NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

GO NZ: A holiday at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay, with kiwis and gannets

By Sue Wallace
NZ Herald·
13 Jan, 2021 05:19 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A kiwi discovery tour at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

A kiwi discovery tour at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

Not for sale

Cape Kidnappers offers an up-close natural experience like no other, writes Sue Wallace

Meet a cute, soft and fluffy kiwi chick with a needle-like beak and tiny eyes for the first time, and chances are you will be smitten.

I was.

But as awesome as a face-to-face encounter is, it's knowing that they can breed and live safely, thanks to conservation efforts, that's just as important.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As for gannets with their blue-black liner-ringed eyes and golden yellow crowns, I can't take my eyes off them as they swoop and do kamikaze-style dives into the turquoise sea, retrieving fish and looking pleased with themselves.

You can hear and smell them well before you see them, as they gather en masse on a rocky outcrop of Cape Kidnappers peninsula near Hawke's Bay, while the flightless kiwi are bunkered down in cosy burrows, protected from predators.

One of my best summer holidays was discovering the wonders of the beautiful and bountiful birdlife around Cape Kidnappers, where I was intrigued by gannets and fell in love with kiwi.

Rachel Ward, who has a post-graduate degree in zoology and has been working in the conservation field for more than a decade, describes kiwi as "iconic, unique and like nothing anywhere else in the world".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She is the general manager of the Cape Sanctuary, a 2500-hectare privately owned nature reserve at Cape Kidnappers peninsula that focuses on sustainable conservation.

It was founded by landholders and conservationists Andy and Liz Lowe and US-based owner of The Farm at Cape Kidnapper's golf course and luxury lodge, Julian Robertson and their families, to protect and enhance New Zealand's threatened species.

The Cape Sanctuary is a 2500-hectare privately owned nature reserve at Cape Kidnappers peninsula. Photo / Supplied
The Cape Sanctuary is a 2500-hectare privately owned nature reserve at Cape Kidnappers peninsula. Photo / Supplied

A predator-proof fence was built in 2006 and endangered species have been reintroduced, with many thriving and numbers increasing.

The sanctuary is now home to many endangered endemic species, has a self-sustaining population of eastern brown kiwi and runs a highly successful kiwi creche.

Discover more

Travel

Your next Great Walk: Southland track with creature comforts

07 Jan 05:44 PM
Travel

Namaste 2021: Resolve to visit these retreats this year

06 Jan 05:00 PM
Travel

Yum! Auckland chefs share their favourite parts of the city

05 Jan 05:08 PM
Travel

Still to sail: Boat hasn't sailed for Kiwi cruise lovers

03 Jan 05:06 PM

Rachel and her team, plus more than a hundred dedicated volunteers, monitor the birds and wildlife.

She loves sharing her knowledge on private tours with lodge guests from all over the world.

"Kiwi are funny and quirky and have distinct personalities - if you are working at night we often have encounters with them; they have poor eyesight but a great sense of smell, so if you are quiet they may come close and sniff you," she says.

The Kiwi Experience is a chance for lodge guests to see a kiwi up close during a routine health check.

"The kiwi seen are often young birds that are creched in our sanctuary as part of the Operation Nest Egg programme. Excitingly, this season's kiwi chicks that are monitored are part of a study into our own wild population so we can determine how our young birds cope in our rugged environment and see what antics they get up to," she says.

"Guests are blown away by the opportunity to meet kiwi up close and personal.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Meeting kiwi on a discovery tour at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied
Meeting kiwi on a discovery tour at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

"It assists with our conservation efforts by increasing advocacy and awareness of the plight of the eastern brown kiwi, and proceeds go towards the operation of the Kiwi monitoring programme," Rachel says.

The chicks are fitted with transmitters that assist in locating them through radio telemetry. As they grow, transmitters need to be changed regularly, and health parameters monitored, including weight, size and any issues.

"Volunteers help us by locating the directions the chicks have moved, so it doesn't take hours to find them each time we need to do a health check – they can travel great distances across challenging terrain," she says.

It's a privilege to see Kiwi and heartening to learn that numbers are increasing.
Rachel hopes in the future all New Zealanders may become familiar with the birds as survival rates increase in forests.

"It is very special to see a wild bird, a feeling that you don't get in a nocturnal house, these birds are free and thriving and guests get a real feel for the work we do when we take them 'off track' to find a kiwi burrow," she says.

As for the gannets, they know how to pick a good spot.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The world's largest most accessible mainland gannet colony is in residence from September to May.

Takapu - Australasian gannets - are in residence at Cape Kidnappers between September and May, the largest most accessible mainland gannet colony in the world. Photo / Supplied
Takapu - Australasian gannets - are in residence at Cape Kidnappers between September and May, the largest most accessible mainland gannet colony in the world. Photo / Supplied

"We don't need to manage them much as they are a steadily increasing wild population of around 20,000 birds now; lucky for them they now fall within the sanctuary and are much safer than they were prior to the predator control," Rachel says.

These days their main threats are at sea, with the risk of being caught in nets, and the effect climate change may have on fish populations.

"Mainland seabird breeding populations are rare since human arrival, so it is great to see a gannetry doing well," says Rachel, who loves how they care so little about people being close by.

"They zoom in to land just over your head in a big whoosh, then go about their business feeding each other, their offspring and performing courtship displays within metres of onlookers. It is a fascinating insight into natural bird behaviour that we don't often get to see in other species unless we are hidden from sight."

Bird encounters are just one of the highlights of a stay at the lodge with its 24 rustic hill-top and ridge suites and an owner's cottage with glorious views. The 7km driveway through spectacular country prepares you for something special.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Dining is an adventure here with a menu featuring the best produce in the region, matched to fine wines, plus there's a spa, pool, cliff-top Tom Doak-designed golf course and amazing hiking trails over the 2600 hectares.
Like they say, it's a farm stay like no other – those gannets and Kiwi don't know how lucky they are.

CHECKLIST: CAPE KIDNAPPERS

DETAILSThe Farm at Cape Kidnappers offers a Kiwi Experience offering a face to face experience with the iconic bird. capekidnappers.com
Gannet Safaris offer a range of tours. gannetsafaris.co.nz
ONLINE
hawkesbaynz.com

For more New Zealand travel ideas and inspiration, go to newfinder.co.nz and newzealand.com

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel

Travel

The top five treats to taste on your Disneyland holiday

Travel

Why spending a night at the Rydges Gold Coast is a big mistake

Travel

My search for whales on Australia's Sunshine Coast


Sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

The top five treats to taste on your Disneyland holiday
Travel

The top five treats to taste on your Disneyland holiday

From blue milk to blue tongues, Disney treats never fail to surprise.

16 Jul 03:29 AM
Why spending a night at the Rydges Gold Coast is a big mistake
Travel

Why spending a night at the Rydges Gold Coast is a big mistake

16 Jul 12:53 AM
My search for whales on Australia's Sunshine Coast
Travel

My search for whales on Australia's Sunshine Coast

15 Jul 06:00 AM


Your Fiordland experience, levelled up
Sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

25 May 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP