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Zealandia Small Group Eco Wildlife Night Tour
4.8
96 Ratings
Wellington
Explore Zealandia by torchlight, discover nocturnal wildlife, and learn about New Zealand’s natural history on this award-winning night tour.
Explore Zealandia by torchlight, discover nocturnal wildlife, and learn about New Zealand’s natural history on this award-winning night tour.
Duration:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- ZEALANDIA Ecosanctuary - The tour begins with a short film and introduction inside the Visitor Centre’s interactive exhibition. Afterwards, the guide leads the group on an exciting walk through the sanctuary in search of wildlife.
- ZEALANDIA Ecosanctuary - The tour begins with a short film and introduction inside the Visitor Centre’s interactive exhibition. Afterwards, the guide leads the group on an exciting walk through the sanctuary in search of wildlife.
What's Included
- Torches/flashlights supplied
- Guided walking tour of Zealandia: The Exhibition and Sanctuary Valley
- Torches/flashlights supplied
- Guided walking tour of Zealandia: The Exhibition and Sanctuary Valley
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
Explore the sanctuary by torchlight as your guide leads you in search of some of the more distinctive sights and sounds of New Zealand’s native forest. Enjoy a night discovering New Zealand’s evolution and natural history at Zealandia, located just minutes from central Wellington. The discovery begins with a guided tour through Zealandia: The…
Explore the sanctuary by torchlight as your guide leads you in search of some of the more distinctive sights and sounds of New Zealand’s native forest. Enjoy a night discovering New Zealand’s evolution and natural history at Zealandia, located just minutes from central Wellington. The discovery begins with a guided tour through Zealandia: The Exhibition, a state-of-the-art indoor exhibition showcasing New Zealand’s natural history and world renowned conservation movement. As darkness falls, your guide will lead you into the Sanctuary Valley, the world’s first fully fenced urban eco-sanctuary in search for little spotted kiwi and the many other nocturnal animals that call the sanctuary home. Witness firsthand why Zealandia has been named the top tourism operation in Aotearoa New Zealand 2023, winning the prestigious Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Award. This is an unforgettable Wellington experience not to be missed!
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Wear sturdy footwear, bring extra layers of clothing and a waterproof jacket. Torches (flashlights) are supplied
- Minimum age is 12 years
- Please arrive 15 minutes before your tour start time
- To get to ZEALANDIA at night we recommend you book a taxi via your hotel concierge team or call Wellington Combined Taxis Ph: (04) 384 44 44
- Not recommended for travelers with limited mobility, or difficulty walking for 2 hours in low-light conditions
Location
53 Waiapu Road
Waiapu Road
The ZEALANDIA Visitors Centre is located at the end of Waiapu Road.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(96 Ratings)
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Flyingclog
Oct 19, 2024
Incredible experience - A must do ! - Came for a nite tour and had an extremely knowledgeable guide. Given "red lights" to help guide on the paths and to not scare the wildlife.
Was able to see many types of birds, lizards, plant / tree life and the highlight of the night - a kiwi.
The sanctuary do amazing work to preserve the natural flora and fauna of NZ and this was a great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nchristos
Sep 6, 2024
Great up-close experience to see NZ wildlife! - What a great, educational experience! When learning about NZ wildlife, this is a great experience to get up close and learn from the great tour guides! We did the night time tour and although we weren't able to 'see' everything that you see during the day, it was interesting as we got to see the kiwi bird several times in their natural habitat, which is the whole reason we did this tour. The tour guide was great - she kept us informed throughout the tour and educated us on the NZ wildlife. Great family or couple experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shirley_v
Aug 4, 2024
Worthwhile jaunt to support Bird Sanctuary - Orbell takahe
Kaka birds
Kiwi male calls
History of sanctuary
Passion of guide for conservation
All round good experience. Cold.
Review provided by Viator
Elise_s
Jun 24, 2024
Must Do! - Our tour was awesome and even more than we hoped for. Will loves his job and is very evident. We saw what we wanted- A kiwi! Actually, four! This was one of our highlighted activities in Wellington!
Review provided by Viator
Maura_h
Jun 20, 2024
I saw a Kiwi! What more could you want? - We had excellent guides and some excellent up close encounters with some Kiwis! I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn and see some native New Zealand birds!
Review provided by Viator
200leighj
May 21, 2024
This was my favorite thing in New Zealand! - We had an absolutely fantastic night tour in Zealandia and I would say it was the highlight of the month I spent in New Zealand. Staff were very accommodating and communicative from the time of booking. We arrived fairly early for the tour and it was a little bit confusing to figure out where to go for entry, but it was really neat just waiting in the parking lot and hearing all the bird calls. There was a guide taking us through the park as well as a Zealandia volunteer that went ahead to try and find wildlife for the group to see. If you have any interest in New Zealand wildlife or conservation I think this is an absolute must-do, and if you do the night tour you can come back in the day for free (which we did, futher solidifying Zealandia as the best thing I did in New Zealand - it's a very different place in the daytime but just as full of life as it is at night). My only two frustrations were that our guide made a couple of anti-zoo comments which stung since zoos are absolutely on the front lines of animal conservation and share the same goals as Zealandia. The other frustration was the behavior of the group, which I realize can be difficult for the guide to control, but it might be helpful if the guides repeatedly emphasized that everyone will have better wildlife viewing if everyone stays as quiet as possible. That said, the guide coincidentally spoke Hindi and was able to provide a bilingual tour for some guests who otherwise seemed to be struggling a bit with the information and instructions, and I was extremely impressed by that. Overall, I couldn't have enjoyed the tour much more. At Zealandia I was able to check off nearly every NZ critter I wanted to see, all in one place. It's truly magical there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wstravelers
Apr 28, 2024
Night Tour - amazing! - Go, just go on the night tour! We had a fantastic night tour experience recently with Caitlin (sp?) and Louise. We learned so much about the facility and the wildlife residents. We did the night tour and returned the next day to explore on our own and this was a great way to do it. Our night tour group was very fortunate to see a kiwi and takahae. Loved this experience, a highlight.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Benjamin_k
Apr 27, 2024
Rare chance to see wildlife at night! - Very nice night walk through the reserve. It's not a zoo so sightings are never guaranteed but we saw a kiwi, a kaka, a takahe plus glow worms and wetas. Very interesting. Hope their 500-year vision is realized!
Review provided by Viator
Spenceleysuk
Apr 3, 2024
Worth day and night visits - We had a pre-arranged night visit to Zealandia, which was very interesting. Our guide was obviously passionate about the sanctuary, and we were lucky to see Tuatara, roaming free, as well as a kiwi, which made the night visit very special.
We discovered that our night visit allowed us entry for a few days, so the next day we also made a (free of charge) daytime visit, which was also very enjoyable. This time, we went without a guide, and just 'wandered', but we saw many different birds we had not seen during the night tour.
The sanctuary is doing great ecological work, and is definitely worth visiting both during the day, and at night, if you have the chance.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bryan
Mar 23, 2024
Cool night tour, but group too large - We met our guide Sara, who provided us with flashlights and headsets. It was a nice walk with the owls calling and the glow worms the highlights for me.
12 people were way too many - you could hear through the headset but, if you were at the back of the group, it was easy to miss what the guide was seeing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
