Orana Wildlife Park provides amazing opportunities for people to connect with nature.
Visitors can meet NZ’s only gorillas, hand-feed giraffe, travel through the Lion Reserve, observe kiwi and encounter mischievous kea.
Conservation advocacy is a key role to ensure visitors feel a connection with and responsibility towards the natural environment.
Visitors are encouraged to learn “take-home messages”, delivered through daily presentations, exhibit interpretation and QR codes. These messages include keeping a dog on a leash to protect kiwi and responsible purchasing, which provide visitors with the motivation necessary to take part in actions that lead to a sustainable lifestyle.
These conservation messages are delivered through an internationally recognised framework: “Connect, Understand, Act”, a model that focuses on actions everyone can take to contribute to environmental issues.
Orana operates as a charitable trust; staff are proud to make contributions to breed for release recovery programmes for threatened native fauna such as kākāriki karaka. When you visit, you directly support our conservation work
Social Protocols
- Respect the environment - You will be out in nature for this experience so please help protect our environment by taking all your rubbish with you.
- Be patient - You'll be working as part of a group, so make sure to be patient and wait your turn - we like to be fair and give everyone a go.
- Be a great listener - Have fun and stay safe by following instructions carefully.
- Be considerate of others - You’ll be part of a group, so it’s important to be kind and courteous.
Cultural Protocols
- A chance to relax - This experience is one way Kiwis like to relax and enjoy life so it will seem very relaxed. Have fun, enjoy slowing down (away from work or study) and relax!
- Be a respectful visitor - You will be a guest during this experience, so please be respectful. Two important Māori customs are to take your shoes off indoors and avoid sitting on tables or pillows.
- Permission for photos - If you are taking photos that include other people, always ask them first if they are happy for their photograph to be taken.
