Inside Pohutakawa Farm
Meet the Locals He Tuku Aroha occupies 7000m2, more than a fifth of the Zoo’s footprint. It takes visitors through a series of zones, which simulate a journey from the sea to the mountains with stops along the way at farmland and native forest settings.
The experience is designed to allow visitors to get up close and personal with the animals. There is an array of indigenous and introduced species including blue penguins, eels, lambs, pigs, free range chickens, and even Kea.
Interactivity is the foundation of the project, it even includes a secret blow hole that blasts a stream of water into the air (and over unsuspecting souls).
The precinct took 15 months to complete at a cost of $6 million. Meet the Locals He Tuku Aroha is set inside a sheltered valley within the Zoo grounds that was once home to a number of aviaries as well as the old nocturnal house.
A typical New Zealand barn is the focus for a key interactive area called the Pohutukawa Farm. The Zoo was keen to have a timber-framed building that had a rural look, like something you might find in the Wairarapa.
The material they chose for that roof is COLORSTEEL® Ironsand, a product that provides shelter for the barn itself as well as other public areas.
The Pohutukawa Barn and the other animal enclosures were all positioned to make the most of existing vegetation while ensuring an accessible path for visitors. The area feels remote yet at the same time a part of the wider town-belt landscape.
