Welcome to The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary – an extraordinary part of New Zealand.
Just minutes from Nelson’s city centre, the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is the South Island’s largest fully fenced eco-sanctuary—690 hectares of protected native forest alive with rare and threatened species. This is a place where you can reconnect with nature, breathe deeply, and experience the mauri (life force) of Aotearoa’s unique environment.
Home to iconic species like the kiwi, tuatara, and kākāriki, the Sanctuary offers self-guided exploration across 15km of walking tracks, as well as guided day and night tours.
Find us on Instagram
Share your photos with #brooksanctuary
A tough update from the Sanctuary.
Last week on Wednesday, strong winds hit the Sanctuary and Campground hard, causing seven breaches along the pest-proof fence (including the section shown here, brought down by a fallen tree).
As soon as it was safe (the next morning), our staff and volunteer fence repair team swung into action. By Tuesday everything was patched, and by Friday permanent repairs were completed.
This is also stoat dispersal season, so we’ve responded at each breach site with a dense grid of traps and monitoring tunnels, plus extra monitoring around the fence line. These will be checked regularly for the next eight weeks.
A couple of tracks were temporarily closed for tree clearance, but they’ll all reopen tomorrow. Ngā mihi nui for your patience — and huge thanks to our incredible staff and volunteers.
As soon as it was safe (the next morning), our staff and volunteer fence repair team swung into action. By Tuesday, everything was patched, and by Friday, permanent repairs were completed..
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #TheSanctuary #NelsonNZ #TeTauIhu #ConservationNZ #PredatorFree #PestProofFence #Biodiversity #VolunteerNZ #StoatControl #NatureRecovery
Jan 6
✨ Farewell 2025, Welcome 2026 ✨
As we say goodbye to 2025, we want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has supported, volunteered, visited, and stood alongside Brook Waimārama Sanctuary.
One of the standout moments of 2025 was the successful hatching of our first kiwi pukupuku (little-spotted kiwi) chick — a remarkable conservation milestone.
In 2026, we’re looking ahead with energy and purpose — working to ensure our Sanctuary continues to thrive, wildlife and forest are protected, and our community of nature champions keeps growing. We’d love you to be part of it.
🌿 Visit the Sanctuary
🛠️ Volunteer your time
💚 Donate or become a supporter
✨ Become a Junior Ranger
📣 Share our story with others
Together, we can keep this special place thriving for future generations.
From all of us at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, we wish you a safe, happy, and hopeful New Year. Let’s make 2026 our biggest year yet.
🌿We are open Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00am to 5:00pm (Closed Monday`s) and we look forward to your visit!
Dec 31
Ngā mihi nui to everyone helping keep the Sanctuary predator-free and flourishing. This is exactly what restoring nature looks like.ry after the May translocation.
Since May, we’ve been quietly hopeful for this moment. Kiwi pukupuku typically lay eggs between July and January, with an incubation period of around 65 to 75 days (and it’s the males who do the incubating).
Now, we know they’re breeding and thriving here.
As ecologist Robert Schadewinkel said:
“We know they’re breeding, we know they’re happy, we know they’ve found a new home and they’re loving it.”
Ngā mihi nui to everyone helping keep the Sanctuary predator free and flourishing. This is exactly what restoring nature looks like.
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #Whakatū #TeTauihu #kiwipukupuku #littleSpottedKiwi #predatorfree #conservation #natureiscomingback #NelsonNZ
Dec 27
A Christmas gift in the Sanctuary: our first kiwi pukupuku chick 🪶
Just over six months after kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) were reintroduced to the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, we can confirm what we’d all been hoping for: breeding has begun, and the first chick has hatched.
Ecologist Robert Schadewinkel:
“It was an absolutely delightful, joyful moment. I couldn’t hope for anything better than that just before Christmas.”
This is a huge milestone for Whakatū Nelson, and a proud moment for everyone who has backed this mahi, from our volunteers and staff to our wider community.
Predator-free sanctuaries work, and this tiny newcomer is proof.
Read the full news article: Link in bio
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #Whakatū #TeTauihu #kiwipukupuku #littleSpottedKiwi #predatorfree #conservation #biodiversity #NelsonNZ
Dec 25
Need to walk off the Christmas pudding and all the trimmings? 🎄🥾
If you’re in Nelson for the holidays, come visit the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary — we’re open Boxing Day, 27 and 28 December. It’s the perfect place to stretch your legs and unwind in our native forest.
Closed Christmas Day and Monday 29 December (the sanctuary is closed every Monday throughout the summer).
Dec 24
🌿 Ngahere Neighbourhood: tātarāmoa (bush lawyer)
Ever found yourself caught in the bush—literally? Chances are you’ve met tātarāmoa, the native bush lawyer (Rubus cissoides).
This hardy climber uses hooked prickles to grip and scramble its way up trees, sometimes reaching more than 10 metres high. Those same hooks can make for an unpleasant surprise to anyone brushing past—but they’re also what help tātarāmoa thrive in the dense ngahere.
In spring, clusters of small white flowers appear, followed by bright red berries from December through April—food for birds, and once a sweet treat for Māori, who also used parts of the plant for medicine and even dye.
A true survivor, tātarāmoa grows across Aotearoa, from lowland forest to wetland edge. Next time you’re walking the tracks at the Sanctuary, look for its toothed leaves and trailing vines weaving their way through the understorey. Just don’t grab on for balance!
📸 Photography by Rebecca Bowater
🔎 Species: Rubus cissoides
🟢 Conservation status: Not Threatened
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #NativePlants #Conservation #NewZealandNature
Dec 22
