Fensham Reserve

One hour, easy walking but there is some climbing. A 48-hectare reserve, this local gem is home to some very accessible forest with a short loop walk among the trees. Three kilometres west of Carterton on the corner of Cobden and Haringa Rd, wetlands and kahikatea swamp forest are both represented with the podocarp trees, including rimu and totara thought to be between 400 and 700 years old. And with lots of labelling throughout the walk, you can learn more about the flora as you go. Bursting with birdsong this forest is alive with kotare (kingfishers) tui, kereru (native pigeons), moreporks (a type of owl), fantails, grey warblers and wax eyes, this reserve is managed by the Forest and Bird Society and lovingly maintained by volunteers. Because they take their pest control here very seriously, this means the birds are simply flourishing and being here is like travelling back in time to a new Zealand before introduced predators did so much damage to native birds. Family friendly and popular with joggers too, this is genuine New Zealand bush at its most accessible