Experience Flow & Design Highlights:
1. Immersive Gateway & VR Entry:
Visitor Centre as a Launchpad: Guests are welcomed and oriented before heading into the VR experience.
First Viewing Hide: As visitors don headsets, they emerge into a reconstructed prehistoric forest landscape—lush, alive, and humming with natural history.
2. Wildlife in View:
In the VR meadow, moa stroll toward viewers while the massive pouākai (giant eagle) swoops dramatically overhead—melding awe with authenticity.
3. Geological Storytelling:
Second Hide – Hillocks Formation: Guests witness the violent geological heartbeat of The Hillocks as boulders break away from cliffs and crash into view. A guided narrative within the natural landscape seamlessly blends story with place.
4. Glacial Transformation:
Third Hide – Glaciation & Change: Viewers “travel” upwards with the landscape shrinking beneath them, as glaciers carve valleys and shift from stormy blizzards to serene melting valleys rich with new life.
5. Elevated Contemplation:
Vantage Point Viewing: A serene moment at a lookout nestled into the hillside allows visitors to absorb their surroundings—both the real and the imagined.
6. From Reflection to Action:
Fourth Hide & Nursery: Guided toward a planting space, viewers choose a seedling. The VR headset reveals the tiny seedling sprouting, growing, and connecting with others—forming a communal forest. This interactive moment draws a powerful parallel between narrative immersion and real-world conservation.
7. Learning, Connection & Regeneration:
In the concluding nursery space, visitors explore interpretive installations focused on ecological restoration, carbon reduction, and community impact—tying the experience to tangible action.
Checkout the project site at www.fiw.co.nz
