Moko pirirākau
Forest gecko
Mokopirirakau granulatus
Their Story
The forest gecko is a quiet yet captivating resident of New Zealand’s native forests. With subtle colouring and a secretive nature, it clings to trunks and branches awaiting unsuspecting insects to cross its path. At Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, the species is rarely encountered, mostly due to its highly cryptic nature.
Conservation Status
At risk – declining
Forest geckos are considered to be at risk of extinction due to ongoing declines. Key threats include predation by introduced mammals (mice, rats, stoats, cats), and habitat clearance. Because they reproduce slowly, population recovery takes time.
Population
Endemic to the northern North Island and northern South Island, forest geckos occupy a wide range of habitats — from lowland forest through to subalpine scrub. In the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, they are found in the protected beech and podocarp forest, and potentially among the regenerating kānuka.
Food
Mokopirirakau (forest geckos) are omnivores, primarily eating insects like moths, flies, and spiders, but also consuming nectar, small native fruits (like kohia or kawakawa), and honeydew from scale insects, playing roles in pollination and seed dispersal.
These geckos are medium-sized for New Zealand lizards, with bodies around 70–85 mm from snout to vent(excluding the tail), sometimes longer. They have highly variable dorsal colours, often with wavy “W”-shaped markings, pale bellies, and yellow or orange mouths. Their toes are narrow with small pads adapted for gripping bark.
Mostly nocturnal, the forest gecko moves quietly along tree trunks and branches, hunting insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. Occasionally it may also take nectar or fruit from forest plants. During the day it may sun-bask on a sheltered surface or remain motionless on bark to avoid detection. Its cryptic colouring and still posture give it excellent camouflage.
Forest geckos reach maturity in a few years and may live for tens of years. They can only produce up to two offspring each year. New Zealand geckos give birth to live young. Both their longevity and their viviparity(live birth) is completely unique among geckos globally, which usually live fast and die young, laying many eggs. The unique adaptations of New Zealand geckos reflect a long history on these islands as well as adaptations to the cooler temperate climate.
Endemic to the northern North Island and northern South Island, forest geckos occupy a wide range of habitats — from lowland forest through to subalpine scrub. They favour mature native trees with rough bark and rich invertebrate prey. In the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, they are found in the protected beech and podocarp forest, and potentially among the regenerating kānuka.
Forest geckos are considered to be at risk of extinction due to ongoing declines. Key threats include predation by introduced mammals (mice, rats, stoats, cats), and habitat clearance. Because they reproduce slowly, population recovery takes time.
Within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, this species is very rarely seen. Because of the presence of mice, this species may still be at a low density. We are maintaining a 3.7 hectare mouse exclosure that will act as a mini sanctuary for our most vulnerable critters, including lizards. We hope that over time this species becomes abundant there, but recovery of these slow breeding lizards takes a long time.
🦎 Geckos have toe pads that allow them to cling to vertical surfaces. Forest geckos may occur 50 metres high in large rimu trees. The genus name mokopirirākau means ‘lizard that clings to trees’.
Our other residents
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🪶 Ngahere Neighbourhood: piriwai (spiny gilled mayfly)
Tiny, ancient, and found only in Aotearoa — the spiny gilled mayfly (Coloburiscus humeralis) spends up to four years underwater before living just a few days as an adult.
Piriwai can only survive in clean, fast-flowing streams. Its larvae cling to river rocks, filtering food from the water with tiny hair-like gills. They are an important sign of healthy freshwater ecosystems, so much so that this species gets a rating of 8-9 on the sensitivity/stream health rating. All native stream macroinvertebrates are ranked in terms of their sensitivity and used as a bioindicator of stream health.
The Sanctuary stream is a reference site for stream health and represents a `pure`, unadulterated site and thus is highly diverse in sensitive stream invertebrates.
📸 Photo: Taken by Henry Hart here at the Sanctuary
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #AotearoaNature #FreshwaterLife #NelsonTasman #Conservation #Piriwai
Feb 17
Their Raucous Call Returns: Kākā Set to Reclaim the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. 🦜
This March, we’re scheduled to welcome two male and one female kākā fledglings from the Dunedin Botanic Garden kākā breeding programme. There’s also the potential for a further four birds to arrive in May.
Kākā are unique to Aotearoa and are nationally vulnerable, with populations heavily impacted by introduced predators. Releasing them into a pest-free sanctuary with ideal habitat (old growth beech forest) gives them the best chance to thrive.
This release will build on years of species translocations as part of the Sanctuary’s ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts, including:
🏠 Kākāriki karaka in 2021
🏠 Powelliphanta hochstetteri consobrina (giant snails) in 2021
🏠 Tuatara in November 2024 and May 2025
🏠 Kiwi in May 2025
Over the coming weeks, our team will be busy planning and preparing for this important translocation. We’ll share more details on timing and what to expect closer to the date.
Thank you to our community of donors, volunteers, business supporters, and Sanctuary Members for continuing to back the Sanctuary — your support is vital to every species return. We can’t wait to celebrate this next milestone with you.
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #Kākā #ConservationNZ #NelsonNZ #PredatorFree #NativeWildlife #Biodiversity
Feb 10
Win prizes for your best summer photo at the Sanctuary 📸🏆☀️
This season, we want to see the Sanctuary through your lens — the bright light through the canopy, the textures of the forest floor, and the tiny details that make summer feel alive.
Enter our Summer Photography Competition (part of our Sanctuary Seasons series) and you could win:
🏆 Instant camera (Junior Photography winner)
🌙 Family ticket to a guided night tour
📰 Feature in our newsletter + social media
🖼️ Printed display at the Visitor Centre
📅 Entries close 28 February - Submit your entries via our website: Link in bio
Photo credit: Helen Power - Entry from the spring photography competition
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #SanctuarySeasons #Ngahere #NaturePhotography #NZWildlife #NelsonTasman #VisitNelson #NZHikes #EcoTourismNZ #ConservationStorytelling
Feb 4
Looking for a unique and memorable date night? 🌙🌲
This February, we’re introducing Date Me Darling — private, curated date nights inside the Sanctuary at dusk.
Three styled locations. One couple at a time. You’ll have a styled spot along the main loop track, locally sourced food and drinks, a few games to share, and time to slow down together as the forest shifts into evening.
Beech Glade: for when you want the world to fall away — deeply hidden, totally private, just you and the hush of the forest.
River: crystal clear water, canopy above, flickering lights — the kind of setup you usually only see on Instagram.
Meadow: open sky, long grass, and the forest standing quietly at the edges like it knows not to interrupt.
Bookings are open now (limited spaces in February only so don’t miss out!): Link in bio
#DateMeDarling #NelsonNZ #NelsonTasman #ThingsToDoNelson #DateNightIdeas #NatureLovers #SupportLocalNZ #ConservationNZ #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary
Feb 3
Two cute to be true?
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary and @savethekiwinz teams have been busy over the past few days tracking and recapturing kiwi to remove their transmitters. Thanks to a huge team effort, all ten males were recaptured within just three days.
Some nest burrows held a surprise or two — in several cases a female was present, and a couple even contained chicks. One burrow amazed us all, with not one but two adorable chicks 😍
All chicks are fully independent at this stage of the season, and after quick health checks and transmitter removal, all adult kiwi were safely returned to their burrows.
This special footage was captured by kiwi handler Tamsin from Save the Kiwi, who led the transmitter removal mahi.
We estimate the 20 females and 21 males released in May last year have already produced around 10–15 kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) chicks in their very first breeding season — a strong sign the habitat is just right.
With transmitters now removed from all ten males, the kiwi are completely free, with no further handling needed. Annual kiwi call counts by staff and volunteers will help track the growing population across our 690 ha, ring-fenced, pest-free sanctuary.
Credit: Video courtesy of Tamsin Ward-Smith, Save the Kiwi
Thanks to our partnership with @terunangaotoa Ngati Toa and Save the Kiwi
#kiwipukupuku #littlespottedkiwi #brookwaimaramasanctuary #nelson #thetopofthesouth #conservation #biodiversity #nativebirds #natureloversnz #newzealandwildlife #pestfree #ringfencedsanctuary #conservationinaction
Jan 29
🎻 45 min string quartet concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Come and hear a dynamic young string quartet perform a 45 min concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. We welcome everyone to come along, and bring anyone you think might be curious to hear some classical music in a relaxed environment.
The @antipodes.quartet is part of the Fellowship Ensemble Programme, a joint venture between the @adamchambermusicfestival, @newzealandstringquartet and @chambermusicnz, as a career-development experience offered to four of this country’s most promising young string players.
The Antipodes Quartet are Eden Annesley (violin), Mana Waiariki (violin), Tal Amoore (viola) and Lavinnia Rae (cello).
On this occasion, Brook Waimārama Sanctuary are welcoming everyone at local prices: Adult $15, Child $9; Family $35 (on the door)
Find out more: (Link in bio)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NelsonNZ #Whakatū #WhatsonNelson #NelsonTasman #LiveMusicNZ #ChamberMusicNZ #StringQuartet #ClassicalMusicNZ #AdamChamberMusicFestival #NewZealandStringQuartet #ChamberMusicNewZealand #FamilyFriendly #NatureAndCulture #SupportLocalArts
Jan 27
