Project Tongariro Field Trip
A Weekend Exploring Maungatautari
Written by David Lacey, Project Tongariro Member
10 July - 12 July 2026
In July, Project Tongariro organised a weekend away to Cambridge to explore Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain, with a great group staying at the very well-appointed Rob Waddell Lodge at Karapiro.
For those who haven’t come across Maungatautari before, it’s a huge predator-free ecological sanctuary built around Maungatautari Mountain. A purpose-built pest-proof fence surrounds the sanctuary, helping protect native wildlife from introduced predators such as rats, stoats and possums. The result is a protected environment where native forest and birdlife can thrive - and after almost three decades of predator control, you can certainly see and hear the difference.
Friday evening was all about arriving, settling in and enjoying a shared dinner - followed by a really interesting talk from David, one of our Project Tongariro members, who works for MyNoke.
For those unfamiliar with MyNoke, it’s a pretty fascinating Kiwi operation using billions of earthworms to process organic waste on a large scale. The process turns things like food, agricultural and other organic waste into nutrient-rich vermicast, while diverting huge amounts of material away from landfill. It was a really interesting insight into a very different approach to waste management and sustainability.
Saturday brought an early and VERY chilly start as we shuffled vehicles around before being dropped at the start of the Wairere Track. The Wairere is a well-formed 11km gravel track running roughly north to south through the wider Maungatautari area. Now, “well formed” doesn’t necessarily mean easy! There were plenty of puff-inducing climbs along the way, but the views from the lookout at the top made the effort well worthwhile. The Wairere Track is within the greater sanctuary but is also free for public access.
From the lookout it was another couple of hours, mostly downhill, back towards the visitor centre. Along the way we passed two runners heading UP the track. Their plan was to run up, all the way down to where we had started, turn around and then run back to the visitor centre. We thought they were being a little ambitious…they still got back before us!
Our group saw kākā, bellbirds, robins, whiteheads and riflemen, with birdsong seemingly everywhere. It’s pretty special to be walking through the bush and seeing and hearing native birds in such abundance.
Back to the lodge Saturday afternoon, followed by another shared dinner and a fascinating talk from Graham Parker, one of the sanctuary trust’s trustees.
Graham gave us a really informative insight into the history of Maungatautari, how the sanctuary has evolved and some of the plans for its future. It certainly gave us a much greater appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes to protect and restore such an important piece of native New Zealand.
Sunday saw us back at the visitor centre, this time heading into the southern enclosure, the paid-access area - and if the birdlife on Saturday was impressive, Sunday took things up another notch.
We were fortunate to have Margaret, a Project Tongariro member and forest ecologist, join us for the day. Her in-depth knowledge of the flora and fauna added another whole dimension to the walk, with plenty of stops to learn about the plants, trees, birds and the wider ecology of the sanctuary.
A climb up to the viewing platform gave us a great canopy-level view across the bush before we headed off to explore more of the tracks and walks through the southern enclosure. Eventually it was time to call it a weekend and head for home at our own pace.
A huge shout-out to Shirley for all the planning and organising that went into the weekend. It was a brilliant couple of days with a great bunch of people, plenty of walking, plenty of laughs and a fantastic opportunity to explore somewhere pretty special right on our doorstep.
Sometimes you don’t need to travel far to discover something amazing.
Thank you to Shorty and David for sharing your trip photos.
