Franz Josef: VIP Backstage Pass & Rare Kiwi Wildlife Encounter

Great time seeing and learning about native animals and seeing a kiwi Devon was passionate about the preservation of NZ native wildlife and was great listening to. So wonderful to see live kiwi birds. Highly recommend

Excellent place. Devon was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable about Kiwis and Tuatara. We visited just too early for the penguins. We saw 2 kiwis which was great.

We've booked the backstage pass and got a very interesting look behind the scenes. Devin gave us a deep understanding of the important work that is done at the wildlife center and answered all our questions. That the price of the ticket directly contributes to the preservation of endangered species is another plus.

Fun and educational, we had a wonderful time with the back stage part, we learned so much about the local Kiwi and the efforts to keep them up to a viable population

The experience was very interesting. It wasn’t rushed and we learnt so much about the conservation of New Zealand’s rarest Kiwi’s. Highly recommend this behind the scenes tour.

Devon gave us an amazing and informative behind-the-scenes tour - got to see 2 kiwi eggs incubating and both kiwi birds were up and active.

I have been to NZ 4 times and after our Heli tour of the glacier was canceled due to weather I found my way here to learn about kiwis. Devin (sp?) spent an hour with me one on one telling me all about the techniques used to save kiwis from predation, incubate eggs, release kiwis to protected islands and follow their progress. He answered all my questions enthusiastically and picked the right level of science in his answers. I could have rolled up my sleeves and become a volunteer happily. He asked for my tuatara pictures so I dropped them off later - what a treat for an amateur photographer! A fine employee on a critical mission. The US could learn a lot from NZ conservation efforts.

Staff was knowledgeable and shared many facts. Was great to see some eggs, kids wish they would have seen baby kiwi, but were happy to see eggs. Got to see the two kiwi run about in their space, it was great to watch them.

Absolutely incredible experience! We saw two kiwi running around in the dark, all visitors respected the quiet rule which made the experience much better than other nocturnal habitat centers. We had a true "kiwi" hospitality experience from all the staff members, they wanted to interact with us as customers- it was great to see such genuine service. We would highly recommend this as a family activity.

It was really cool to see the two kiwi birds at the wild life center! Very informative and friendly staff. Would definitely recommend doing the VIP tour!