Zealandia 🇳🇿 Earth's 8th Continent Ecosanctuary | Wellington New Zealand | 197 Countries, 3 Kids

Join us as we discover Zealandia - Wellington's Wildlife Ecosanctuary!

If you want to learn about New Zealand's wildlife, native birds, and bustling ecosystem, then Zealandia in Wellington is a great place to start.

Did you know that New Zealand is the largest above-sea-level part of Zealandia - an almost entirely submerged continental mass in the southern hemisphere that subsided over 20 million years ago?

Before it went underwater, the wildlife in Zealandia mostly consisted of birds and reptiles that are almost all now extinct. There were no mammals or humanoid species.

We started the tour with a short movie as part of the Zelandia exhibition, where we also learned about all the different bird species. Chloe learned and told us about the giant Moa birds that went extinct because the natives and settlers hunted them for meat which interrupted the food chain and led to other animal extinctions.

Before we could continue into the sanctuary, we had to go through a biosecurity bag-check to make sure no one was bringing in small animals or exotic seeds. The Valley is 500 acres that are fully protected with a predator-proof fence that keeps animals of prey from jumping over, crawling under, or squeezing through.

However, Zealandia is not only famous for protecting birds but for being the home of diverse plant life too. We saw the Spiky Bush Lawyer plant, Koru - New Zealand's symbol of life, and some interesting citrus-smelling plants.

Next, we checked out RotoKawau Reservoir & Wetlands, where they are working on restoring the lake.

Then we learned about the Tutu plant - an extremely poisonous berry shrub that contains potent neurotoxins. This is why all the honey produced in New Zealand needs to be tested before sold, in case the bees collected pollen from this dangerous plant.

Among the versatile flora, we also saw the largest fuchsia in the world, called Kotukutuku, which is also a symbol of New Zealand.

As we continued our walk, we saw the Rangiora plant, a.k.a the Bushman's Friend. It's a plant with wide, thick leaves that can serve as toilet paper in nature.

We also saw glow worms that feed by trapping insects and closely encountered the Kakariki parrot.

Our next stop was a cool suspension bridge that provided a bird's eye view of the sanctuary from above.

Then, we saw a pretty cool pair of flightless Takahe birds that had just had a baby. With only 300 specimens left, they are listed as a nationally vulnerable species. Another interesting fact about them is that they feed for 16 hours a day!

After a full day at Zealandia, we left the park and drove over to an epic lookout point over the city we heard about.

The girls chose to stay down below while we headed up to enjoy the sunset over Wellington from a beautiful viewpoint. It took us a while to find it, but it was well worth it!

What an amazing day.

0:00 Intro
1:33 The Lost 8th Continent - Zealandia
1:46 Zealandia - The Exhibition
1:58 Extinct Moa Birds
2:52 NZ Biosecurity Bag-Check
3:20 500 Acres Ecosanctuary in Wellington
3:39 The Great Fence of Karori
4:01 The Spiky Bush Lawyer
4:20 Koru - New Zealand's Symbol of Life
5:18 RotoKawau Reservoir & Wetlands
5:50 Tutu - Extremely Poisonous Berry Plant
6:54 Kotukutuku - The Largest Fuchsia in the World
7:29 Rangiora Plant a.k.a. The Bushman's Friend
8:08 Glow-Worm (Puratoke)
8:35 Kakariki - Red-Crowned Parakeet
9:44 Cool Suspension Bridge
10:28 South Island Takahē
11:04 Wellington Lookout Point at Sunset

Enjoy the video!

#Zealandia #Wellington #NewZealand
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