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Join the search for the elusive kiwiHawke’s Bay, North Island

No trip to New Zealand is complete without seeing the country’s flightless national bird. But the elusive kiwi doesn’t make it easy. Its numbers are dwindling, it’s nocturnal, and it’s usually only found in dense bush.

So, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, a luxury lodge in Hawke’s Bay on New Zealand’s North Island, has come up with a solution. The Kiwi Discovery Walk will ensure your close encounter with this furry creature endemic to our friends across the ditch. You’ll head out with an experienced guide as they carry out essential monitoring of the chicks, including checking the bird’s radio transmitters and weighing and measuring them to help monitor their wellbeing. And the best bit? Proceeds from the experience go to The Cape Sanctuary to help preserve the native species.

If that’s not enough of a kiwi experience for you, a stay at Cape Kidnappers also means you can join in a muster on the 2,430-hectare working beef and sheep farm, and even try your hand at shearing a sheep.

get there

Fly to Auckland or Wellington and then take a domestic flight to Napier. It’s about a 35-minute drive from Napier to the lodge.

Prices for the walk start at US$230. Accommodation at Cape Kidnappers starts at about US$650 a person per night, including daily breakfast, gym, swimming pool, pre-dinner drinks and canapes, lunch, gourmet dinner and mini-bar.

Robertson Lodges
robertsonlodges.com

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Tags: endangered species, Hawkes Bay, new zealand

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