Part of the Pūkaha family

Taking out annual membership of Pūkaha – as an individual, family or business – not only supports an excellent cause, but as one family discovered, has invaluable benefits.

Photos by Sarah Watkins and Tara Swan.

For Pahiatua family, Samantha and Kelvin Arthur and their three boys, Jeremy (11), Dominic (9) and Zachary (7) taking out family membership of Pūkaha has been a real boon.

“Our eldest is autistic and wasn’t at all comfortable in the bush, but when we came here for a school trip, one of the team took him under her wing and walked with him. As soon as he saw the kiwis and the eels he was hooked,” says Samantha.

Pūkaha has since become a happy place for the family, after school and during school holidays.  Since joining, Jeremy has developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of native bats and eels and now feels more  at ease in the bush.

“I’ve always been environmentally aware but coming here has really helped all the kids develop an awareness of nature and wildlife. Our favourite is Kahurangi – kōkako have such a haunting call.  But Kahurangi also has such a personality that we feel a real affinity with her. Family membership means that we can drop in any time, and it’s like seeing our old friends – both the staff, who we all know by name – and the wildlife.

Living a full-on busy life, Samantha sometimes calls in on her own on the drive up SH2. “I love to go in there sometimes and just breathe,” she says.