Taranaki-New Zealand

Nestled in a valley, within sight of majestic Mt Taranaki, hides a reserve designed to recreate the New Zealand bush the covered the land before man.
Lake Rotokare has been a protected park since 1903, and in 2008, a predator proof fence was completed around the edge of the 212 hectares. It is now one of only a few spots in New Zealand that is pest free.
The effect of the fence was noticeable as soon as we parked the car and began our walk.
A native fantail swooped around below us, rising up then diving on the bugs we had unwittingly stirred in our passing.
It wasn't long before we were surrounded in native bush, between two walls of every shade of green imaginable.
We passed a group of preschoolers and parents, intently listing to a volunteer explain the process of tracking and catching the many pests that threaten the 30 kiwi living in the reserve, and the countless other native birds.
The track wound around the lakes edge, at times bringing us close enough to the reeds to startle the ducks and geese, and other times taking us deeper into the green, where the calls of birds echoed around.
Dotted along the path were signs detailing the different native trees in front of us, or explaining the history of the reserve.
While the sign at the beginning had warned us we could be walking for an hour and a half, it was only an hour later that we caught a glimpse of the car park across the last corner of the lake.
The sound of children playing in the lake guided us back to the car, completing the loop around Lake Rotokare.f