Rotorua National Kiwi Hatchery Kiwi Encounter Guided Tour

Explore The National Kiwi Hatchery
with a conservation guide

Take a shuttle from the Agrodome check-in area to the hatchery, then join a conservation guide for the one-hour Kiwi Encounter tour. Enter a facility that is part of a nationally significant programme to protect the endangered kiwi, and learn how kiwi are incubated, hatched and raised.

Learn how kiwi eggs and chicks are raised

Your guide explains the kiwi life cycle, egg incubation and chick rearing. Depending on the season, you may see kiwi eggs or chicks at different stages of development and get insight into the daily work of the kiwi husbandry team. The best time to see eggs and chicks is the hatching season from September to March.

Meet live kiwi in the nocturnal house

The tour finishes in the nocturnal kiwi house, designed to recreate night-time conditions. Year-round, you have the chance to see kiwi, rarely seen in the wild, foraging and moving naturally.

100% of the ticket price supports kiwi conservation

The National Kiwi Hatchery is a non-profit charity, and 100% of the ticket price directly supports kiwi hatching and conservation programmes to help protect the future of New Zealand's national bird.

※ Viewing of eggs and chicks is seasonal (usually September to March). Outside this period, you can observe adult kiwi in the nocturnal house.
※ Kiwi are live animals, so sightings are not guaranteed.