Even though there’s a finite number of walks in ZEALANDIA, there’s an infinite number of ways to do them. You can mix and match the walks to suit your timeframe, energy level and fitness.

Sheila Playford has been described as a ‘Giant Weta Woman’. Since 2011, she has carried out a weekly survey of ZEALANDIA’s Giant Weta population and her dedication recently won her a ZEALANDIA ‘kākā’ award for outstanding volunteer contributions.

The boldness and curiosity of North Island robins/toutouwai makes them great subjects for cognitive research, according to biologist Rachael Shaw from Victoria University. 

Introducing hangehange (Geniostoma ligustrifolium) – this small, pale flower may seem all too easy to miss… but not for our native flies, who happen to be very attracted to pale green! 

This auld proverb means those living together should try to get on, but this ain't necessarily so in the shag colonies at ZEALANDIA.

I’ve just met some of Zealandia’s track team. I didn’t know what to expect really. Some kind of experts in running jumping and throwing things maybe? But I quickly found out that while mountain biking and walking were involved, so were lopping, sawing and digging. Track maintenance is their game, and there are two teams, mid-week and weekend.

Have you ever noticed how kōtukutuku - our native tree fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata) - produces flowers of two different colours? This is because it colour-codes its petals to allow for maximum pollination efficiency.

On earlier visitor maps,  ZEALANDIA`s Lower Dam was referred to as The Lower Lake and the Upper Dam as the Upper Lake. Originally, however, The Lower Dam was named The Lower Reservoir, which was an earth dam completed in 1878. Due to the European settlers wanting farmland, large fires in 1850 and 1860 cleared that area of its broadleaf forest. Some of the valley was farmed uptil 1906, then any remaining catchment area was bought for waterworks.

Do you know your tutu from your supplejack?

You’d be wise not to eat any asparagus-like shoots in the bush if you’re not sure!

In 2014 tramper Matthew Pike found this out the hard way after adding what he thought was a supplejack sapling to his boil-up, only to find – when he woke up in hospital – that he’d seasoned his dinner with the notorious tutu: a poisonous plant full of the neurotoxin tutin. Matthew’s reaction was so severe that his convulsions dislocated his shoulder; he was lucky to survive.