Kiwi Spotting: Tawharanui Night Wildlife Tour

Spot kiwis and stargaze at Tawharanui. Experience bioluminescent beaches and nocturnal wildlife in a magical night tour. Book your adventure now!

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Tawharanui Peninsula - Experience the magic of Tawharanui Regional Park after sunset with a guided Wild Kiwi Bird Spotting Encounter, where the forest is filled with the vibrant sounds and movements of native wildlife. Away from city lights and crowds, this sanctuary provides the best chance near Auckland to see the iconic North Island brown kiwi…
What's Included
  • Specialized equipment
  • Knowledgeable and Experienced Guide
What's Not Included
  • Campsite bookings and fees
Additional Information

Experience the magic of Tawharanui Regional Park after dark with a guided Wild Kiwi Bird Spotting Encounter, where the forest bursts into life with the sounds and movements of native wildlife. Away from city lights and crowds, this sanctuary provides the best chance near Auckland to see the iconic North Island brown kiwi in its natural environment.
As…

Location
Tawharanui Regional Park
Takatu Road
Meet near the public bathrooms at the end of Takatu Rd (Anchor Bay), in Tawharanui Regional Park
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.6
(33 Ratings)
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906davidk906
Mar 25, 2026
A wonderful experience for all age groups. - We ( two grandparents in our mid 70s with two 9 year old grandsons) had a very well organised 2 hour night walk in Tawharanui Regional Park with two knowledgeable and entertaining guides, Ryan and Maria. We saw three Kiwis, one very close up and two running away a short distance from us. We would highly recommend this adventure and wish to commend our two excellent guides from the Social Nature Movement.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karabp2276yx
Mar 13, 2026
KeeeeWeeee - Honestly my highlight of my entire Neu Zealand tour. We saw 7 kiwi birds they were so cute. The equipment and red lights were great. The clouds opened so we got a good astronomy lesson too. If I could repeat any holiday again it would be this one in this country and i'd choose the SNM team especially if I could have hansom Chris i'd marry his brain, his wealth of knowledge, intuitive approaches and calm demeanor with our group. Best tour guide i've met in my time too 10 stars **********
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jcnz2025
Mar 8, 2026
Yes Kiwis are real! - Fantastic tour. A small group, all the correct equipment provided. The guide was a total Legend and he knew where to find the Kiwi and was filled to the brim with knowledge.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Departure49945994432
Mar 3, 2026
An exceptional and unique experience - Just a fantastic evening. We’ve waited 25 years to see a wild kiwi and we see 10- yes 10 in one evening. Our brilliant guide even had the time to take us through the stars of the southern hemisphere. Could not rate this 2 hours more highly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily
Feb 23, 2026
A must see in NZ! - Our guide, Legend, was amazing, and was able to find 5 adult kiwis and even a three week old baby! Amazing experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N6359bhnicoleg
Feb 14, 2026
Must-do tour for any kiwi enthusiast! - We had an amazing experience on the tour! Didn't get to see any stars due to weather but the kiwi spotting was top notch. Saw 6 kiwis and a barn owl up close! Our guide was awesome and answered all of our various kiwi questions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cammersg
Dec 23, 2025
A unique experience with a caring company - Great tour company. I really appreciated the way they contacted us on the day to say it would be cloudy and ask if we still wanted to go ahead as we wouldn’t be able to do the star gazing aspect and could cancel if we wanted. Made me feel our experience was their priority not just getting money through. Glad we went ahead as although we weren’t able to do the star gazing we did see 5 kiwi including a baby one!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cgabrielle49
Mar 11, 2026
No stargazing at all - This advert gave me the impresssion that we were on a stargazing tour. No. We are on a kiwi spotting tour. Which was OK but not expected at all. My hosts at my accommodation gave me a red torch to use and that is all we did was walk and kiwi spot. We saw 3 separate ones which was great and our guide was very knowledgeable and good. But this is NOT anything to do with stars.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erica
Feb 2, 2026
Sadly we didn’t see any kiwi and were surprised that we were not all offered red torches to have the ability to look - We really appreciated the opportunity to experience kiwi spotting and fully understand that when nature is involved, sightings can never be guaranteed. While we weren’t lucky enough to see a kiwi on the night, we still valued being in their natural environment and recognise that this is part of the experience. One piece of feedback we would offer is around equipment. It’s a long night if you don’t have a torch, and searching for kiwi without one makes it difficult to fully engage. Providing each participant with a red-light torch (included in the ticket price) would significantly improve the experience and make everyone feel equally equipped. We were also a little disappointed that star spotting wasn’t offered. At 11.40pm we were still searching for the elusive kiwi, and given the ticket states that both kiwi and star spotting are included, it felt like we spent close to three hours without really ticking either box. Overall, a well-intentioned experience with room for improvement, particularly around managing expectations and ensuring all guests are set up to make the most of the night.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O2661rcsusant
Feb 2, 2026
Go on your own for free - I never write reviews but because this company refused to listen to our concerns so I feel I have to. We paid 750 NZ$ for our Kiwi and stargazing experience. It was a complete rip off. The “experienced” guide had been with the company for two weeks and this was their second solo trip. They knew very little about kiwis and even less about stars. The equipment was either broken or so unfamiliar to the guide that they were unable to work it. We made it very clear when booking with the company that the stargazing was as important to us as the kiwis and said again on the tour that we wanted that element of the tour. Unfortunately time wasted trying to fix broken equipment and the fact that the guide really knew nothing about the night sky or how to set up and use the telescope or binoculars meant that there was not enough time or knowledge anyway to even attempt a proper stargazing session. When we approached the company for a partial refund, (we only requested a partial refund as we did see kiwis) they offered us 50NZ$ that’s 10$ per person. A pathetic offer considering our disappointment and the cost of this experience. They then stopped corresponding with us. Avoid this company an go on your own with a red torch, you will probably see more kiwis without the big noisy group of 10 crashing around blindly with cheep inadequate equipment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor