Jan 21, 2025
Unique tour with dedicated team - The tour starts with a longer trip on a comfortable catamaran. Various points for animal observation were approached. We saw penguins, albatrosses and sea lions. After dark - and a brief briefing - we then went in search of the kiwis. We had 3 very dedicated and knowledgeable guides (Sarah, India, Jac) for our group of 12 people. We actually saw two Kiwis. A sensational experience, as is the entire tour itself. Our skipper Nic led us safely through the water and night at all times. Absolutely recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 16, 2025
The Best Possible Kiwi Experience! - The best experience ever! We spotted sea lions, (which came to play next to our boat), albatrosses (who thought that we are a fishing boat) and in the end also kiwi! Everything was underlined with a great tour guides India and Natasha, who were sooo patient with spotting the kiwi! They stayed with us longer than was scheduled, just to let us enjoy the kiwi. They knew answer to each of our questions and you could really feel the personal approach from them to you. Before spotting the kiwi we also enjoyed the orange moon on the beach all together. If I knew it is those two girls having the Ulva tour the day after, I would even go for that one instead of doing it by myself.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 14, 2025
The highlight in our Rakiura Stewart Island holiday - Spent an unforgettable evening and night on the Wild Kiwi encounter, made special by our guides Karen and Natasha. A quick change of schedule to an alternative boat and skipper was no trouble for this crew, who wowed us with their knowledge, professionalism and care for their customers. We set off to cruise til sunset, learning about the bird life and environment of the region. We saw mollymawks, titi, the rare hoiho, Northern royal albatross, seals, sea lions, shags and little blue penguins. When we landed at The Neck, we were expertly prepared for a silent trek to observe the elusive tokoeka kiwi. I can’t fault these guides. They managed our expectations, they kept us safe from sea lion surprises on the beach, they searched relentlessly and kept our spirits up with breakout sessions when it seemed the kiwi might remain unseen. Finally, when we accepted our loss and the crew were on unpaid overtime (though you wouldn’t know it) we saw one on the beach, with an ongoing view of it feeding in the bush. And on our way back to the boat, another beauty strode across the path and showed itself, while we held our collective breath. How fortunate we were to have 2 sightings. To celebrate our endeavours, hot chocolate, tea and bikkies on the boat hit the spot and the late hour of arrival approx 1 am did not dampen the experience one bit. It was truly special. I can’t recommend it enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 2, 2024
Fun and exciting adventure! - The trip was fabulous. The guides were energetic, fun, and provided lots of great information. We saw penguins, fur seals, albatross, and kiwis! A very exciting and fun night.
Review provided by Viator
Dec 2, 2024
Successful kiwi spotting - Jac and Sarah were fantastic! They were excellent kiwi spotters and worked as a team to make sure everyone in the group had a good view.
We also had awesome views of white capped albatrosses.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 14, 2024
Don't hesitate, do it! - I booked this tour because I really wanted to see kiwis in the wild but didn't want to be wandering around bushland by myself late at night. And I'm so glad I did!
Not only did we see 3 Tokoeka kiwis on our bush walk, we also did a pelagic cruise around Rakiura and Ulva Island (the cruise started at 7.30 but sunset is around 9) from which we spotted Fiordland Crested Penguins, Yellow Eyed Penguins, Pied and Spotted Shags, Brown Skuas, plus some NZ fur seals and sea lions.
The kiwi walk itself was awesome, we split into two groups and silently walked through the bush and onto the beach. It was quite fun and I would have enjoyed it even if we didn't see kiwi, but I'm so very happy that we did on multiple occasions. We could also hear them calling out in the distance. It was amazing.
The boat got back to Oban at I think 1am so it is a very late night but absolutely worth it.
Our guides Jac and I can't remember the other girl's name but she had long wavy brown hair - they were both fantastic, full of enthusiasm and knowledge.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 11, 2024
Wildlife at its best. - We went on this tour in the vague hope that we would see kiwis in their natural habitat. We saw them and more. The cruise picked us up around 7.30pm, we toured around Bench Island, Ulva and Steward Islands. We saw Fiordland Crested Penguins, the rare Yellow Eyed penguins, little blue penguins, NZ fur seals, sea lions and to top it all kiwis. The team on board were all excellent and extremely knowledgeable. They split the group of 11 of us into two groups for the bush walk so it felt really personal. The bush walk a great experience. Highly recommend this tour. We got back to Oban around 12.30am, exhausted but buzzing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 28, 2025
Wild kiwi spotting - Quite hard work with a lot of walking through the bush but we saw 3 wild kiwis so it was worth it. Guides were professional and courteous
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 10, 2024
Well organised but no kiwi spotted - Meet at 7.45 at pontoon where you can often see penguins. The boat is a stable catermeran and although it was lumpy at times, I felt quite safe. As per previous reviews we visited various spots and saw seals, brief glimpse of a penguin and various birds.
For the kiwi spotting, we split into 2 groups and set off after a briefing. Unfortunately, we didn't see any kiwi on our tour but heard them very close by. On the beach, we saw a sea lion emerge briefly and left the area quickly.
Returned to dock about 0100 Hrs.
It was a well organised trip but would have been nice to see a kiwi in it's natural environment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 7, 2024
Disappointed - We did this tour in December 2024. Whilst we enjoyed the experience, we did not see any kiwis, which was a huge disappointment given that was the key reason we travelled to Stewart Island. We were a group of 14 with two tour guides. We were all on our group for the tour. As there were two tour guides I'm not sure why we didn't split into two groups to personalise the experience and maximise chances of seeing one. The tour guides were knowledgeable and engaging, but unfortunately I think the size of the group impacted on our chances of seeing a kiwi. We managed to see other wildlife (including the penguin trifecta) at the start of the tour which was great. I would encourage RealNZ to look into your group sizes in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
