"Land owner Clive Lewis then spotted the egg in the culvert on the side of the road and went to pick it up. He was very surprised to hear a squawk and to see a partially hatched kiwi chick. Clive then carefully placed the egg down his swandri top to keep it warm and drove 3km back to his house to call me before meeting me in town," Mr Sawyer said.
After seeking advice from the Kiwi Encounter team at Rainbow Springs the community quickly rallied around to help the kiwi chick rescue operation, with the local Motu School principal arriving with an incubator and thermometers, and Amy England plucking her 4-year-old from daycare to make the more than four hour drive north to Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua.
"Not only did Amy have to ensure that the egg was secured safely in the car, and remained in a constant temperature of between 26 - 30C, she also had to entertain her son Kale for the long journey. I think by the time they reached Opotiki the chick had pretty well hatched," Mr Sawyer said.
Kiwi Encounter assistant husbandry manager Emma Bean said when the chick arrived it had a lot of soil around its navel and needed a bit of a clean up.
"But apart from that it managed to complete the hatch itself and is strong and healthy.
"I would like to commend everyone who helped deliver the chick to us at Kiwi Encounter. The male kiwi sitting on the nest got such a fright it wouldn't have returned and the chick wouldn't have survived, it was just incredibly lucky the chick was so close to hatching! Calling us and keeping the egg warm was exactly the right thing to do."
Ms Bean said she encouraged anyone who found a kiwi egg to call the Kiwi Encounter team for advice.
Whisker will be released to a creche near Gisborne in about three weeks and then once it's a healthy 1kg in weight and strong enough to survive in the wild it will be released back to the wild at Paparangi Station.
