Frequently Asked Questions

Parking is free. Visitor parking is on the street directly outside the Centre, but a free bay cannot be guaranteed, and posted time limits apply, so check the on-site signs. There is also parking a flat 2-minute walk away at the Franz Josef Heliport, suitable for all vehicles. If the bays outside are taken, park there.

Yes, parking costs nothing. Time limits are posted on the on-site signage, so check the signs when you park.

Yes. The car park takes SUVs and campervans. Please park within the marked bays.

The walk is on flat pavement. If you need mobility parking closer to the entrance, please call 03 752 0600 ahead and the team will assist on arrival.

Franz Josef is well signposted and easy to reach by road. From Christchurch, follow signs to Arthur's Pass and the West Coast, continue through Hokitika, then travel south toward Haast and Queenstown.

• Queenstown: about 4.5 hours, 352 km, via Haast
• Christchurch: about 4.75 hours, 379 km, via Arthur's Pass
• Nelson: about 5.75 hours, 459 km
• Greymouth: about 2 hours, 173 km
• Haast: about 2 hours, 144 km
• Hokitika: about 1.75 hours, 134 km

Entry prices vary by age: adult, child, senior/student and family tickets. You can see current entry ticket prices online, or phone 03 752 0600.

Ages vary by pass. For the All-Day Pass, child tickets are for ages 5 to 15, and children aged 0 to 4 go free. For VIP Backstage Pass Tours, child tickets are for ages 8 to 15, and the tour is not for children under 8. Current child prices for both are shown when you choose a ticket online.

Access to the live kiwi, tuatara, little blue penguins, and the glacier and wildlife displays, plus the chance to attend the penguin feedings, usually at 11am and 3pm daily. We recommend you book a day pass online before you arrive.

Once you first use the pass it is valid for entry for the next 48 hours, over two consecutive days, so you can return later the same day or the next day. You can re-enter as often as you like within that time. Tickets are not transferable, and you should hold on to your receipt as proof of payment.

Yes, you can re-enter as often as you like within the 48-hour period.

The visit must be over two consecutive days. Tickets are not transferable. Hold on to your receipt as proof of payment.

Yes, giving unlimited entry all year, for one person or for a family. Current prices are shown when you buy an annual pass.

Yes, for 2 adults and up to 3 children.

Yes. Senior and student discounts are applied to the ticket price. We do not offer a hut warden discount.

Yes. They can be redeemed against entry tickets, gifts from the shop, our café, or as a donation to the conservation work. You can buy a gift voucher online.

Yes, entry tickets can be bought on site on the day of your visit.

New Zealand dollars (NZD).

Everything is booked through this website. You can check availability and book online for entry tickets, the VIP Backstage Pass tour, annual passes and gift vouchers.

Entry tickets need no booking: buy one online beforehand or at the door on the day. The VIP Backstage Pass Tour does need a booking, because each departure has a limited number of seats.

Summer, December to February, is our busy season. Entry booking is still not required, but arriving before 10am makes for a quieter visit, and VIP tours can sell out, so book them early.

Visa Debit, Visa Credit, Mastercard and PayPal. All orders are subject to review.

No. Payment cannot be split between multiple cards, or between a card and PayPal.

Add it in the payment details when booking.

Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz to change your ticket date, or if you had trouble booking online. If your confirmation email has not arrived, check all your inboxes first, then email the team.

Check the spam and junk folders first, as that is usually where it is. Then check which email address was used at checkout: a typo there is the usual reason the mail never lands.

If it still has not arrived, email info@wildkiwi.co.nz with the email address used at checkout, the name the booking is under, the visit date and roughly what was paid. Those four details let the team match the payment to the booking straight away. Phone 03 752 0600 during opening hours if it is urgent.

Once a booking is made, no cancellations or refunds are accepted.

No. Once a booking is made, no cancellations or refunds are accepted. A change of date or time may be permitted at the Centre's sole discretion, so it is worth asking. Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

No. The Centre no longer has an online retail shop. The gift store is on site, and the team can ship a purchase overseas when you buy it in person at the Centre.

A 40-minute guided experience with behind-the-scenes access to the kiwi incubation and hatching facility, up-close tuatara encounters, and insights into kiwi conservation from a Kiwi Ranger. It is a small-group tour focused on seeing rare kiwi species, and it includes up to 48-hour general admission. You can reserve a place on the Backstage Pass tour online.

The tour includes general admission, so it is not an add-on to a day pass. Adult, child and senior/student prices are shown when you book the VIP Backstage Pass tour.

Yes. The tour includes the All Day 48-hour Admission Pass.

The All-Day Pass is general admission, self-guided, valid for 48 hours: the nocturnal kiwi area, tuatara, little blue penguins, and the glacier and wildlife displays. The VIP Backstage Pass Tour, also called the Kiwi Hatchery & Tuatara Backstage Pass Tour, is a combo ticket that includes that admission and adds a 40-minute guided experience with a Kiwi Ranger: behind-the-scenes access to the kiwi incubation and hatching facility, up-close tuatara encounters, and insights into kiwi conservation. You can check tour times and book the combo ticket online.

The guided part runs for about 40 minutes with a Kiwi Ranger. You get behind-the-scenes access to the kiwi incubation and hatching facility and a close-up look at tuatara. Your ticket also includes the 48-hour All-Day Admission Pass, so you can explore the rest of the centre before or after your tour.

Booking is required and you choose a start time when you book. Please arrive 15 minutes before your tour. Start times are listed on the VIP Backstage Pass tour booking page.

Yes, if a spot is available. Same-day bookings close 60 minutes before each tour departs, so check availability and book online as early as you can.

There is no minimum notice: book weeks ahead or on the morning of your visit. Seats on each departure are limited, so booking earlier gives you a better choice of time, and a popular time can sell out. Arrive 15 minutes before your tour.

It is a small-group tour led by one Kiwi Ranger. Seats per departure are limited, so booking earlier gives you a better choice of time.

The tour is not suitable for children under 8 years old. Call us before booking if you are not sure, on (+64) 03 752 0600.

It depends on what is happening in the hatchery on the day. During the hatching and incubation season, September to January, visitors typically get to within about 2 to 5 metres. Outside that season, what you see depends on the ranger work under way.

We cannot guarantee a chick sighting, because kiwi conservation rules come first. You will still get behind-the-scenes access to the hatchery and tuatara, and the Kiwi Ranger will share details about the conservation work.

The VIP Backstage Pass Tour is led by a knowledgeable Kiwi Ranger. The rest of the Centre is self-guided.

No minimum numbers.

A flightless, nocturnal bird found only in New Zealand. There are five species, all endangered through introduced predators and habitat loss. The rowi and Haast tokoeka are the two most endangered kiwi in the world, with fewer than 650 of each remaining. Rowi are restricted to the Ōkārito Forest north of Franz Josef Glacier, and Haast tokoeka to a small area of forest near Haast, South Westland.

The critically endangered rowi and Haast tokoeka, two of the rarest kiwi on Earth.

You can see New Zealand's rarest kiwi in an open nocturnal walkthrough area with no glass, or go behind the scenes to watch the hatching and conservation work.

No. The nocturnal area is an open viewing experience with no glass barriers, where you can quietly watch kiwi being active in dim lighting, and hear and smell them.

Our team have infrared torches to help guests see kiwi. Just ask any team member.

All kiwi species are endangered through introduced predators and habitat loss. The Haast tokoeka and rowi have especially low wild populations.

No. Touching or holding them is not allowed, as they are highly endangered and protected by the Department of Conservation. You can still see them up close: kiwi in the open nocturnal walkthrough area or on a behind-the-scenes experience with our hatching programme, and the little blue penguins in the Ambassador Penguin Encounter.

An open walkthrough with no glass between you and the birds, kept dim because kiwi are nocturnal and this is their active time. Walk through at your own pace. You can hear and smell the birds as well as see them.

A natural viewing experience where you can quietly watch kiwi being active in dim lighting, without glass barriers.

It is dim, and your eyes need time. It takes most guests up to five minutes to see kiwi in the dark. Stand still, stay quiet and listen, and your vision improves as you wait.

Ask any team member, or stop by the ticketing staff as you leave. They will personally escort you back into the enclosure and find the birds with a special infrared torch. Guests do this every day, so please ask rather than leaving disappointed.

Allow more than you think, as rushing is what spoils it. Most visitors spend from 30 minutes to two hours in the Centre overall, and your pass is valid for 48 hours, so you can come back and try again at a quieter moment.

No. There is no scheduled kiwi feeding that visitors can watch, and the rangers' work in the hatchery is not a public feeding session. The scheduled feeding is the penguin feeding, which runs twice daily.

No. The nocturnal kiwi house is the only area of the Centre where photography is not permitted, because the birds are active in dim light. Photography is welcome everywhere else.

Yes, a young child can see into the enclosure without being lifted. The area is dim and eyes need up to five minutes to adjust, and the team are happy to help children spot the birds with an infrared torch.

Little blue penguins, known as kororā in te reo Māori. They are the world's smallest penguin, about 30 cm tall and around 1 kg, and they live in a purpose-built Ambassador Penguin Encounter.

Rescued little blue penguins that cannot be released back into the wild. They live in a specially designed habitat where visitors learn about them and their conservation story.

About 30 cm tall and around 1 kg, the smallest penguin species on Earth.

Tuatara are not lizards but a distinct species from the ancient order Rhynchocephalia, living representatives of a group that predates dinosaurs by tens of millions of years.

Along New Zealand's coastal shores and offshore islands, often in sheltered bays and rocky coasts. Kororā typically come ashore at night to avoid predators and attend to their nests.

Live penguin feeding runs twice daily, usually at 11am and 3pm. The times can change on the day, so please confirm at reception when you arrive.

Yes, and feel free to post on social media. Flash photography is not permitted near the penguins, and you cannot touch them.

A living fossil that has survived over 250 million years. Tuatara are not lizards but the last surviving members of the ancient order Rhynchocephalia, which predates the dinosaurs by tens of millions of years. Native only to New Zealand, they grow slowly, can live more than 100 years, and have a light-sensitive third eye.

Live tuatara in a dedicated indoor habitat, with facts about their evolution and biology. The tuatara attraction is part of the self-guided experience included with your general pass.

Over its 13-kilometre length, the Fox Glacier drops 2,600 metres from high in the Southern Alps. It is fed by four alpine glaciers that receive around 30 metres of snowfall each year. The snow compacts at the top of the glacier into blue ice hundreds of metres deep.

A wildlife attraction in Franz Josef featuring conservation and viewing experiences of rare kiwi species, tuatara and little blue penguins.

It is the official indoor home of the Haast tokoeka and rowi kiwi hatching and incubation programme, and the largest kiwi incubation and hatching facility in the South Island.

We have released 141 Haast tokoeka and 353 rowi kiwi back into the wild, working with the Department of Conservation and Ngāti Māhaki, the local hapū of Ngāi Tahu. Together with other facilities across New Zealand, we have helped bring these kiwi back from the brink of extinction.

Yes. Your visit supports the work of protecting and growing the populations of New Zealand's rarest kiwi, and raises awareness for kororā and other native species.

Richard Benton, who opened it in Franz Josef in November 2010 after partnering with the Department of Conservation to help protect rare kiwi species.

Multiple visitor attraction and sustainability awards, including TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice and Lonely Planet endorsements, and a Qualmark Gold rating for environmental sustainability.

No. We are a privately owned, for-profit business receiving no government or external grants or funding. Much of our profit goes back into helping bring New Zealand's highly endangered wildlife back from the edge of extinction.

Sponsoring a kiwi chick helps save the rowi and Haast tokoeka from extinction. Donations fund kiwi husbandry: food, brooder and incubation equipment, and health and hygiene. You can sponsor a kiwi chick or make a donation online.

Your sponsorship funds kiwi husbandry costs, including food, brooder and incubation equipment, health and hygiene products, and veterinary bills. On your behalf, we also give to the Tuatara and Little Blue Penguin conservation programmes, which volunteers largely run across New Zealand.

Your sponsorship helps the rowi and the Haast tokoeka, the two rarest kiwi in the world. Rowi live only in the Okarito Forest and Omoeroa area, and Haast tokoeka in a small area of forest near Haast, South Westland.

A kiwi chick sponsorship runs for one year from the date you sign up. Choose the package that suits you on the sponsorship page.

Yes. Choose from several sponsorship packages online to suit your budget, from a smaller contribution up to a larger one.

Yes. The West Coast Wildlife shop and café is on site, open 8am to 4pm daily, a relaxed spot for coffee, a drink and a snack, with free Wi-Fi on any purchase. The bakery can also make up a packed lunch to take out exploring for the day. You do not need an entry ticket to use the café or the gift store.

Food and drink cannot be brought in from outside the Centre. Our café covers lunch, and the bakery can make up a packed lunch to take away.

Yes, one of Franz Josef's most popular gift stores, alongside our all-weather indoor wildlife attraction.

Yes, with baby changing facilities.

Yes. We offer storage for your belongings during your visit.

Yes, both are available on site.

A 24-hour BNZ ATM is right outside the Centre, the only money machine between Hokitika and Haast.

The main attraction is all on one easily accessible level. The VIP Backstage Pass Tour is not suitable for guests in wheelchairs.

Guests of all ages are welcome, and all children must be accompanied by an adult. The one age rule is the VIP Backstage Pass Tour's: it is not for children under 8.

We do not provide them, but you are welcome to bring your own.

Yes, throughout the Centre, and you are welcome to post them. The nocturnal kiwi house is the only area where photography is not permitted, because the birds are active in dim light. Flash photography is not permitted near the penguins and the tuatara, and drones are not permitted at the Centre.

Tripods and commercial or professional shoots need the Centre's permission first: email lisa@wildkiwi.co.nz before your visit.

No, food and drink cannot be brought in from outside the Centre. Our café covers lunch, and the bakery makes packed lunches to take away.

No, pets are not permitted on site.

No, smoking is not allowed on site.

Our staff speak English and Filipino.

Phone 03 752 0600 or email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

Yes, for groups, private events, school and education trips, and corporate events. Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

We are happy to hear from you. Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

Not currently. Email richard.benton@wildkiwi.co.nz for more information.

No. Email info@wildkiwi.co.nz.

Scenic tours such as White Herons Tours, kayaking with Glacier Country Kayaks, fishing on the local lakes, and exploring the landscapes around Franz Josef.

Local options include Snake Bite, Blue Ice, The Rainforest Retreat, Monsoon Restaurant & Bar, The Alice May Restaurant, The Speight's Ale House and King Tiger.

Four Square Supermarket in Franz Josef.