
TAKAPOTO TOURS
Join a guided tour and find out more about our eco-initiatives.
Explore Takapoto Estate with a Guided Tour
Discover the beauty and dedication behind the Takapoto Estate’s 199ha young forest, home to over 800,000 native plantings like Ratas, Tawa, Nikau, and Rewarewa. The Estate’s eco-initiatives include careful plant selection, thriving native species, and the prominence of over 5,000 Kauri trees.
Join our knowledgeable guides as they take you through Takapoto’s conservation journey, from pest control techniques to sustainable gardening practices. Learn about organic methods that protect the environment while gaining tips for sustainable gardening that you can implement at home.
You can experience the tour in one of three ways: bring your own car, e-bike, or explore on foot. Tours last between 2 to 3 hours, with some options including morning tea (details available upon booking). At the end of each tour, you can also opt for a Takapoto Estate wine tasting.
Takapoto Estate Eco-initiatives
With Sanctuary Mountain in the backdrop, Takapoto Estate offers the birds of Mangatautari a year-round pantry, including native flowers and flax. The forest has also started offering seeds and propagation materials to help grow other forests, wetlands, riparian restorations, subdivision projects, and garden designs.
Over the years, the gullies and sidelings have been retired to protect the waterways on what was previously farmland and rolling countryside. Likewise, an effective pest control program has been a critical investment in maintaining and protecting the Takapoto Estate forest, its native inhabitants, and its neighbors.
The property’s ‘river run’ has been planted extensively. However, a special spot is reserved for the vines that produce some of the Takapoto Estate’s Crossing Point wines. The air movement from the Waikato river keeps the grapes healthy and produces top wines with the help of Alex Coldicutt, Takapoto Estate’s Winemaker.
The Estate is also home to a market-style garden that produces honey, olive oil, fruit, and vegetables. This produce goes into healthy food boxes for ten families every week and is available for guests of the Lakehouse.
The next project on the horizon includes a nursery of native and exotic plants. In partnership with the local Tangata Whenua and the Maungatautari Mountain Ecological Island Trust, Takapoto Estate will be growing from the genetics of the mighty Maunga.
Giving back is at the heart of Takapoto Estate. The development and management of the native forest and plantings will continue to be an area of ongoing investment to contribute to the future of our local ecosystem. Learn more in a guided tour.
