Franz Josef Wildlife Center: Skip the Line Tickets with Optional Backstage Pass
4.4
92 Ratings
Franz Josef

Experience the Franz Josef Wildlife Center, the largest kiwi hatching facility in the South Island. Skip the line and get a backstage pass for an exclusive tour. Book now!

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • West Coast Wildlife Centre - The centre is open every day from 8.30am.
    A free takeaway learning booklet is provided at no extra charge.
    All tickets purchased are valid for 48 hours. This means guests can come in and out of the attraction as often as they like.
    During your visit, you’ll be able to see live kiwi during the day inside the nocturnal…
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What's Included
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST) included
  • Local taxes covered
  • Complimentary car parking
What's Not Included
  • Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • DVD (available to purchase)
Additional Information

Lonely Planet listed the West Coast Wildlife Centre as one of 12 must-visit attractions in New Zealand. Being the largest kiwi hatchery in the South Island, it’s the premier indoor all-weather visit in Franz Josef. Inside the nocturnal house, visitors are given the rare opportunity to see live kiwi during daylight hours, including some of the rarest…

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Location
West Coast Wildlife Centre
Cnr Cowan & Cron Streets, Bright Green Building
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.4
(92 Ratings)
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1 star
David
Nov 21, 2024
Very interesting insight to the life of the kiwi - We were driving down to Fox Glacier through Franz Josef and decided to stop off to give this place a look given the Trip Advisor reviews. We wet met by the owner, Richard, who explained the two options of either just the walk through experience or to add the behind the scenes tour with a guide and as this was running in 10 minutes, we signed up for the enhanced deal. The tour with Kath was really interesting, who gave us such a great education about the kiwi and how their conversation centre are ensuring the survival of this special bird. After this, we went through the self guided part of the centre, and were delighted to see two live kiwis, which it is just about impossible to achieve in the wild. All in all, a good experience and would recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Explorer58664439651
Nov 17, 2024
Really enjoyed the tour and learned a lot - I had a really great time at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef. The guide was super knowledgeable and you could tell how much he loved his job and the work they do there. I learned a lot about the Kiwi and the Tuatara and about the work the wildlife centre is doing in conservation and saving these incredible animals. I would definitely recommend taking a guided tour there. It was also so cool to see actual Kiwi there (they have two at the moment).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carowest
Nov 16, 2024
Fascinating - We really enjoyed our visit. Our guide was knowledgeable and obviously passionate about the work they do. We learned much about Kiwis and Tuatara and saw both. A brilliant experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ezra
Oct 27, 2024
Franz Josef wildlife centre family group visit - The centre was very enjoyable to visit. We did see the two then resident Kiwis as assured, and we didn’t need to call on the back plan of assisted viewing to see them. The displays, text, pictures, & videos were very good and easy to follow, and pitched at what I thought was a good level. The second part of the visit provided some information on Glaciers and this was also very good, I think it covered a lot without being over powering! The behind the scenes part of the trip guided by Kath, was very interesting. Unfortunately due to the success of the hatching activity in the centre over the years, there were no eggs being looked after at the time of our visit. That didn’t take away from the visit though. Kath had plenty information to share with us by way of talk, video, exhibits and Q & A, and she kept our interest and attention throughout. The second part of the behind the scenes visit deal with the Tuatara. These are lizard like creatures, but are not actually lizards. Again Kath had plenty of information to share with us on this topic. This part of the behind the scenes visit was particularly beneficial, as there was much more information to be learned than you can pick up on the self guided visit, at least as best as I can recall. The staff I dealt with, Richard, Kath, and the staff in the shop were very pleasant to deal with and very competent at their work. I’d highly recommend a visit to this centre.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Meander22323610436
Oct 23, 2024
Kiwi knowledge. - The ranger Kath was not only passionate but knowledgeable about all things Kiwi. Great depth both in presentation and in answering numerous questions. Highly engaging and worthwhile.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chery_m
Oct 10, 2024
Behind the scenes good value - The behind the scenes was very informative and interesting. The guide Steve was great , funny and professional. Very good knowledge and easy to interact with.
Review provided by Viator
Sunshine58499375114
Dec 15, 2024
VIP-Tour - Interesting informations and real kiwi to look at. Booked the VIP-Tour for additional informations which were provided by our guide Kath who did an awesome job! It was not boring at all and you can see and feel that she loves what she's doing. The Wildlife Centre can be happy to have such a great guide! Thank you Kath! 🙂
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen
Dec 2, 2024
No Kiwis in the backstage still great - It was great to watch two live kiwis. The tour was very informative and educational. It was a pity that we weren't told before that the hatching statiin was empty and you won't see any kiwis there
Review provided by Tripadvisor
12lizzyk
Nov 29, 2024
Best way to see live Kiwi - As the weather was poor and one of our activities had been cancelled we decided to visit the centre. We chose the backstage pass as it said you could take photos, whereas you are not allowed to photograph the Kiwi in the main area. The information on the birds and on glaciers was well presented. There were 2 Kiwi that were at the centre and once our eyes had grown accustomed to the dark (they're nocturnal birds) we were fortunate to see both of them. One was very active running up and down the enclosure and digging for food the other more quiet but still we could see it. The backstage tour was really well presented. The manager of the centre was passionate about the birds and the conservation work they are doing and it really showed in his delivery and knowledge. Unfortunately there were no baby Kiwi there, just the wrong time of year, but we were also given a tour of the Tuatara they house which was really interesting. It is a little expensive for a relatively small attraction, but their conservation work is brilliant and we were happy to pay for that.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
27julieannd
Dec 14, 2024
Not worth the price for us....1 - Unfortunately spent a lot of money to see 2 (looked to us) anxious kiwis running up & down their enclosure wall. Old footage on small screens, can find more up to date & interesting footage online! Did not totally understand the extra price fee for the "backstage pass" (our fault for not checking) to see what we thought were eggs incubating & kiwis hatching & growing. Sadly when we got downstairs we were told there are no eggs or kiwis hatching. Disappointing......
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 8 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
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