They have travelled 2000 kilometres, passed quarantine, settled into their $6 million pad – and they are about to meet the public.
Three Western Lowland Gorillas have been unveiled at Orana Park ahead of their first public viewings on Friday.
Fataki, 12, weighs 190kg and is starting to develop a silver back, which is a dominant male trait.
His brother Fuzu, 7, and half brother Mahali, 6, weigh about 90kg.
The critically-endangered animals, which came from a Sydney zoo, are the first gorillas to take up residence in a New Zealand wildlife park.
They arrived in Christchurch in mid-June and had since completed quarantine and been settled into their new enclosure.
Construction of the $6 million Great Ape Centre took from July 7, 2014 to June 15, 2015.
Orana Park chief executive Lynn Anderson said the younger gorillas were "mischievous animals with great characters", while Fataki was "impressive".
"The development will be a significant draw-card for domestic and international visitors," she said.
The earthquakes put a hold on the park's original plan for a Gorilla Habitat, which was due for completion in 2013.
The new Great Ape Centre, a revised concept, would be capable of holding gorillas and orangutans in separate spaces.
Gorillas team leader Nichola Creighton said it was "very rewarding and challenging experience working with such amazing animals".
The park joined the international zoo-based breeding programme for the gorillas.
"Our initial role is supporting the programme by housing bachelors and raising awareness on the plight of gorillas. Threats to gorillas are primarily driven by our lifestyle choices, such as habitat loss due to coltan mining," Creighton said.
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel officially opened the enclosure, the park's most ambitious project to date, at 1pm on Thursday.
