WHY GO? Because there’s plenty more to see here besides the native creatures. Upstairs is Whangārei Museum, where well-presented displays tell the story of the area, from 2000 year-old moa skeletons, through Māori artefacts to early settler exhibits. Outside, scattered around the 25 hectare grounds, is a picturesque selection of buildings, including a tiny octagonal chapel made from a single kauri log, and an even tinier hexagonal hut used by novelist Jane Mander as her study. There’s a school house, a smithy, a women’s jail and a railway station beside tracks still in use by one of several heritage enthusiast clubs located in the park. These also include amateur radio, steam and model railway groups, a medical museum and rockhounds, and they open to the public on special days.