Visiting Bushy Park Tarapuruhi
Rātānui, one of the largest northern rātā in Aotearoa. This absolute unit is about 39 metres tall, 11 metres in circumference and 4 metres in diameter. So much life and history within one giant of the ngahere. Huia may have perched on its branches many years ago, and moa may have grazed around it.
Tucked away in the outskirts of Whanganui lies Bushy Park Tarapuruhi. It’s an 89 hectare forest protected by a 4.8km long predator-proof fence, and it’s home to a whole lot of endemic and native flora and fauna.
It’s an utterly magical place. Frankly, it took my breath away on multiple occasions. The forest is a tiny but flourishing remnant of North Island temperate lowland forest. Their website offers this description:
The forest itself is a broadleaf podocarp complex dominated by tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) and pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae) with emergent rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) and northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta). Around 160 species of plants have been recorded in the sanctuary (Butcher et al. 2018) and there is considerable structural diversity and complexity from the ground tier through to the sub-canopy and emergent canopy.
Amazingly, it is free (yes, free!) to visit the sanctuary during daylight hours. To enter, you must drive your car through two sets of electric, predator-proof gates. Beyond the gates you are immediately greeted by towering native trees. It truly felt like entering Jurassic Park, and I half expected to encounter a dinosaur cruising through the bush.
In even better news than the free entry: you can actually stay the night within the sanctuary! You have to pay for these experiences and they’re worth every penny. There are two choices: a cosy night in the cabin or a fancy night in the historic homestead. Either is a great choice. I stayed in the cabin, and could not believe that there were tīeke hanging out literally on the deck, and toutouwai right outside the windows. The ruru (morepork) calls at night were so loud, and falling asleep to them was pretty magical. Waking up to the trumpeting calls of tīeke was a real highlight. Suuuch an honour and a privilege to be woken up by an endangered species!
There’s a wetland, there are 3.4km of bush walks to choose from to suit a range of abilities, and plenty of places to sit. There are hihi (stitchbird) and korimako (bellbird) feeders scattered throughout the sanctuary too, which are a great place to stop and watch.
This sanctuary is full of history and it’s well worth putting the time in to learn about.
The small wetland at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi is stunning. On a day without wind, the water perfectly reflects the forest and sky. At night, it even reflected the stars. A perfect place for quite contemplation accompanied by amazing bird song.
Bird life
In 2001 and 2004, toutouwai/North Island robins (Petroica longipes) were introduced to the sanctuary. It’s estimated there are now over 600 toutouwai thriving within these magical 89 hectares, which is a remarkable level of density. After spending 24 hours within Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, I can confirm that toutouwai are literally everywhere. I don’t think I walked more than 3 minutes without seeing at least one toutouwai foraging for food. Another species absolutely thriving within the sanctuary is the tīeke/North Island saddleback (Philesturnus rufusater). This endemic wattlebird species was reintroduced in 2006, and the population has grown to be around 700 birds. The abundant populations of both toutouwai and tīeke are success stories for Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, and everyone who has helped achieved this is a legend.
Other native manu that call this brilliant place home are riroriro (grey warbler), tūī, kererū, pīwakawaka (fantail), hihi (stitchbird), korimako (bellbird), and ruru (morepork). There are many introduced species present too, as well as frequent visitors and rarer appearances of some species too.
I confess that I mostly only took photos of toutouwai, due to both their prolific numbers and the fact that they’re such obliging little models.
In my opinion, tīeke are more difficult to get photos of than toutouwai as they tend to keep their distance or are usually more concealed amongst the bush, intent on extracting bugs and grubs. I managed to get this series of shots of an adult tīeke inspecting every leaf of this tree to something to eat.
Where is Bushy Park Tarapuruhi?
Use the map below to help locate this extraordinary sanctuary, which is lovingly cared for with over 500 hours of volunteer efforts a month. For more detailed instructions on how to get there, the link is here: https://bushypark.nz/visit/
I hope you get the chance to visit Bushy Park Tarapuruhi one day soon! It’s an excellent place for a day out in nature, or you can stay the night and experience the magic of the ngahere after dark, too.