Making the Maunga Sing: Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari’s Legacy of Wellbeing
Matariki:
We feature the work of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari to reflect the meaning of Matariki, which is the mother star of the cluster known as Matariki. This star is associated with health, wellbeing, and good fortune.
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari sits in the heart of the Waikato, just 30 minutes south of Cambridge, yet stepping inside its pest-proof fence feels like entering another world. Here, the ancient forest is alive with sound – kererū settling heavily into the canopy, kōkako echoing across the valleys, kiwi calling in the night. For people across Waikato and beyond, this is more than a nature experience. It is a reminder of what Aotearoa New Zealand once was and what it can be again when communities come together with a shared vision: to make the maunga sing.
As the world’s largest fenced eco-sanctuary, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari protects more than 730 native species within its 47‑kilometre predator‑proof fence. Over 3,000 kiwi thrive here, alongside some of New Zealand’s rarest taonga such as kākāpō, tuatara and takahē. This flourishing ecosystem exists because mana whenua, landowners, volunteers, donors, and local communities have spent decades bringing the forest back to life. Their collective effort is a powerful expression of hope – a belief that in helping the forest thrive, the sanctuary is also helping people reconnect with nature and with each other.
The wellbeing impact of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is felt by almost everyone who visits. Time in nature is widely recognised as a foundation for health, and the sanctuary offers this in abundance. Many visitors describe feeling calmer and more grounded as they walk beneath towering trees, breathe in the cool forest air, and listen to the layered chorus of birdsong. The experience invites quiet, reflection, and reconnection – a rare gift in busy lives.
Wellbeing here is multi-layered. Mental wellbeing grows through stillness and the soothing rhythm of the ngahere. Social wellbeing strengthens when whānau, friends, and community groups share time together on the tracks. Cultural wellbeing is supported with meaningful connection to whenua through the leadership of mana whenua, who guide the protection of the mauri of the maunga.
Visitors can explore the maunga in ways that suit their interests and pace through a range of guided experiences that deepen understanding and connection. Eco tours reveal the world-leading science behind species recovery, while cultural tours guided by mana whenua share stories of whakapapa, guardianship, and the relationship between people and the land. Rongoā rākau tours introduce visitors to the healing properties of native plants, and the Moa Hunter tour provides a powerful connection to ancestral wisdom and traditional Māori bush lore, inviting visitors to walk in the footsteps of tūpuna and experience the forest through a Te Ao Māori lens. For those who prefer to explore independently, well-maintained self-guided walking tracks weave through the ancient forest, offering space for quiet reflection, discovery, and a personal journey of wellbeing.
This commitment to community wellbeing extends through the Manaaki Hapori community outreach programme. This complimentary and koha-based initiative supports groups working with people who may benefit most from time in nature, such as youth organisations, mental health services and social support providers. For participants, a visit to the sanctuary can be a moment of grounding and renewal, a chance to reconnect with themselves and with the natural world.
Over 6,000 people are also welcomed through Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari’s Education Programme each year, with the aim of inspiring future kaitiaki and champions of the natural world.
The success of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is, at its core, a community achievement. The return of birdsong to the maunga has been made possible by people choosing to care, contribute, and take action.
A dedicated volunteer workforce stands alongside the Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari team, contributing thousands of hours each year in support of the vision. And every visit, membership, donation, or partnership contributes to a legacy of wellbeing for future generations – a world where they can experience a living, breathing, thriving forest, not just read about it in books.
Looking after a place as significant as Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari requires long-term thinking, and the sanctuary is embracing innovative ways to secure its future. The new Nature Credits programme, developed in partnership with Ekos, allows individuals and organisations to invest directly in visible, meaningful biodiversity outcomes created at the sanctuary, and participation in the 1% for the Planet network enables businesses to commit at least one percent of their annual revenue to the sanctuary’s critical mahi.
The predator-proof fence surrounding Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari symbolises a shared promise – to restore what has been lost, protect what remains, and ensure that future generations inherit a thriving natural environment. Today, that promise is already taking shape. The forest is louder. The birdlife is returning. The ecosystem is healing.
For the Waikato, the maunga is more than a conservation site. It is part of our identity, a place that brings people together, strengthens wellbeing, and inspires action. The vision to make the maunga sing is not just about birds returning to the forest. It is about a community coming together, lifting each other, and creating a future that is healthier, more connected, and full of life.