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Auckland Explore New Zealand, Australia & Fiji!tune
Join your local tour guide, Ness, for a fantastic evening exploring the Tawharanui Bird Sanctuary, home to the New Zealand Kiwi!
Highlights
- Small group tour
- Explore the gorgeous Tawharanui Open Sanctuary
- Experience the Northern Brown Kiwi’s habitat
- A fantastic chance to hear, and possibly even see the elusive Kiwi!
Join your local tour guide, Ness, for a fantastic evening exploring the Tawharanui Bird Sanctuary, home to the New Zealand Kiwi!
This thriving sanctuary is located on a remote peninsula in the Hauraki Gulf and is the perfect habitat for Kiwi and other native NZ birds such as the Kereru, Tui, Native Owl, Morpork and more.
With native forest, lush pastures and wetlands, gorgeous coastal views and sandy beaches, it’s easy to see why the Kiwi call Tawharanui home.
Beginning at dusk, you’ll set off with your local guide in search of Kiwi by red torchlight. Keep an ear out for the shrill call of the Kiwi, it is very distinctive and almost mesmerizing. You will learn how to identify the difference between the male and female calls as well as other fascinating facts about these wonderful birds throughout the tour.
If you are lucky you may even get the chance to see these treasured nocturnal birds!
The small group numbers of the tour ensure you get the most out of your experience, making for a memorable and informative evening exploring the sanctuary and habitat of the New Zealand Kiwi!
Authenticated Reviews & Photos All of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme
Showing all 38 authenticated Bookme reviews
Kimball Martin from New Zealand wrote on 11 April 2022
If you haven't seen kiwi, this is a must-do
Excellent service and experience. We did have a particularly good/clear-weather night though, which was awesome.
Barry Houlbrooke from New Zealand wrote on 07 October 2020
After Dark
Thanks for a great trip last night Vanessa. I would normally go home before dark and miss the best time in the park. Amazing to see the brown teal duck with her ducklings so close. You tried so hard for us to see the kiwis. They were there but not showing themselves this time. Enjoyed the experience regardless.
jenniferw19 from Singapore wrote on 03 December 2022
Awesome Experience Up Close with Kiwis
Ness was a fabulous and sweet guide with an experienced knack for locating the wild kiwis. We were very blessed and managed to spot a pair of male and female kiwis together! Ness prepared yummy hot choc and gluten-free cookies too, as we sat in the middle of the forest with moonlight. It was a very special night walk and experience.
pandah from New Zealand wrote on 13 May 2022
Fantastic tour for family trip!
Very special experience! Kind of like hiking but the first time at night that everything feels so different. There was about 20 minutes easy walkway before entering the forest. Three kiwi birds were found and many other lovely creatures. The tour guide lady was very experienced and nice. Great and strongly recommended!
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Miklas from Germany wrote on 20 December 2019
Absolute highlight of my trip!
I was lucky to go on a private tour with Ness, which turned out to be one of the highlights of my weeks in New Zealand! She is not only a very friendly and warm-hearted person but also very knowledgeable about the sanctuary and its animals. We drove from Matakana to Tawharanui, where she explained the history of the sanctuary and its wildlife while we enjoyed some hot chocolate and cookies. As soon as it got dark we started the walk and tried to find the kiwis, which turned out quite hard because of the weather conditions. We heard them several times but it took us literally until the last moments of the walk to see one sitting right in front of us, which was great by itself but was made even better by the fact that Ness was just as excited as I was! Keep up that passion and thank you again for the fantastic evening!