Nga Manu - a Beacon for Mother Nature. Nga Manu Nature Reserve, native swamp forest, wildlife, native birds, Waikanae, Kapiti.

On just 13 hectares, Nga Manu Trust has developed an incredible experience of New Zealand’s natural environment. The swamp forest supports towering 400 year-old Kahikatea trees and the country’s sporting emblem – the Silver Fern. Little rivulets and streams interconnect with a series of ponds and wetlands. The 20,000 visitors who pass through Nga Manu every year have a choice of bush walks. Before you start your adventure, buy a couple of bags of dry feed for the family to make friends with the ducks and other webbed birds flocking at the many ponds.

Special feeders bring the fluttering tui birds very close to the walkways. Fantails will delight you with a jig on a nearby branch and you are bound to spy plump wood pigeons. A number of aviaries, blended into the surroundings, home Kea, Kaka and Kakariki.

You can catch a glimpse of the poor-sighted Brown Kiwi at the nocturnal house. One of the highlights is the daily 2pm feeding of the eels. Too early or too late? Just gently tap the wooden platform at the edge of the Top Pond and you can fool the fat, silver and brown-bellied slippery fellows to show up.

Don’t forget to view the oldest reptile species, the Tuatara. These are as close as you can get to the former residents of Jurassic Park. Another interesting sight is the dive tank where a glass partition enables you to see waterfowls dive under the water.

For the grand overview try the Lookout Tower- you might be able to pick out a picnic spot. Whether you are ambling along a bush walk or relaxing with a sandwich and drink, watch the greatest show Nga Manu has to offer – other people enjoying the natural environment. That’s the real heart of Nga Manu.

Nga Manu is a member of the Nature Coast project.