Mnu MNU

Education FAQs

  • Email education@maungatrust.org or phone our Education Team Leader on 027 529 8367 to make an inquiry.
  • Kōrero mai - have a conversation with us about your visit.
  • Complete our online booking form that our educator will email to you.

Visits must be booked at least 3 weeks in advance. This is to allow our education team time to work with you to ensure the best possible outcomes for your visit.

Trips will be confirmed once we receive your completed booking form and we have had a kōrero about the learning intentions for your visit.

  • Email education@maungatrust.org or phone 027 529 8367 to make an inquiry. It is helpful to have three possible visit dates ready to suggest.

Unfortunately, due to demand for bookings, this may not be possible. If weather conditions are not suitable on the date of your booking we will do our best to find an alternative date but this is not guaranteed.

Yes, please give us a courtesy call and let us know if you are planning on bringing a group to Sanctuary Mountain. We may have another group already booked in and we will need to consider how we can manage the use of our facilities to accommodate everyone. 

New Zealand Schools from July 2022-June 2023:

$11 per student
$11 per parent

Teachers and teacher aides are FREE OF CHARGE

New Zealand Tertiary Groups from July 2022-June 2023:

$20 per student
$20 per accompanying adult

Lecturers/ Tutors are FREE OF CHARGE

Please note:

Arranging transport to and from Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is the responsibility of the school or group.

A minimum payment of the equivalent of 10 paying people is required for a guided education programme booking to go ahead.

Yes, you can!

In fact, we recommend this as part of planning your class visit to Sanctuary Mountain. Please contact us to make an appointment.

Please note, as this is a professional appointment it is not suitable to bring along young children to this pre-visit.

There is a minimum charge for education tours with less than 10 participants. To help us to cover our costs, the minimum charge is the equivalent of 10 paying participants.

Ratio of adults to students:

Early childhood             1:3

Years 0-6                         1:6

Years 7-8                         1:8

Years 9-10                       1:10

Years 11-13                     1:15

Schools must ensure the ratios for adult supervision meet the requirements of their school management and Board of Trustees (do not include Sanctuary Mountain education staff or volunteers in your ratio).

Please ensure accompanying adults have the appropriate skills and fitness for the trip and arrange a suitable way to brief the adults with regards to the purpose of your visit and clarify your expectations of them as adult supervisors for the day (see more on this below).

Please keep the number of parents to a reasonable level. We understand you may need to bring additional adults if you are travelling in cars.

Please note parents are $11 per parent.

You can either pay on the day via EFTPOS or school credit card at the Visitor Centre or an invoice can be arranged after your visit. Our online booking form that will be sent to you as part of our bookings process gathers the details needed to invoice your school after your visit.

No. Teacher aides that are required to assist children on the trip will be free of charge.

Annual Explorer passes and other discount vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with already discounted education tours.

Parents/ adult supervisors will stay with the group of students you assign to them, actively supervise students, encourage students and engage in activities. Parents/ adult supervisors are role models, and their complete attention and participation will enrich the experience for your students.

Supervisors must be responsible adults aged 18 years and over.

Please do not allow supervising adults to bring along other siblings (babies or toddlers) so that they can focus on their role as supervisors for the health and safety of your school students.

Remember, adults are role models whilst on the trip. It is great if parents engage with the guided tour, support and trust the educator guiding the group. It is helpful if they avoid ongoing conversations with other parents during the tour, avoid pulling students aside to show them something, avoid wandering off and talking on mobile phones.

Please ensure adult supervisors inform the educator if a student is not feeling well or needs to be taken to the toilet. It is important that the group does not get split up without communicating and agreeing to a plan with the educator leading your group.

Please encourage parents to allow the students time to answer questions posed by the educators. Trust the educators! They have specialised local knowledge and experience, a programme plan and timeframes to work within.

A reasonable level of fitness is required of the school adults.

Yes, we can provide you with our sample EOTC Risk Assessment and Supervision form.

Schools must ensure they meet the requirements of their own school management and board of trustees for health and safety for EOTC.

For best practice guidelines refer to the general Tool Kit for EOTC management and advice on COVID-19.

FOOD: A packed lunch for plenty of energy - packed in a sealed container or zip-locked bag for biosecurity.

WATER: A bottle of water - please bring a full bottle of water for the day.

CLOTHING: Bring clothing suitable for the conditions/ changing conditions - layers are best. The environment on the mountain is much colder than surrounding areas, especially during the winter months. The area and wetland tracks can be very hot and exposed to the sun in the summer months.

Sunhat, sunglasses and sunscreen

Rainproof jacket with a hood

SHOES: Clean, comfortable, study, closed footwear suitable for walking on loose gravel and grassy tracks.

PERSONAL MEDICATIONS: Carry any essential personal medications.

DAY BACKPACK: Backpack that can be zipped closed.

FIRST AID: Schools are required to bring their own first aid kit.

COMPLETE LIST OF PARTICIPANTS: Teachers carry a comprehensive list of all participants, contact details and medical information. 

PERSONAL ITEMS: Schools are responsible for their own personal items such as cameras or devices etc.

If you want to capture photos of your trip, please limit this to one person per class taking photos.

Important notes:

  • Educators do carry a basic forest first aid kit and are first aid trained. It is best practice however for each school group to also be prepared.
  • Please bring a packed lunch. Snacks and beverages are available only from the Manu Tioriori visitor centre.
  • Please take any rubbish you bring with you home again - 'pack in and pack out'.
  • Please do not bring pets, bikes, balls, chewing gum or bluetooth speakers.

YES!

Behind the Xcluder pest-proof fence around Maungatautari the environment is largely pest-free (except for mice). Help us to keep the sanctuary pest-free and stop the spread of weed seeds and plant diseases by doing the following:

Check - your gear for introduced pests such as rodents, skinks or insects.

Clean - your footwear and gear, removing soil and seeds.

Close - ensure your gear is zipped up and food is in a sealed container to avoid attracting rodents or insects.

Before leaving home/school:

Clean your footwear (a hard bristled brush can be used before getting on the bus).

Organise for food to be carried in sealed containers (if this is an issue, a large ziplock bag can be used).

Before going through any of the double door systems into the sanctuary:

We will also carry out bag checks as a group before going through any of the double door systems if we are carrying any bags into the sanctuary.

This will take the form of each person (students and adults alike) checking inside their own bags for any stowaway pests. Please encourage everyone to participate.

Ensure that any pest-proof gates are always closed well behind you or the group.

Meet at 10am at 99 Tari Road, Pukeatua.

Educators will meet you at the carpark at the end of Tari Road and bring you around to the front of the Visitor Centre.

The Visitor Centre is on the southern side of the mountain.

Please ensure the bus driver or your parents know to enter the street address into navigation systems. Note: If 'Maungatautari' is entered into google maps or other GPS systems, you are likely to be directed to the northern side of the mountain - 30 minutes away from the location of the Sanctuary Mountain Visitor Centre.

No chewing gum, balls, balloons, speakers, pets, bikes or scooters. Sanctuary Mountain is smoke free and this includes vaping.

All the animals at Sanctuary Mountain are living in a wild environment and the forest provides natural food sources for them. For health and safety reasons you cannot feed or touch any of the animals. If a bird or other animal chooses to come close to you, please stand still and observe quietly, enjoy the close encounter but do not try to feed or to touch any of the animals.

No. Please bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water with you.

The Manu Tioriori Visitor Centre has a limited range of pre-packaged snacks, cold drinks and ice-creams available for purchase but does not have a fully operating cafe.

We recommend schools bring their own packed lunches. There is a possibility that we can look into ordering packed lunches from a local cafe for you. Please enquire with the education co-ordinator and provide plenty of notice so that we can look into this option for you.

Your Sanctuary Mountain educators will arrange a place for you to eat your lunch. Depending on the programme and/or weather conditions at the time, lunch will either be on the grassy area outside the or in a nice spot within the forest.

Please contact us to discuss any changes as soon as possible.

All changes to Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari school programme bookings, postponements and/or cancellations must be negotiated directly with the Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari education coordinator and are at the discretion of Sanctuary Mountain®.

All decisions regarding Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari education programme trip cancellations due to forecast inclement weather conditions must be discussed with the Sanctuary Mountain® Maungatautari education coordinator the day before you visit and final decisions made by at the latest by 7:30am, the day of your planned school/ group trip.

If the organisation/ school decides to cancel their education tour for reasons other than poor weather conditions or requirements related to the Covid Protection Framework with less than 3 working days of notice, all fees must be paid in full.

If your trip is cancelled by Sanctuary Mountain, we will endeavour to reschedule to a new date. However, this may not be possible.

In the unlikely event of an emergency, please listen to and follow the instructions of the educator that is leading your group. Exit the forest or wetland via your nearest exit gate and assemble on the large grassy area outside the at the sign-posted assembly point.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a smoke free zone. This includes vaping and e-cigarettes.

Yes! Sanctuary Mountain would love to bring conservation to your classroom through a virtual online learning session. It's the next best thing to a visit! Let us know what you’re learning about and how we can help. Contact our lead educator via education@maungatrust.org

Cost: $50.00 per session

Time: 30-60 minutes