About us
The Pupu Rangi Nature Sanctuary is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of New Zealand’s native flora and fauna. Our goal is to protect and extend a vibrant ecosystem while educating others on the importance of conservation. We view ourselves as partners with our volunteers, visitors, community, and the environment.
We are not on the tourist maps and we prefer to focus on the conservation and education aspect of our work rather than on mass tourism. We host a small group of international volunteers that together learn, work, and explore this unique environment.
The location
The Pupu Rangi Nature Sanctuary is located 250km from a crowded city, 50km from the closest supermarket, 2km from the next door neighbour, and at an arm's length from the Milky Way. In our world, seeing two cars in a day is a traffic jam and being able to live in the middle of the forest is the ultimate lifestyle.
Nestled on the slopes of the Tutamoe peak in Northland, New Zealand, the Pupu Rangi Nature Sanctuary consists of 100 hectares of regenerating rainforest. This native forest is classified as having national significance and no logging is allowed within the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary
We are also located within a greater area in which kiwi are present and one of our long-term goals is to establish and maintain a protection area that will support twenty pairs of resident kiwi birds.
Pupu Rangi is home to other native species of trees and birds that have require active protection from introduced pests. Cows, possums, rabbits, and feral goats browse indiscriminately on young plants thus preventing the forest renewal. Possums, stoats, ferrets, and feral cats eat eggs and young bird chicks endangering the native species that are not adapted to the introduced mammalian predators. Through different techniques recommended by the Department of Conservation, we try to keep down the numbers of pests to give the seedlings and the native birds a chance to develop and mature.
Sustainable Living
The sanctuary is named after one of the many fascinating creatures that calls it home: the kauri snail, or, as it is named in Maori, pupurangi.
To minimize the impact on the environment, we chose not to build an ecolodge but rather borrow some tricks from pupurangi's philosophy; all structures are portable and the kitchen, showers, and the dinning hall are set-up in recycled shipping containers. Our tents are suspended from the trees and do not touch at all the forest floor.
The rain water is collected from the roof, filtered, and used for drinking, washing, and showering. We have a small herb garden so we can cook with fresh herbs. The meat that we eat is mostly organic, from cows that graze in our neighbour's paddock. We milk those cows and we also use the milk to make our own cheese, butter, and yoghurt. The honey that we eat is made by bees foraging in the native trees of our forest. We also compost and recycle as much as we possile.
The little electricity that we use is generated by solar panels and by the occasional use of a generator. At night, we dine by candlelight and walk on paths lit by moonlight.
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