. Unfortunately, the same beak that makes them so great at ripping up trees seems to be also useful and camera dismantlement.
The feeding station is one of five within the 307-hectare fenced ecosanctuary and is designed especially so kākā and nectar-feeding birds can access it, but blackbirds and sparrows cannot. The stations contain a special parrot pellet, replenished daily, and act as a hub of social activity.
Acting Port Otago Chief Executive Grant Bicknell* says it’s great to see the second camera up and running. “We had a clear goal to deploy livestreaming technology that could take the Orokonui experience out into the wider community. It’s been worth the wait, to ensure the streaming is reliable and bulletproof – or, in this case, kākā proof. We predict Kākā Cam will become a popular source of entertainment for adults and children, alike. The bird song alone is worth a listen.”
GPD Productions Director George Dawes has led the work. “Bringing the Kākā Cam to life has been a fantastic project, and after a few teething problems, or maybe pecking problems, we’re ready to go live. It’s great to help showcase Orokonui’s work and make it available to a wider audience.”
Thank you to fellow Orokonui sponsor Unifone, which generously increased the bandwidth capacity to the ecosanctuary at no extra cost, enabling the livestream to be possible.
Check out the Kākā Cam here, and share it with your friends and whānau.
Recently the visitor’s centre played host to a gathering of a different sort of wildlife, with the St Margarets College disco themed ball. After some research online the organising students found that no other venue stood our quite like Orokonui.
Over the years Orokonui has hosted everything from weddings and concerts, to corporate meetings and birthdays. But we believe this may be the first ever event at Orokonui to have a light up disco floor.
With the café chairs cleared out there was plenty of space for the 180 students to dance, chat, and hang. The use of the classroom also allowed for a dedicated photo space, perfect for capturing the variety of incredible outfits.
While the light up dance floor and other decorations made the space look amazing, students noted that nature had done the best job decorating. There were even times when the sunset over the valley and silver peaks even upstaged the disco floor.
Most importantly as with any good party, there was abundant delicious food to keep dancers fuelled into the night. All the kai for this event was crafted by our stellar café team. They worked hard and managed to pull off an amazing spread with not just enough food for all, but with something for every dietary requirement as well.
Despite the size of the event the student organisers were able to focus on enjoying the evening thanks to our events team taking care of everything else. After the event they had this to say about the experience.
“Amazing service! From the initial visit, to the ball day and, even post ball, 200% all throughout. It was super easy to work with the wonderful team at Orokonui they made things on my end so so much easier than I could’ve ever imagined. They helped facilitate and allow my vision to come to life.”
Attending the evening was also the funnest way the students could support conservation, with all proceeds of events like these going straight back to helping us help wildlife thrive.
To host your next event at Orokonui get in touch with us by emailing events@orokonui.nz.
When ākonga/students from room 5 at Māori Hill School visited in May, they were amazed by the incredible taonga/treasures that live in Orokonui. They wanted to share what they learned during their visit and researching at school, so others could learn about and be inspired by the taonga of Orokonui as well.
They worked to produce this amazing series of recordings about five of the taonga that call Orokonui home. You can listen to them all here.
