Tongariro Wildfire’s impact on region’s ecosystem w/ the University of Auckland’s George Perry: 17 November, 2025

On the 8th of November, a wildfire tore through 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, before being extinguished four days later.

The fire resulted in multiple walks in the region to be closed, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. However, as of today, many of these tracks have reopened.

However, the full extent of the fire on the region’s ecosystem is yet to be fully investigated.

On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about this wildfire, and how detrimental this fire will be on the region's ecosystem, from what we are currently seeing