New Zealand has a layered patchwork of conservation areas — national parks covering 30 percent of the land, marine reserves protecting fragments of the coast, fenced and island sanctuaries holding the line for endangered species, dark sky reserves protecting the night, and Ramsar wetlands of international significance. Together they tell the story of how the country is trying — unevenly, contested at every step — to preserve what’s left and rebuild what was lost.
This map shows all five categories on one canvas. Use the layer switches to toggle each on or off. Click any feature for the founding date, area, family-friendliness and the story behind it. Below the map, every site is listed with a short paragraph — over 96 entries in total.
The whole thing matters because conservation in NZ is genuinely contested. The ‘Predator Free 2050’ goal is debated on cost and feasibility. Marine protection covers a small fraction of the EEZ. Wetlands have lost 90 percent of their pre-European extent. And the layered legal status — national parks, marine reserves, scenic reserves, sanctuaries, Ramsar wetlands, dark sky reserves — sometimes overlap, sometimes leave gaps, and require a single map to make sense of.
National parks
13 + 1
Marine reserves
46
Sanctuaries
24
Dark sky sites
5
Ramsar wetlands
7
Layers:
Click any feature on the map for the full story. Toggle layers above to focus on what you care about — national parks (terrestrial), marine reserves (coast), sanctuaries (predator-free islands and fenced areas), dark sky reserves, or Ramsar wetlands.
National parks
NZ’s 13 national parks cover about 30,000 km² (10 percent of the land area). Te Urewera has its own legal personhood under the 2014 Te Urewera Act and is shown above with its special status. For deep detail and family information on each park, see the dedicated NZ National Parks Explorer.
Marine reserves
NZ has 44 fully protected marine reserves covering less than 1 percent of the territorial sea. Goat Island Marine Reserve at Cape Rodney was the first (1975); the Sea Change proposals would extend protection in the Hauraki Gulf substantially. For family fishiness ratings and full per-reserve detail, see the dedicated NZ Marine Reserves Explorer.
Predator-free sanctuaries
Mainland fenced sanctuaries (Zealandia-style), landscape-scale unfenced projects (Taranaki Mounga), and pest-free islands (Tiritiri, Kapiti). Together these are NZ’s functional response to the Predator Free 2050 goal.
- Kapiti IslandKapiti Island has been a public reserve since 1897 and was declared a nature reserve in 1965 — long before the predator-eradication era. Possums and rats were finally eliminated by 1996, completing the restoration. The island is large enough (1965 ha) to support viable breeding populations of multiple endangered species. DOC issues a daily permit cap of about 100 day visitors. Bookable overnight stays operate through iwi-led Kapiti Island Nature Tours, which has been a leading example of iwi-tourism partnership in NZ conservation.
- Tiritiri MatangiTiritiri Matangi (Tiri) was the prototype community-restoration island. Predators eradicated by 1993, the original farmland replanted by volunteers from the early 1980s onward. Takahē were translocated in 1991 and now have a stable breeding population on the island. Kōkako, hihi, tīeke and kākāriki all reintroduced. Public ferry from Auckland (Devonport), Gulf Harbour and Whangaparāoa. Operated as a partnership between DOC and the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi (SoTM) volunteer group.
- Motuora IslandMotuora was farmland until the late 1980s. The Motuora Restoration Society took on a 30-year lease and progressively replanted the entire island with native bush — over 400,000 trees planted between 1994 and 2017. Predator-free declared 1995. Tuatara reintroduced 2003; kiwi 2005. Restoration is now well past the early replanting stage and the island reads as bush rather than restoration site. Public day-use unrestricted.
- Mangere & Rangatira (Chatham group)Mangere and Rangatira are two of the smaller Chatham Islands, both managed as predator-free sanctuaries. They are the sites where the black robin recovery (under Don Merton in the 1980s) succeeded — every black robin alive today descends from a single female (‘Old Blue’) and the male ‘Old Yellow’. The islands also hold breeding populations of Chatham Island taiko, Chatham petrel and several other endemics. Access is permit-only by DOC for conservation work.
- Whenua Hou / Codfish IslandWhenua Hou (Codfish Island) is a forested island NW of Stewart Island. Kiore eradicated by 1998 in a complex aerial 1080 operation. Now the main breeding site for the kākāpō recovery programme, with most of the kākāpō population spending part of each year here. Strict access (permit only by DOC for conservation work). Visitors are routinely turned back. Whenua Hou represents what ‘predator-free’ looks like at landscape scale on the only kind of substrate where it’s actually been achieved long-term.
- Zealandia (Te Māra a Tāne)The Karori reservoir valley was retired from water supply in the 1990s and converted into the world’s first fully fenced urban ecosanctuary, opened in 1999. The 8.6 km predator-proof fence is the prototype that’s been replicated at sanctuaries around the country — a Xcluder mesh design with a curved hood and skirt that excludes everything from possums down to mice. Inside, an ecological recovery has been underway for over two decades. Tuatara are breeding successfully. Takahē have been reintroduced. Wellington’s suburbs now hear kākā at dawn — birds that disperse out of Zealandia are reshaping the city’s birdlife. Run by the Karori Sanctuary Trust as a charitable trust, with significant volunteer input.
- Mokoia IslandMokoia is best known culturally as the place of the Hinemoa and Tūtānekai legend. The island became a Crown reserve in 1953 and a Te Arawa-managed reserve under the Mokoia Island Vested Trust. Predators eradicated by 2001. NI brown kiwi, hihi, tīeke and kōkako reintroduced. Access is by booked tour through Te Arawa kaitiaki — visitor numbers are restricted and the experience includes the cultural narrative as well as the conservation one.
- Raoul Island (Kermadec)Raoul is the largest Kermadec Island, 1100 km NNE of mainland NZ. Goats arrived in the 1830s and devastated the bush; pigs followed; ship rats and Norway rats arrived as escapees. Eradication ran in stages: goats finally cleared by 1986; rats and cats by 2002. The native bush has recovered substantially. Subtropical seabird colonies are rebuilding. DOC operates a hostel-style ranger station with rotating teams of long-stay volunteers — applications are competitive.
- Tāwharanui Open SanctuaryTāwharanui (the original ‘open sanctuary’ model that Shakespear later copied) was completed in 2004 with a 2.5 km predator-proof fence across the neck of the Tāwharanui peninsula. 600 hectares of farm, bush and beach. NI brown kiwi were the headline reintroduction; takahē, kākāriki and NZ dotterel followed. The combination of working farm + sanctuary + accessible beach has made it Auckland Council’s most popular regional park. Camping by booking, day-use unrestricted.
- Hauturu / Little BarrierHauturu / Little Barrier was reserved as NZ’s first nature reserve in 1894 by the Crown after a controversial Ngāti Wai dispute. Cats were eradicated 1977-80 in NZ’s first major mammal eradication. Kiore (Pacific rat) eradicated by 2004 — at the time the largest rat eradication done. Hauturu held populations of many species (tuatara, hihi, kākāpō, wētapunga) that disappeared elsewhere and continues to be NZ’s most important island ecosystem. Access is permit-only by DOC for research purposes; tourism is not permitted.
- Bushy Park TarapuruhiBushy Park is unusual among fenced sanctuaries because the forest at its core is old-growth — a remnant block of lowland podocarp-broadleaf forest that survived because the surrounding land became a Victorian-era farm in the 1860s, with the bush block protected as part of the homestead grounds. Forest & Bird took over the property in 1962 and ran it as a reserve. The predator-proof fence completed in 2005 enabled reintroductions: hihi (stitchbird), tīeke, NI robin all breeding successfully. The 1906 homestead at the gate is open as accommodation.
- Sanctuary Mountain MaungatautariMaungatautari is a basalt cone south of Cambridge in the Waikato. The fence — completed in 2004-06 across the entire 3400-hectare mountain — was a vastly more ambitious version of the Zealandia model. The challenge was completion (multiple stages of fundraising and construction), eradication of all introduced mammals across the mountain interior, and ongoing maintenance of a 47 km perimeter where any single breach can let predators back in. Brown kiwi, kākā, takahē and kōkako now have functioning populations. Run by the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust with iwi (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura) and volunteer support.
- Cape SanctuaryCape Sanctuary covers the entire headland west of the Cape Kidnappers gannet colony — 2500 hectares enclosed by 10.6 km of predator-proof fence completed in 2006. Privately funded (the Robertson family of the Cape Kidnappers golf resort, with extensive philanthropic and corporate partnerships). Tuatara, kiwi, takahē, hihi and tīeke have all been reintroduced. The mainland gannet colony at the cape itself is the main visitor draw — and the sanctuary fence protects gannet chicks from stoats. Public access is restricted but guided tours are available via the resort.
- Orokonui EcosanctuaryOrokonui is set in a regenerating valley above Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin. The fence completed in 2007 enclosed 307 hectares — at the time the second-largest fenced mainland sanctuary after Maungatautari. Takahē, kākā and kākāriki have breeding populations. The lowland-to-cloud-forest gradient on the site means it has habitat variety unusual for fenced sanctuaries. Visitor centre with strong school-education programme.
- Rotokare Scenic ReserveThe Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust completed the 8.2 km predator-proof fence in 2008 around 230 hectares of bush surrounding Lake Rotokare. The lake edge means the sanctuary protects both terrestrial and lacustrine habitat — unusual among fenced sanctuaries. Brown kiwi, hihi and tīeke are breeding. The family experience (picnic shelter, easy walks, kayaking on the lake) has made it one of the more accessible mainland sanctuaries.
- Motuihe IslandMotuihe is between Motutapu and Browns Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Predator eradication completed 2002-04, with the island reaching official pest-free status in 2009. The Motuihe Trust has co-managed restoration alongside DOC. Tuatara and a range of native birds have been reintroduced. The island is a popular family day-sail and the historic World War I quarantine buildings give it a heritage layer beyond the conservation story.
- Shakespear Open SanctuaryShakespear is a clever variation on the fenced-sanctuary model. Rather than ringing the conservation area, the fence runs only across the narrow 1.7 km neck where the Whangaparāoa Peninsula joins the mainland. The sea forms the rest of the boundary. This made fence construction far cheaper than a full perimeter and yielded 500 hectares of pest-free coastal park. Kākāriki, NZ dotterel, kiwi and tīeke have been reintroduced. As a regional park (Auckland Council) public access is unrestricted — beaches, picnic areas, walking tracks all open.
- Motutapu IslandMotutapu (the human-occupied bush-and-farm island) is connected to Rangitoto (the volcanic cone) by a causeway built during WWII. Pest eradication completed 2009-11. Takahē have a robust breeding population. The island has worked farmland alongside the conservation area, an unusual combination. Walking from Rangitoto wharf you can do both islands in a long day.
- Rotoroa IslandRotoroa was a closed island for over a century — the Salvation Army ran a substance-abuse rehabilitation facility there from 1908 to 2005. The island was leased to a charitable trust in 2008, predator eradication completed, and it was opened to public visitors in 2011 (formal pest-free status 2014). Kiwi, takahē and several native birds have been reintroduced. The mix of conservation and Salvation Army heritage (chapel, jail, cemetery) is unusual and worth the visit.
- Willowbank — TBCWillowbank operates a hybrid wildlife-park / ecosanctuary model in suburban Christchurch. The fenced area is small by sanctuary standards but the captive-breeding programme contributes birds to wild reintroduction projects. Most visitors come for the walk-through aviaries and the tuatara/kiwi houses rather than landscape-scale conservation. Included in this list because it functions as a captive-bred contributor to other sanctuaries.
- Taranaki MoungaTaranaki Mounga is one of NZ’s most ambitious landscape-scale projects. The entire Egmont National Park (34,000 hectares) is treated as a single conservation unit. Rather than a fence, the project relies on the mountain’s relative isolation from surrounding bush plus aggressive ground-based and aerial 1080 predator control. Founded in 2017 as a partnership of Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngā Mahanga ā Tairi (iwi), DOC, NEXT Foundation, Taranaki Regional Council and Tindall Foundation. Whio numbers have risen sharply and kōkako reintroductions began in 2017.
- Motatau / Tāne Mahuta corridorThe Motatau project sits in the heart of Hokianga in Northland — landscape-scale predator control on iwi-owned and adjoining DOC land, run by Ngāti Hine. Kiwi populations have grown markedly since the project began. Examples like Motatau show iwi-led conservation operating at scale. Not family-focused for visitors; the value is the underlying landscape recovery.
- Perth River / South WestlandSouth Westland’s Perth River project is a landscape-scale 1080 + trapping operation aimed at protecting roroa populations. Run by DOC with iwi partnership. Examples like Perth show the mainland-unfenced model at scale — the ‘fence’ is the toxic-bait line and the trap network rather than mesh.
- Predator Free Rakiura (proposed)Stewart Island / Rakiura is 174,000 hectares — twenty times the size of any island where rat eradication has previously been completed. The proposed Predator Free Rakiura project would be by orders of magnitude the most ambitious island eradication ever attempted. Currently in long-term planning under DOC, Predator Free 2050 Ltd, Rakiura Māori and Predator Free Rakiura Charitable Trust. Cost estimates run into the hundreds of millions. Likely 2030s timeline if it proceeds. Listed here because the planning phase is established and consequential — but the project itself has not begun.
Dark sky reserves and sanctuaries
NZ has the southern hemisphere’s most accessible dark skies — three IDA-accredited reserves and two sanctuaries, plus a major Kaikōura sanctuary application pending. Aoraki Mackenzie was the country’s first in 2012.
- Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky ReserveThe Aoraki Mackenzie reserve was NZ’s first IDA-accredited dark sky site, declared in 2012. Covers 430,000 hectares stretching from Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park down through the Mackenzie Basin to Twizel and beyond. The reserve was driven by a partnership of local councils, DOC and the University of Canterbury (which operates Mt John Observatory above Lake Tekapo). The southern Milky Way passes directly overhead during winter months — including the Magellanic Clouds, the Coal Sack and the dark constellation ‘the emu’ visible from the southern hemisphere. Family-accessible: viewing platforms at Tekapo, the Hooker Valley walk in Aoraki, and a thriving stargazing tour industry.
- Aotea / Great Barrier International Dark Sky SanctuaryAotea/Great Barrier became NZ’s first dark sky sanctuary (a higher protection category than reserve) in 2017. The entire island is genuinely off-grid — Auckland Council does not connect mains power, so every property runs solar/diesel/wood. The result is darkness comparable to remote ocean. From Aotea you can see Auckland’s light dome on the horizon to the west — a stark visual demonstration of the cost of urban light pollution. Family-accessible by ferry (4 hours) or commuter flight (35 minutes). Beaches, bush walks and the Glenfern Sanctuary on the island add up to a serious week’s holiday with the night sky as the headline feature.
- Rakiura / Stewart Island International Dark Sky SanctuaryRakiura’s IDA accreditation in 2019 made it NZ’s largest dark sky site at 174,000 hectares (the entire island). The southernmost permanently inhabited point in NZ, Stewart Island sits at 47° south — far enough that the aurora australis is visible from the township and beaches during periods of high solar activity. The night sky from Oban includes both the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds prominently. Ferry access from Bluff (or commuter flight from Invercargill); accommodation in Oban; multiple stargazing/aurora-watching operators.
- Wairarapa International Dark Sky ReserveThe Wairarapa reserve was accredited in 2023 — NZ’s third International Dark Sky Reserve, after Aoraki Mackenzie and Aotea (sanctuary). The reserve covers 326,000 hectares of the Wairarapa region, from the Tararua Range east to the Pacific coast at Castlepoint. Driven by a community campaign that took eight years and required council outdoor-lighting commitments across the region. Closest IDA site to Wellington; family-accessible by car; multiple stargazing operators based around Carterton, Martinborough and Castlepoint. Stonehenge Aotearoa (a public astronomy facility near Carterton) anchors the reserve’s public engagement.
- Kaikōura International Dark Sky Sanctuary (proposed)The proposed Kaikōura International Dark Sky Sanctuary would cover 1.3 million hectares of land and coastal waters — including the deep Kaikōura Canyon offshore. The application (submitted 2024 to International Dark Sky Association/DarkSky International) is novel for explicitly including marine area, recognising the impact of vessel and offshore lighting on seabirds and marine ecosystems. The whale-watching and wildlife industries already centred at Kaikōura are tied to the proposal. If accredited it would be the largest IDA site in the southern hemisphere. Status: pending approval as of 2026.
Ramsar wetlands
NZ has 7 designated Ramsar sites — wetlands of international significance under the 1971 Convention on Wetlands. NZ has lost about 90 percent of its pre-European wetland area; these are among the most important survivors.
- Farewell SpitFarewell Spit was NZ’s first Ramsar designation in 1976. The 26 km sand spit accumulated over thousands of years from sediment carried north along the West Coast. Internationally significant migratory shorebird stopover (the same Alaska–NZ godwit flyway as the Firth of Thames). Also internationally famous for repeated mass strandings of pilot whales — the geometry of the spit (a long shallow curve) traps whales who use sonar to navigate. Public access is restricted to organised 4WD tours past the gate; the western end at Puponga is freely accessible.
- Awarua Wetland & Waituna LagoonAwarua and Waituna together form NZ’s largest Ramsar site at 19,802 hectares. Diverse wetland types: brackish coastal lagoons, peatland, swamp forest, saltmarsh. Designated 1976 alongside Farewell Spit. Waituna Lagoon water quality has declined since 2000 due to nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from intensified dairying in the surrounding catchment — one of NZ’s most-publicised wetland degradation cases. Restoration since 2014 (cap on land-use intensification, riparian work, wetland edge restoration) has begun reversing this. Public access via boardwalks at Waituna and several other points.
- WhangamarinoWhangamarino is a 7290-hectare lowland wetland complex in the Waikato Lowlands, dominated by peat domes (mires) and mineralised swamp. Designated Ramsar in 1989. Habitat for matuku (Australasian bittern, a critically endangered species), fernbird and various waterfowl. 19th-century European agricultural drainage substantially reduced the wetland; DOC and Waikato Regional Council restoration since the 1990s has begun reversing this. Less family-accessible than other Ramsar sites because much of the wetland is impassable on foot.
- KopuataiKopuatai is the largest area of unaltered peat dome wetland in NZ — 10,201 hectares of restiad bog (dominated by jointed wire rush, Sporadanthus ferrugineus, the only species of its genus). Designated Ramsar 1989. Of international significance because most peat domes globally have been drained or harvested for fuel; Kopuatai survives largely intact. Habitat for matuku, fernbird, NZ dabchick and crake species. Limited public access — DOC manages it primarily for ecological values rather than visitor experience.
- Firth of ThamesThe Firth of Thames Ramsar site is intertidal mudflat and mangrove on the Coromandel side of the Firth, 7800 hectares. NZ’s most important shorebird site — bar-tailed godwits, knots, oystercatchers, and overwintering populations of NZ dotterel and wrybill. The Miranda Shorebird Centre (operated by Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists’ Trust) is the family-friendly access point with hides, a visitor centre and weekly bird counts. The godwits’ annual flight from Alaska in September each year (a 11,000 km non-stop journey by some birds) is one of the most extraordinary migrations on Earth.
- Manawatū River Mouth & EstuaryThe Manawatū River Mouth is a small (205 hectare) but ecologically rich estuary on the lower west coast. Mix of saltmarsh, mudflat and dunes. Around 70 bird species recorded including international migratory shorebirds. Easy public access from Foxton and Foxton Beach with several bird hides. Family-friendly — boardwalks and a regional council reserve at the river mouth. Restoration work since designation has reduced sedimentation and improved habitat.
- Wairarapa MoanaWairarapa Moana (Lakes Wairarapa and Onoke and surrounding wetlands) was designated Ramsar in 2020. ~10,000 hectares total. Significant for waterfowl, migratory shorebirds and historically for tuna (longfin eel). Co-managed by Greater Wellington Regional Council and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa with substantial iwi voice in restoration and access decisions. Family-accessible via tracks and viewing points around Lake Wairarapa; restoration work (water-level management, wetland-edge replanting) is rebuilding the area.
Related tools and reading
- NZ Marine Reserves Explorer — full per-reserve depth with family fishiness ratings.
- NZ National Parks Explorer — all 13 plus Te Urewera, with the legal-status story.
- NZ Great Walks Explorer — the eleven flagship multi-day tramps.
- NZ Ski Fields Explorer — every operating, club and closed ski field.
- All Newswire data tools — the full library.