THE MEET THE KIWI EXPERIENCE IS FREE - just book your ferry ticket for Sunday 26th November.

We are excited to be working alongside Rotoroa Island Trust to share this very special experience to meet a Coromandel brown kiwi chick up close before its release on Rotoroa Island.

Rotoroa Island is a predator-free island sanctuary and acts as a creche for North Island Brown kiwi chicks from the Coromandel to thrive in the wild before being relocated around the country. 

The kiwi chick and it's entourage will be travelling to Rotoroa on the 12:00pm departure from Auckland, however all passengers travelling to Rotoroa on Saturday can join this event.

Explore this beautiful island sanctuary while you are here. Book a 90 minute guided nature walk* with one of the island's rangers (available on the 10am departure only due to the kiwi release activities) or download a map and explore the island's native bush and sandy bays at your own pace. With 8km of walking tracks, historic buildings and an award winning museum exhibition to discover there is plenty to see and do here. 


The opportunity for the public to meet a kiwi in person is an important part of Save the Kiwi's conservation programme - it's a chance to share why kiwi are so vulnerable, the huge effort required to look after our taonga species and how people can help make a difference. The bird's health is paramount and the kiwi handlers follow strict procedures set by Save the the Kiwi when showing chicks to the public.  

Rotoroa Island's kiwi programme is in partnership with Save the Kiwi and the many people in the Coromandel community involved in kiwi conservation, you can learn more about it here.

^{* The guided nature walk departs from the Exhibition Centre at 11:30am and will return in time for the kiwi event. This can be pre-booked online with your ferry ticket for an additional $22 per adult, $11 per child or $60 per family (2 Adults & 2 Children).}