Even though we had seen Kiwis at Kiwi North, we decided to add the National Kiwi Hatchery to our itinerary. And we were not disappointed. It was quite different. While we enjoyed seeing the kiwi at Kiwi North this was much more. The largest and most successful Kiwi hatchery in the world, the National Kiwi Hatchery is the leader in kiwi husbandry, egg incubation systems, hatching techniques and kiwi chick rearing.
The hatchery has recently relocated is is now part of the Agrodome which is a "sheep" experience venue just out of Rotorua. We however, were there to see a Kiwi, so it was a matter of hopping on the minibus and being transported a short distance to the hatchery where we were met by a guide who took us through the facility.
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At the hatchery, the team of renowned scientists incubate the kiwi eggs, hatch the chicks, and raise the birds until they grow to the magic weight of 1kg when they are released back to the forest. To see the incubation process and an actual kiwi chick was amazing.
In the wild, kiwi eggs get eaten by predators; only five out of 100 kiwi eggs laid in forest burrows make it to adulthood. By hatching the kiwi eggs in safety, the birds’ survival rate in the wild increases from 5% to 65%.
Great to see things like this happening. (No photos allowed inside the actual hatchery so "chick pix" from the website)
After the hatchery, we headed home (the long way round) through Rotorua where we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch and a bit of a wander around the shops.
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