Pupils from Waverley School were treated to a thrill yesterday when Nga Toro, a rare North Island brown kiwi, stopped in for a visit on her way to a new home.
The 6-month-old female came from the banks of the Waitara River located just north of New Plymouth.
She is headed to Mt Hiwi Lodge in Waverley as part of a joint venture between the lodge, the Taranaki Kiwi Trust and the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust.
The programme involves collecting kiwi eggs from the wild, hatching them in captivity and raising the chicks at predator-free sites until they are deemed a safe age to return to the wild.
Nga Toro was released into Waverley bush for the first time yesterday as she is considered old enough to be able to defend herself in the wild against stoats, the most common kiwi predator.