About a hundred Kiwis with a few foreigners in the mix witnessed the release of two very special kiwi at a Whangarei Heads farm.
Wiggle and Stevie, the kiwi birds, took centre stage at the release on Pauline and Dave Asplin's property on Wednesday.
The healthy birds, weighing in at 1kg each, were taken around the interested group of locals and international visitors and while there was strictly no touching, everyone got a close up look at New Zealand's iconic bird.
Todd Hamilton, of Backyard Kiwi, said the project to reduce the number of predators in the Whangarei Heads area had paid dividends with the kiwi population continuing to increase. Locals and visitors to the Heads were encouraged to keep their dogs on a leash.
"You can be a dog owner in Whangarei Heads but God help you if you let your dog wander," Mr Hamilton said.