Kiwi Spotting: Night Walk on Ocean Beach
4.7
67 Ratings
Visitor Terminal - Stewart Island Experience

Embark on a guided night walk on Stewart Island to encounter the elusive Southern brown kiwi. Explore the coastal forest and spot wildlife in the darkness. Book now!

Duration: 5 hours, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • RealNZ - Check in at the Ferry Terminal
  • Stewart Island - Stewart Island Wild Kiwi Encounters
    Join an unforgettable evening adventure exploring the wildlife and culture of Rakiura/Stewart Island. Start with a picturesque cruise where you can spot rare seabirds and marine life before reaching your kiwi-spotting destination. During the Wild Kiwi…
What's Included
  • Tea and coffee
Additional Information

Stewart Island Wild Kiwi Encounters
Embark on a magical evening adventure on Rakiura/Stewart Island. Start with a picturesque cruise around nearby islands (weather permitting), where you can observe rare seabirds and marine life such as albatross, penguins, and fur seals. As night approaches, reach your kiwi-spotting location for a guided walk…

Location
Visitor Terminal - Stewart Island Experience
Please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(67 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Peter
Nov 7, 2025
Throughly recommend this trip with RealNZ - Expert and friendly guides Natasha and Charles. Very knowledgeable, we saw penguins, seals and many seabirds. Then landing and going through the bush to spot Kiwis. We were fortunate to see two which came very close to us. An amazing experience which we would throughly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daytrip28570175073
Nov 6, 2025
Penguins birds seals and kiwis! - We saw three species of penguin many birds and kiwi!!! Expertly run by Analiese and Natasha and their knowledge and passion are very infective. They really tried to make sure everyone on the trip got a view of the various animals we came in contact with. Absolutely a great night out with a hot chocolate and bickies on the way home :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan_t
Apr 29, 2025
Wonderful experience! - This was a great experience - the guides (Jan and Natasha) were super knowledgeable and experienced. There was lots if education done about the kiwis and other animals which made the experience even more enjoyable. We saw lots of animals from the boat, had a walk through the forest at night (which was a cool experience in and of itself). Then saw a kiwi on the beach and it just went about its business (eating) for about 30 minutes while we watched it - it didn’t even realize we were there. Then hot chocolate on the boat for the return to harbour
Review provided by Viator
Christine_k
Apr 18, 2025
Wonderful Experience - The excursion fulfilled every promise on delivering wildlife sightings and was well worth the cost charged. Guides were personable, knowledgeable and very efficient. My sister and I enjoyed this same excursion a year ago and it was because of the excellence that we repeated the tour again this year.
Review provided by Viator
Q2937aarobertw
Apr 16, 2025
As an Aussie, seeing a kiwi was a unique and memorable experience. - The trip consisted of great seabird watching (I'm a serious birder) and 1.5hrs of kiwi spotting. Our guides, Sarah and Natasha, were excellent and found a kiwi, not all trips do, which wandered no more than 2m from us. Natasha videoed it and transferred the video to my phone for a wonderful record of a unique experience. I was one of only three trippers, a group of 20 might struggle to get the same close views. We were also fortunate to have calm, dry weather as rain would have dampened the experience in more ways than one. I thoroughly recommend the Wild Kiwi Encounter.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kenr310
Apr 11, 2025
An absolute delight - What a fantastic adventure. We were lucky enough to see yellow eyed penguins in the water and two kiwis apart from many other bird and seal encounters. One kiwi stayed around for 20 minutes. An absolute delight.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Compass17032434016
Mar 29, 2025
very dedicated and knowledgeable guides - The two guides and the skipper were very dedicated and knowledgeable. We were allowed to watch albatrosses, sea lions, penguins and two kiwis on the night walk from the boat. The clear starry sky on the beach completed the experience. We would definitely book this tour again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
302janee
Feb 21, 2025
The highlight of our trip - We did the wild Kiwi walk and also the Island explorer. Karen and Natasha were the guides on both and we were in Karen’s group each time. The boat captains, Mac and Nick were great, and Karen was just awesome, as was Natasha These trips were the highlight of our amazing visit to New Zealand. The experience was outstanding, due to what we saw but also the passion for birds and animals that Karen and the others displayed. It really was excellent
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Grandtour35540218476
Oct 17, 2025
Group size too large so only the people in front can see the kiwi. - There were 10 people in our group and only several people in front of the single file line could see the kiwi. Use a different company that takes no more than 4 people. This company could have split the group in half, each with a guide. We saw several other cool birds and the staff was knowledgeable and friendly, but in the end, we were there to see kiwi. It would have been different if there were no kiwi to be seen, but to find one and not include everyone in the group was extremely disappointing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bwbachod17
Nov 20, 2025
Not great - We did this tour while on Stewart Island and saw one kiwi. Our group was split into 2 groups and the group ahead of us had a much better sighting but by the time we were allowed to move forward the kiwi had vanished. We did see another kiwi but unfortunately we had 2 ladies in our group who hogged the best position and the guide made no attempt to ask them to move so people at the back could see. Consequently 2 people in our group did not get a sighting. Once a kiwi had been spotted we felt they put very little effort into finding any others. The staff on the boat were very friendly and the biscuits and hot drinks on the return journey were a nice touch. If we were to ever do this again we would definitely choose a different company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $148
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).