Over the years, the gullies and sidelings have been retired to protect the waterways on what was previously farmland and rolling countryside — over eight hundred thousand native trees planted since 2007, and a trapping network connecting to the predator-free Maungatautari and beyond.
Kahikatea, tōtara, kōwhai, mānuka, rimu — and around five thousand kauri — planted across the estate since 2007.
With Sanctuary Mountain in the backdrop, the estate offers the birds of Maungatautari a year-round pantry — native flowers and flax. The forest now offers seeds and propagation materials to help grow other forests, wetlands and riparian restorations.
Most likely: tūī, kererū, fantail, kingfisher, silvereye, kākā, bellbird, grey warbler and shining cuckoo.
What began as a plan to grow from the genetics of the maunga — in partnership with local Tangata Whenua and the Maungatautari Mountain Ecological Island Trust — has become the estate's own nursery of natives, raised from berries and seedlings gathered on Takapoto itself: tōtara, kauri, kōwhai, tītoki, kānuka, mānuka, kahikatea and hen-and-chicken ferns among them. They're planted out across the estate and neighbouring properties. Giving back is at the heart of Takapoto Estate; those behind the gate are just the guardians of this very precious piece of land.
The sanctuary is best understood on foot or by e-bike, with a guide who knows what's flowering and who's visiting.
Takapoto Tours
