Keep up to date!
Stay tuned for the latest Kiwi news and information on our upcoming competitions!
🌼 Ngahere Neighbourhood: mikoikoi (New Zealand iris)
With its elegant fans of golden-green leaves and delicate white blooms, mikoikoi (Libertia ixioides) brings quiet beauty to the ngahere. This hardy perennial herb is found from coastal cliffs to mountain slopes throughout Aotearoa and is a true New Zealand endemic.
In spring and early summer, mikoikoi produces clusters of white, three-petalled flowers that give way to striking orange seed capsules. Its leaves often take on yellow tones in full sun, forming dense clumps that help stabilise soil on ridges and banks.
Mikoikoi belongs to the iris family and is one of several Libertia species unique to Aotearoa. There are two species found within the Sanctuary, with Libertia moorae being endemic to Te Tau Ihu (Top of the South). You’ll often find it along the Sanctuary’s sunny forest edges and stream banks — a subtle but beautiful reminder of our native flora’s diversity and resilience.
🔎 Species: Libertia ixioides
🟢 Conservation status: Not Threatened
📸 Photo by Rebecca Bowater
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #NativePlants #Mikoikoi #NewZealandIris #Conservation #NewZealandNature
Nov 27
✨ An unforgettable kiwi pukupuku encounter
Sometimes, you just get lucky.
Some of our night tour visitors got the surprise of a lifetime. While admiring the glow worms, the group suddenly heard a male kiwi pukupuku calling nearby. Moments later, one of our visitors felt something gently brushing against her feet.
When the torch came on, there it was — a kiwi pukupuku standing right beside the group.
Even better, someone captured the moment on video.
This curious kiwi wandered off into the ngahere… then strolled back for another look. Encounters like this are incredibly rare, and seeing kiwi confidently exploring the Sanctuary — only months after their arrival in May — is a wonderful sign of how well they’re settling and thriving.
A magical night none of us will forget.
🎟️ Want to experience the ngahere after dark? Join one of our guided night tours.
[Link in bio]
Video credit: Carmeli Bitoin
#kiwiencounter #kiwisighting #BrookSanctuary #kiwipukupuku #LittleSpottedKiwi #AotearoaNature #PredatorFreeNZ #NelsonNZ #NZwildlife #ConservationNZ #Kaitiakitanga #NZnature #NatureLoversNZ #NZbirds #Nzmustdo #OnlyInNZ
Nov 24
🌿📸 Final call for entries! 🌸
There’s still time to enter our Spring Photography Competition — but be quick, entries close 30 November!
The Sanctuary is alive with the sights and sounds of spring: kākāriki flashes in the canopy, tūī among the kōwhai, and tiny fungi emerging along the tracks. Capture what inspires you most about the season and share the beauty of the ngahere through your lens.
🏆 Categories
• Junior Photographer (under 18) → Instant camera + 2x Night Tour tickets
• Adult Amateur Photographer (18+) → 2x Night Tour tickets
✨ Winning images will be featured in our newsletter, on social media, and displayed at the Visitor Centre.
📅 Take your photo at the Sanctuary before 30 November and enter online:
➡️ Link in bio
This photo was taken by Phillipa Orphan for last year`s competition
#BrookPhotoCompSpring #BrookSanctuary #NelsonNZ #NaturePhotography #Ngahere
Nov 23
🌿 Introducing our new Junior Ranger Programme – inspiring the next generation of kaitiaki! 🌿
We’re so excited to launch our Junior Ranger Programme, designed to connect tamariki with nature and inspire lifelong guardianship of Aotearoa’s native wildlife and forests.
Open to children aged five and up, the programme encourages hands-on learning through fun activities and events that build curiosity, care, and respect for the natural world.
Each Junior Ranger receives:
🎒 A welcome pack with an embroidered badge, certificate, stickers, and activity booklet
🌿 Unlimited entry to the Sanctuary for a full year
💌 The Waimārama Chronicles – a quarterly newsletter full of stories, challenges, and conservation tips
Chief executive Chris McCormack says,
“When children spend time in the ngahere, learning about the species that live here and what it takes to protect them, they develop a lifelong sense of care and responsibility. These are the kaitiaki of tomorrow.”
Junior Ranger memberships are $24 per year, with family discounts and gift options available.
👉 Find out more on our website: Link in bio
#NatureLovers #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #SanctuaryStories #Conservation #NelsonNZ #BrookSanctuary #FamilyFun #juniorranger
Nov 19
🛠️ DOC 200 Trap Upgrade: Stainless, Sensitive, and Kiwi-Ready 🐦
Behind the scenes, hundreds of traps are quietly protecting the wildlife that calls the Sanctuary home.
Over the past few years, our dedicated volunteer team has worked through every DOC 200 trap across the Sanctuary — recalibrating, repairing, and finally replacing them with new stainless-steel models designed for reliability, sensitivity, and kiwi safety.
These upgrades mean:
🔹 More consistent results for targeting weasels and stoats
🔹 Less maintenance for our volunteer monitors
🔹 A safer forest for kiwi pukupuku and other native species
This project marks a major step forward in our ongoing biosecurity programme — proof that the small, steady work of volunteers adds up to big conservation impact.
💚 Read the full story by Neroli Amyes on our website
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NatureLovers #Conservation #PredatorFreeNZ #BirdsofNZ #SanctuaryStories #SaveOurNatives
Nov 19
🌿 Extended evening hours – Thursday 20 November
As a special trial, the Sanctuary will be open later on Thursday 20 November, with last entry at 7.00pm and closing at 8.15pm.
It’s a perfect chance to enjoy the ngahere as dusk settles and the forest comes alive with evening birdsong. Take a walk, listen for the calls of pīwakawaka and riroriro, and soak up the magic of the Sanctuary in the soft evening light.
Shortly after the doors close, we’ll also be running a guided Night Tour — there are only a few spaces left, so book soon if you’d like to join!
📅 Thursday 20 November
🕖 Last entry 7.00pm | Close 8.15pm
🎟️ Book the Night Tour: Link in bio
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BrookSanctuary #KiwiPukupuku #NelsonNZ #GetOutside #NatureLovers #FamilyFun #NelsonTasman
Nov 17
