One of the best opportunities to see Kiwis and many other birds in the wild. Peaceful and enchanting place with wonderful hosts and staff who go out of their way to make your stay enjoyable. By staying there you will support this unique place..
After a couple of nights hunting I had the enormous thrill of seeing a kiwi in the wild. This was an unforgettable experience, thank you so much for your work in the park and allowing this to happen.
My advice for others looking for kiwi is:
-use a very dim torch with a few layers of red cellophane - the kiwi hid when I first illuminated him, but then with my torch on the lowest setting, he was indifferent to the light and came within half a meter or so.
-Stay perfectly still. Sit for 5-10 minutes listening, then move a few hundred metres and try again. As soon as I took a single step to follow him, he scuttled off, so they're very sensitive to noise.
-Go alone or in a pair when there's no one else around. I saw him at 1.30am after about four hours. If they're not disturbed they make surprisingly loud breathing and scratching noises that you'll hear from quite far away, but others walking around will scare them off.
-Be patient! I didn't see anything on the first night, and was close to giving up on the second, when suddenly there he was.
Good luck!
This has been the greatest place in all of New Zealand that we visited. Amazing environment, amazing staff and facilities. Not a single thing about this place could be improved. We saw Kiwis roaming safely and free.
Amazing place to go to for some kiwi spotting. It's super quiet and relaxing during the day.
Unpowered campsite is with 15$ per person a really good price, and the facilities (kitchen, toilets, showers, BBQ area) are really clean and well enough equipped.
The owners, Wendy and Simon, are super nice and helpful! They will give you some tipps for spotting the kiwis, but obviously you need a bit of luck. If you don't spot one, you will at least hear one though!
Aroha Island is a wonderful place to visit and stay the bird life is great and views spectacular. We even saw a real live Kiwi in the wild last night.
What a beautiful place to stay in Northland. Highly reccomend this place to stay at. Take a few coins for the showers. Best part is that you can go kiwi searching at night.
Amazing location for team meeting or retreat. The accommodation is excellent and the setting is incredible. And I've seen kiwi on dusk.
For me the best place in NZ and a hidden gem. The managers Wendy and Simon are wonderful. A must if you visit NZ.
Quiet and close to nature. Good chances to at least hear a kiwi.
Lovely peaceful camp in a gorgeous setting. Would have loved to see a kiwi Maybe I'll have better luck next time