Page 19 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

Wellington has much more modest demeanor, though it does
have its wonderful Beehive Building for Parliament to sit in and
the new and modern Ta Papa National Cultural Museum!

However, it was not those sights that impressed us, or indeed that

had brought us here to begin our expedition to pristine New
Zealand.

The most seminal aspect of our visit to Wellington was the

opportunity of touring Karori Wildlife Sanctuary -- an island of
restoration within the city limits. The most amazing fact about
Karori is its creation through the efforts of private citizens.

After having been used as farmland, gold and quartz mining

venues, and a reservoir created by the construction of two
different dams, the Sanctuary Valley as the site has been called

for 100+ years was determined to be a perfect setting for a
cityside wildlife preserve. A group of citizens petitioned the local

government and the national government for the rights to
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