orth of Masterton the land is more open. Fine stands of poplars and oaks and glades of other exotic trees grace the landscape. The paddocks are dotted with grazing dairy herds of Friesians, jerseys and occasionally Ayreshires; flocks of Romney and Southdown sheep flourish in the lush Wairarapa pastures.

The birdlife too is generally exotic. Starlings, harriers and sparrows forage along the roadside verges and from the adjoining fields mixed flocks of finches flit overhead. Stop anywhere along the way and you are likely to hear the melodious flute-like call of the white-backed magpie, an Australian bird now well established in this area. Its beautiful call is one of the most evocative sounds of this part of the countryside. The poet Dennis Glover described it as 'Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle', which is probably as close as anyone could get to it.

Some 28 kilometres north of Masterton, along State Highway 2, is the National Wildlife Centre at Mt Bruce. In a beautiful setting of native forest one can see the finest collection of New Zealand native birds to be found anywhere. Previously known as the Mt Bruce Native Bird Reserve, the centre was started by the former Wildlife Branch on the farm of Elwin Welch, a Wairarapa aviculturist, to propagate the takahe after its rediscovery in 1948. Later the centre was expanded to house and breed other endangered birds. In this, the centre has had some spectacular successes. Takahe, black stilts, North Island kokako, blue ducks, the North Island saddleback and both the brown and the little spotted kiwi are among the many birds to have bred here and some of these are now second- or third-generation breeders. Wander past the many enclosures dotted throughout the beautiful native bush reserve and you will see and hear species like the shore plover and Forbes parakeet, which are kept nowhere else. Take your time - the aviaries are very well planted so only by careful observation will you see some of our more secretive bird species.

Watch for the birdlife in the surrounding bush as well. Many smaller native birds such as fantails and whiteheads are found at Mt Bruce in reasonable numbers and by rigorously keeping the possum population in check the centre has enabled the surrounding forest to regenerate to something like its former state.

Besides birds, the centre also houses tuatara, various lizards and native bats in its nocturnal house. Also watch out for the enormous eels and trout which loiter under the bridges, waiting for handouts.

The takahe, however, remains the highlight of the collection and from the centre's coffee shop there is a fine view of a breeding pair in an adjoining enclosure. It is the most colourful of all New Zealand’s birds, as well as being among the rarest. It too, once occurred naturally in the Wairarapa - possibly as recently as the nineteenth century.