Whakatāne – Kiwi Capital 

A kiwi population is slowly growing in the reserves, forest and farm land around the Ōhiwa Harbour, thanks to the Whakatāne Kiwi Project. Since 1999, when the Department of Conservation found four breeding pairs in the Ōhope reserves, over 300 North Island brown kiwi chicks have been raised in, or released to, local reserves.

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Whakatāne is the only place in New Zealand where kiwi live in such numbers so close to an urban area. Many of the birds are now migrating southeast from Whakatāne and Ōhope reserves toward Wainui and sometimes beyond on the western side of the harbour. The Whakatāne Kiwi Project works closely with landowners, foresters and residents in these areas, so that kiwi are afforded greater protection while breeding and travelling. Kiwi have also been recorded on the eastern side of the harbour. 

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