Set amidst a large country park between Napier and Wairoa, Lake Tūtira is a wildlife refuge that's popular for camping and picnics. Memorable for its weeping willows and prolific bird life, the lake was declared a bird sanctuary in 1929.

Birdlife at the lake includes scaup, grey ducks, black swans, little white-throated shags, black shags, white-face herons, pukeko, fantails, New Zealand wood pigeons, swallows and kingfishers - just to name a few.