Kiwi Park, South Island, New Zealand

5Rosie 5:00 PM Mar 6, 2020

Quaint Kiwi park and conservation centre!
Visited this morning, having purchased tickets online on a discount site (not much cheaper than if you buy at the centre, just every little helps when you're on a travellers budget!) Staff were friendly on our arrival, quickly showing us how to use the audio guide and pointing us on our way, armed with a easy-to-read park map! The audio guide is pretty informative. You can skip parts you aren't too interested in if you want. The bird enclosures seem clean and tidy, and all the animals we saw seemed happy and healthy. The kiwi talk at 10am (they have a few throughout the day) was good. It was amazing to see kiwi birds! Honestly, such an amazing animal. Much bigger than I was expecting. The information given to us by the person doing the talk was more or less what I had already heard on the audio guide.. also, sometimes hard to understand due to her heavy accent. We got most of the talk though and she answered all audience questions pretty well. We must have spent 2.5hrs in the park, enjoying the walk around the pretty gardens, seeing the birds up close. We loved the Keas! And the huge pidgeons, haha! The bee keeper area was also great. The staff member there (a guy with a beard, I think!) was very funny and informative, telling us all about the life of the bees, whilst pointing things out on the transparent bee hive. It was fascinating! The 11am conservation show was also very, very good. We saw a variety of animals and learnt about their life in NZ. The staff were amazing, especially the lady doing the chatting. She was very engaging. Yes, it is a little pricey, but the park uses the money to survive. They do not have any outside funding. A worth-while cause. I think children would also have a lovely time here. Cafe and shop too, if you're interested in buying local honey, toys, books, souveneirs or clothing.

5vwatts40 5:00 PM Mar 23, 2021

Extensive nature reserve close to the gondola
Just by the lower gondola station there is what looks like a corrugated iron shed. Going through this entrance is a revelation. It opens out into several hectares of nature reserve with many aviaries containing rare native birds. There are three kiwi house used for breeding kiwis for release. It take a while for your eyes to adjust but but after about 5 - 10 minutes you can easily see kiwis going about their business. There is a kea cage where you can go inside and get close to the keas, just watch your shoe laces. Our trip ended with a conservation demonstration in which several native bird were flown close to the audience. Close up of wood pigeon, often seen high up in trees but not this close. Also of a more pork usually heard rather than seen. Over the past thirty years the owner have cleared invasive scrub and weeds and replaced by native plants. This has encouraged local native birds to take up residence and these can be seen flitting about in the trees and bushes. We spent two contended hours here and could easily have enjoyed more.