Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao: A guide to the wildlife and wild places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika (Copy)

Wild Wellington Ngā Taonga Taiao: A guide to the wildlife and wild places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika

By Michael Szabo

Te Upoko-o-te-Ika Wellington has an amazing variety of landscapes and seascapes that are home to an impressive range of wildlife. This handy and informative illustrated guide highlights over 30 of the best wild and urban places to discover and explore the region’s natural diversity, from the south coast to Kāpiti.

Whether out tramping, at home or on the water, this is a book for locals and visitors, keen and casual wildlife watchers, or for anyone curious about their own backyard. Wild Wellington lets you in on the best places and times of year to experience everything from migrating birds to seals hauling out, dolphin pods and orca in the harbour to the recovery of once-threatened native bird species in action, the region’s special flowering plants to the oldest native trees, and the conservation efforts that ensure that our local wildlife survives and flourishes.

Written with input from Te Papa’s expert natural history team and Mātauranga Māori about the region and its wildlife from mana whenua, Wild Wellington illustrates the true richness of the interconnected nature of Pōneke and Te Upoko-o-te-Ika.

Michael Szabo is a long-time Wellington resident and writer and well acquainted with the region’s wildlife. He is editor of Birds New Zealand magazine and a contributor to New Zealand Birds Online. He was principal author of Native Birds of Aotearoa (Te Papa Press, 2022), Wild Encounters - A Forest & Bird guide to discovering NZ’s unique wildlife (2009), and has written for New Scientist, NZ Geographic, and Sunday Star-Times.