Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre in Masterton

Great spot for some walks and seeing some NZ birds. Enjoyed the visit. Staff were really friendly and helpful too. Recommend a visit for families, and everyone else actually.

Beautiful wildlife sanctuary which is well designed and suitable for all ages and abilities to explore. Plenty of Kaka and Kakariki to see and we also managed to view Kiwi as well as a Kokako which was a treat. Would thoroughly recommend.

This wildlife center is absolutely worth your while! The birds here are beautifull and you can watch them while they get fed. The walk is nice and the kiwis are well, kiwi-ish.

Great place to visit, feeding the eels was a great experience 🙂

Awesome place to come for a quiet day out, amazing cafe, helpful friendly team & loads of awesome information to learn & hear about. The kiwi house is amazing! You really do get to see a kiwi or 2! And the eel feeding is awesome too.

Incredibly friendly and helpful staff, and some great birds!I went with my elderly mother, and amazingly they had 1x free mobility scooter we could borrow. The paths were almost all accessibility friendly, so it was awesome to be able to do a bit of a bush walk with her.We managed to catch the kākā feeding at 3pm and it was amazing! I’ve never seen them that close up so it was pretty special. They also had a few shy kakariki, some kererū, tīeke (saddleback), and some ginormous eels (get there at 1:30pm for the eel feeding)!We didn’t have time to go through the inside exhibition but it looked well appointed with some cool looking interactive displays.The gift shop also has a nice selection of native bird plushies and kiwiana jewellery etc.Even though we’re both huge bird fans, I reckon the incredible Māori lady at the front desk made the experience (I can’t remember her name!). It was my mum’s first time needing a mobility aid so it was kind of a big deal to my mum. But she made the experience full of laughs, light-hearted and easy. Thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon.

Sadly not a very nice experience at the cafe. Accepting that they were short staffed due to COVID but the single shot flat white was more like a quadruple and the coffee was burnt and bitter. My order of b&e panini came but the panini was tough, I noticed others on our party (25 peopleleft their bread etc on their plates too. My wifes order didnt arrive and after some time I approached the staff and was told the order slip had been lost! She finally got her order but my date scone never appeared. Was a disappointment as we were supposed to be celebrating my fathers 93rd birthday. Being a Wairarapa boy I am proud of the work done at Pukaha Mount Bruce, hopefully the cafe improves to reflect the high standard of work done in the conservation area.

Excellent place for a hike and nature immersion. Some easy places to walk as well for more family orientated experiences.

Such a lovely place to spend a relaxing day watching the wildlife, and chatting with the friendly, knowledgeable staff. I definitely recommend going to all of the talks, I always learn something new. The cafe is also a lovely place to refresh during your visit.*After many wonderful day visits, I finally did the Night Tour. The experience was fantastic, with amazing guides Ronnie and Charlotte sharing their vast knowledge along the way. Feeding the eels at night was a real highlight!

Great place with so much heritage. The staff are phenomenal and go above and beyond. Good carrot cake. Stunning to see Kiwi in the wild.

This is a great place for a walk and to experience NZ native birds. We had a picnic outside and were joined by two cheeky kaka who wanted to help themselves to our food. We did the summit walk and it was pretty easy. We did it in an hour but it says two-potentially we didnt stop enough!

A beautiful bird sanctuary in native bush - make sure you wear your walking shoes! Like any zoo or animal sanctuary, seeing the birds was luck of the draw but if you go to the feeding times youll have a guaranteed look. The friendly kokako Kahurangi was a real highlight too.

Beautiful place to go for a long walk with the family. Hour and a half, maybe two to make it around the loop depending on your pace. Awesome views from the lookout up top. Highly recommended. Best French toast at this café too!

A lovely place to walk around and listen to nature. Youre rather at the whim of the animals - if they dont want to be seen, they wont be. But thats nature for you! well try again in the summer -- Im sure the kids wont mind another visit!

Weather was not warm and sunny, but the family and I met up with friends and had a fantastic time. A great place to see birds not usually seen in the wild, Kokako, Saddleback, Bellbird, Takahe, Kaka, Kiwi were all seen. The interactive room inside was great for the children and adults alike. The food from the Kaka Cafe was hot, well cooked and reasonabily priced. The entire visit was well worth the comparable entrance fee.

Great place to pop in and explore. The special welcome by Everlynne was very warm and informative. The kids enjoyed exploring all the aviaries and displays. We stayed for 2 hours, facilities were well maintained and informative. Toilets nice and clean. Parking was great and there is even a free ev charger. The Kaka Cafe replenished our energy. The food and drink options were plentiful. Highly recommend checking this place out!

Good place for a walk in the bush, saw lots of large compounds with lots of bush but not the bird that was in them ...? The Kiwi was hiding but i saw the area it lives in ....The bird walk in enclosure didnt seem to have birds either...thank god for the amazing king size eels. Nice staff, nice walk ...be nice to see some birds. There was a display with a kiwi in the foyer so i took a picture of that.

The place is amazing. The lovely forest surrounding the aviaries is beautiful. We saw the Kaka being feed and there were 6-8 birds. We could see them very well and the staff did a very informative talk. We loved to see the Kokako so close and listen to her. Facilities were clean and tidy.

Lovely spot and interesting history. It was too wet to do the tour, but we had a lovely refreshment stop of coffee and cake. They have a white Kiwi.

Such a cool place to wander around, you get to see birds you might never see in your lifetime in the wild including a white Kiwi. Recommend for everyone and anyone passing through.

Friendly staff, lots to see and a lovely loop walk. Walk is steep in places, but track is good and there are benches along the way for a rest. Birdsong was beautiful. Nice coffee and pies in cafe.

Nice and relaxing place to go and chill and listen to the birds. Recommend to go here and just saunter through take your time and enjoy the ambience of the place. I also enjoyed finding the large weta

Awesome National treasure which can be enjoyed in any weather. We took a playgroup trip in the rain and the kids still had an absolute ball.There is plenty of shelter from the forest canopy and lots to see and do

Awesome place to visit. The talks were really informative and well presented. The loop track through the Bush is really nice. Highlight for me was seeing the friendly kokako. But the free flight aviary was awesome as well

A fantastic venue. We were made to feel incredibly welcome (even greeted in the Carparkpersonalised experience from super knowledgable staff and guides. Up close and personal with bird and eel feeding. Saw white kiwi up close.Venue and forest floor tour was fully accessible to power chairs. They have 1x scooter to loan to guests.

A wonderful place to see New Zealand native birds and wildlife. Great cafe, staff and a must see for tourists and kiwis alike.

Amazing display of tuatara. Can see them close up. Staff are friendly, funny and know their stuff. Beautiful walk around through the trees listening to tuis and kereru. Highly reccomend

This was a fun and informative nature-based visit.I greatly appreciate the effort and care that has obviously been given for restoration and conversation efforts here.The eel and kāka feedings were fun for kids and adults.The forest walks alone were beautiful. A wonderful showcase of native ferns and trees. They made a great stage for showing these highly endangered animals theyre trying to help recover.Sponsor a portion of the reserve!

Good center for reserving wildlife such as national birds. I felt like how the center sincerely consider the suitable environment for each birds. Also, I could see the white Kiwi.My kid enjoy visiting there.

Enjoyed all of it. Loved seeing the white kiwi, watching the eel and kaha feeding, too. Grounds maintained well, staff are so lovely and kind. Highly recommend to anyone travelling in the near vicinity to stop off here for a couple of hours. Or if you have a particular interest in birds, highly recommend detouring to come here.

We driven past for years and years and we decided we had a spare hour to drop in. We came late in the afternoon and the centre was very empty with lots of car parks to choose from. My under 5 was free entry. We spent over an hour looking around. The kiwi house is world class and as they have a white kiwi it was easy to see. There were lots of different New Zealand native parrots to see. There was a few flying cage that you can walk into. The weta park was fun trying to search for them. We were very amazed by the eels, as they were massive. At the end we had a drink at the cafe that was still open at 4.30pm. A great time was had by our small family.

What an amazing place. I love being able to see all the native birds in the open, especially the kaka zooming around.Manukura the white kiwi is always good to visit. A wonderful ambassador for our national bird.

Such a cool place. Kids loved it. Watching a kiwi egg hatching was very special. 1st time seeing a white kiwi.

Good place to see the hard work being out into helping nature recover itself in new Zealand. Take a few hours to do the visit though as the lookout point is worth the small hike through the forest.

This is not a zoo!! Nice park with NZ wildlife, saw the white kiwi. They have different talks about during the day about birds, kiwis... Only 20$ and nice cafe for a hot drink or a bit of food after the visit.

Always love coming here!! Really nice walk and lots of animals to see. Got real up close with the white kiwi on this visit, was amazing!!

This place is good for those who are not able to go for a proper hike for any reason. You will be able to see some of the iconic animals in captivity, and even in the wild if you come during the breeding season. I would recommend this place for people who dont have time or ability to hike.

Kids loved the Bug Hunt and activities, seeing some of the big native birds up close, especially in the free flight enclosure, shame this part wasnt bigger. They liked the big eels in the river and the Kaka pretty cool to finally see both the brown and white kiwis and the kokako. Great walks, but the lookout walk was too far for kids 6yr and 8yrs, maybe they were hungry... Cafe had good selection of toasties and basic cabinet food.

Awesome place, friendly staff, they really tend / watch after the place and animals. It is clean and very tidy all over. Loved the birds and Redwood trees. Easily able to spend 2-3 hours here.

Highly recommend this place. We got to see a white kiwi and brown kiwi up close. The averies we well maintained and the birds were all visible.The cafe is great. The kakas come out to visit when you are eating. I highly recommend the scones at the cafe.Staff we friendly and knowledgeable. You could see their passion as they spoke about the wildlife in the park.

We took 4 grandchildren here from the age of 3 to 10. The staff were great, cafe staff kindly let us bring the childrens lunch into the cafe for them to be able to sit inside to eat. A couple of the children werent comfortable about the kakas. The Bush walk was lovely, everything well sign posted and easy to find. Probably not enough things of interest for the younger children but we all fell in love with the white kiwi! A nice grandparent day out.

Well designed place with lots to see: Kaka and eel/trout feedings, Kiwi house incl. a rare white one, several aviaries with many interesting birds, wonderful walking paths suitable for double strollers, conservation education throughout

A must visit for anyone interested in conservation and NZ wildlife. Kahurangi the Kokako was delightful and the staff equally so! Very special place.

What a lovely place! Nice staff, a good layout, and some mighty special animals.We called ahead and wanted a guided tour; I expressed interest in the longfin eels, and they offered to let us feed them!! What an experience. We didnt realize the eels in the park are still in the wild, as are the Kaka who come visit for daily feedings. Both were marvelous to see and experience, and it was wonderful to know they are so happy thay they stuck around.The whole park gives a strong feeling of happy animals, conservation, quality education, and good-hearted people. Even during nesting time we saw lots of active birds!

This place was fantastic, both as an educational center but also just as a wildlife/forest reserve. To see the KaKa, Kiwi bird and Eel demonstrations/ talks one needs to make sure the timing is right and all are highly recommended. I really like how the centre pushes the conservative aspect of wildlife and thus you know your entrance fee is going to a good cause!

As a Kiwi Ive been to many places like Pukaha but I have never experienced anything quite like this. Amazing, awe inspiring and beautifully maintained by passionate people. I highly recommend going; we spent maybe 2 hours there with a young child (nearly 2 years oldwho was well entertained and when we had finished the smell of coffee from the cafe was delightful.

Great place with a mix of different native animals and plants. Even has a long walk through bush. The cafe is a nice touch and serves a good range of foods

A terrific nature reserve. A must-see experience if you love birds. A good level of interactive exhibits. A nice cafe on site too.

Great place to visit to see Kiwi bird and other wildlife such as Eels, Trout and other bird species. Beautiful outdoor track to walk. Informative talks to attend.

We had a great experience at Pukaha, seeing birds that weve never seen in the wild such as the Takahe and the Kokoko. Got a chance to feed the long fin eels too! Though this is more of an adult only activity (at last, something the adults get to do!and you need to wear waders.We were also lucky enough to be around when a kiwi egg hatched, the 100th hatched from Mt Bruce, which was really special.All the Rangers and staff were informative in each of the talks and they were just as excited as the rest of us when the kiwi was hatching!Well worth a visit as there is also a 2 hr walk to do which we didnt get the chance too (too busy waiting for the kiwi to hatch!)