Otorohanga Kiwi House

"Very neat place to see kiwis and learn more about the birds of New Zealand! One of the keepers gave us an impromptu lesson as we arrived since he happened to be at the desk, then an excellent staff member inside chased us down to let us know the kiwis had come closer to the glass. The eels were shockingly fun to see too, the biggest one still has me wide eyed!"

"The staff were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The kiwi keeper talk was very informative and amusing. We felt very lucky to spot 3 kiwi on our visit - with a lot of staring in the dark, checking the live-cam monitors, and LOTS of patience. Kiwi are only awake 4-6 hours a day so it's a bit of luck whether you see them. Watch the camera monitors and as soon as you see them leaving the burrow, run into the nocturnal house to spot them coming out! Check the logs too because apparently kiwi like sleeping in there. The keepers are really helpful, and if you ask, they'll point out the location of the burrows and help you try to spot them. The live-cams are great - even if you don't see the kiwi in person, they might be digging and hopping around inside the burrows. I believe the ticket allows entry the next day as well so you could try again if you don't initially see one. We enjoyed exploring the rest of the park in between stints of kiwi-searching. Some parts were closed for construction when we went, but there was still lots to see. What really stood out to me about this experience (aside from how incredibly cute the kiwi are) was how amazing the keepers are. You can tell they really care about the animals there and want to share that with visitors :)"

"A lovely home to many of NZ's native animals - birds and reptiles. There are 2 kiwi enclosures; it is dark inside so allow your eyes to adjust to darkness before attempting to spot them - they might be hiding in their nesting boxes (there's a screen which shows live footage so you can still see them!) Ps. There is a also a mini foodtruck cafe before entry with coffee and homemade savouries and sweets!"

"Cool place, but only 5 kiwis on display in the whole park, so if they are sleeping, you can't actually see any Kiwi. Kiwi are only active around 4-6 hours/day. The lady working told us they are most active around 1-2pm there. I was told they have about 20 more in the breeding house, but you can't see them. They do have an open aviary you can see some birds up close and several geckos. They are doing construction so several areas were closed."

"It was nice to be able to see all of the local birds in New Zealand. Getting to see the kiwi in their dark room felt a little bit like playing Where's Waldo. They made us wait a bit, but they were worth the anticipation. The guide at the front was ridiculously funny and super friendly. Only downside is that multiple areas of the park were closed for construction, which limited us to far fewer exhibits"