Tawharanui Night Tour: Stargazing and Wildlife

Spot kiwis and stargaze at Tawharanui. Experience bioluminescent beaches and nocturnal wildlife in a magical night tour. Book your adventure now!

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Tawharanui Peninsula - Kiwi Discovery Adventure:
    Join us for an exhilarating kiwi discovery adventure as twilight descends. Follow your experienced guide through the park’s native bush, staying vigilant as we hunt for traces of kiwi activity. Along the journey, delve into captivating insights about these beloved birds.
    Celestial Exploration:…
What's Included
  • Specialized equipment
  • Hot drink and Snack
  • Knowledgeable and Experienced Guide
What's Not Included
  • Campsite bookings and fees
Additional Information

Discover the enchanting beauty of Tawharanui Regional Park after dark, revealing a world of natural splendor and rich biodiversity. With minimal light pollution, Tawharanui is a paradise for stargazers, offering exceptional views of the night sky filled with stars, planets, and celestial wonders.
As the sun sets, Tawharanui’s nocturnal inhabitants come…

Location
Tawharanui Regional Park
Takatu Road
Meet near the public bathrooms at the end of Takatu Rd, in Tawharanui Regional Park
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(15 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
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1 star
Tbone5555
Jul 1, 2025
Legend - The True Kiwi Legend!! - The great Legend, leads a truly EXTRAORDINARY night tour!! My daughter and I signed up for the tour hoping for an opportunity to see the elusive kiwi bird in the wild (something 95% of New Zealanders have never seen!). Legend was incredibly well-prepared with red lights, night sensors, and his keen eyes and ears. He has trekked these forests for decades and knows exactly where you go to track kiwis!! By the end of the night, we had seen an AMAZING 8 brown kiwis & saw so many other night creatures, the Milky Way, the southern sky in all its glory, the waves crashing at a beautiful beach, & then capped it all off with hot chocolate & the best Kiwi cookies in the land!! Thank you Legend - we will never forget you & all of your great stories!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kyliefreeman
May 23, 2025
Magical experience - Our guide, Legend, lived up to his name and was an absolute legend. We saw so many kiwi and learned so much about wild life, te ao maori and the stars. An amazing experience - thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margaret662020
Apr 11, 2025
A truly magical experience - I can highly recommend this tour for both New Zealanders and tourists. It was a truly magical experience seeing kiwis in the wild, one I will never forget. Our guide Legend was awesome and very informative. A experience that I will definitely be encouraging more family members to do. Thank you
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kstreit
Apr 1, 2025
Kiwis spotted despite clouds - great - What a great day! Without booking this activity, we would never have noticed this great national park. Although it is powerless for RVs, it is huge, very well maintained and in a bombastic location. You can enjoy the beach or go on beautiful hikes, among other things spotting kiwifruit. Our guide Legend has made the 2 hours an exciting, educational and enchanting excursion. We were lucky: Equipped with red light, we were able to find and observe more than 10 kiwis. I would not recommend the tour for small children. It is not particularly strenuous, but it is advisable to make the way from the camping to the meeting point once in the afternoon in daylight to find the way in the darkness). A flashlight or cell phone is mandatory. Cell phone reception there appealing. It wasn't enough for many stars, it was too covered for that. Attention: You have to book the campsite yourself, this also applies to glamping.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
572nevillew
Mar 30, 2025
Kiwi spotting and stargazing tour - Highly enjoyable evening with our guide Legend and a small group of people on a night time tour of the tracks through Tāwharanui regional park. We spotted 8 or 9 kiwi’s and managed to get up close to 5. Plenty of photo and video opportunities, we finished the night star gazing with binoculars, telescopes and tripods provided. Great stories from Legend who has a wide knowledge of Māori creation stories, customs , the cosmos and local history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O4687kumarkw
Mar 8, 2025
Something beautiful - We had such an amazing walk with Legend last night. So fun, informative and beautiful views! We saw 6 kiwis! Legend was very knowledgable on all sorts of things, including the local area, land, culture and plants. Was something different for me but loved it
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kiwicat1981
Feb 26, 2025
Amazing 'kiwi' experience! - Brilliant experience, we loved our walk looking for kiwis- and were stunned to see 8 of them! Legend was a brilliant guide, very friendly and knowledgeable. We also enjoyed our stargazing and it was a nice surprise to have a tim tam and hot milo too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Justin_b
Jan 22, 2025
Legends a Legend - Legends a Legend, really enjoyed the experience and the knowledge he had. Managed to see 3 Kiwis and got really close to one!
Review provided by Viator
Silvisl2025
Jan 21, 2025
A very special, magnificent nature experience. - The nightly kiwi watching tour was one of the most impressive experiences of our New Zealand trip. Being able to observe the shy animals in their natural environment so close up was a very special experience. Thanks to our friendly and experienced guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leidamariet
Feb 20, 2025
Must do unique activity for your NZ trip - Ok, want to start by saying really I would have liked to have give a 4.5 but we can't do half star ratings. Legend, our tour guide, was absolutely brilliant and gets a 5-star rating. He was able to help us spot 11 kiwi and taught us so much about the kiwis and the night sky. The only criticism was that communication about the glamping add-on could have been better. The tents are set up 2 hours before the tour but we weren't told where it would be set up on the campground and there was no sign outside the tent. Luckily we were the only glampers that night so we were able to find it beforehand. Overall, we were really happy though and will definitely book again when back in NZ.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $88
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).