This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
45.41698° S, 167.71191° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
The takahē was declared extinct, and then it was not.
A large, flightless, blue-green swamp hen with a heavy red bill, the takahē was known from a handful of nineteenth-century specimens and then not seen for decades. It was written off. In 1948 a small population was rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains, in the rugged country above Lake Te Anau – one of the most celebrated moments in New Zealand natural history, and the beginning of a recovery effort that has run ever since.
Te Anau is the town at the centre of that story. It is home to a breeding and recovery programme for the species, and the birds have gone from a relict population in one Fiordland valley to a managed and slowly growing national population across multiple sites.
The statue near the lakefront is the town claiming that history. It is large, brightly coloured and unmistakable, and the colouring is not artistic licence – takahē really are that blue.
What sets it apart from most oversized wildlife in this catalogue is the emotional register. A giant crayfish or a giant trout advertises a catch. This one commemorates a bird the country had given up on. Standing next to an outsized version of an animal that spent half a century officially extinct is a different kind of experience from posing with a fruit, and it is worth taking the extra minute.
The statue remains a recognisable Te Anau landmark in current visitor material.
Te Anau is also the gateway town for Fiordland – the departure point for Milford Sound, the Milford, Kepler and Routeburn tracks, and the lake itself, which is the largest in the South Island. Almost everyone who sees the statue is on their way to or from one of those, which gives the bird a very large and slightly distracted audience.
That is arguably an argument for it being as brightly coloured and as oversized as it is. A subtle memorial to the takahe would be walked straight past by people with a boat to catch.
Photograph
This is a photograph, shown separately from the illustration artwork.
The statue remains a recognisable Te Anau landmark in 2025–26 visitor material, reflecting the town’s association with the rediscovery and recovery of the takahē.
ACCESS
The Big Takahe is in Te Anau’s public town/lakefront setting. Use the independently mapped Fiordland Community Events Centre public car park at approximately -45.41598, 167.71831, then walk about 510 m to the sculpture. Obey posted restrictions and reserved/loading spaces; do not drive to the sculpture point.
