Rua
Rua is a private day tour from Auckland to Tāwharanui's bird sanctuary and the food and wine country around Matakana. Explore native forest, white-sand beaches, sculpture trails, art galleries and local food producers and vineyards, with the option to finish after dark looking for wild kiwi.
8.5 hours
Typical duration
We’ll pick you up anywhere in Auckland, 9:00am for the day tour, 2:00 pm for the afternoon/evening tour (or as otherwise agreed)
We’ll drop you back at 5:30 pm for the day tour or 10.30 pm for the afternoon/evening tour (or as otherwise agreed)
Departure point and timing
Some groups want to hike all day. Others want shorter walks, a swim and time to explore. We’ll choose the combination that suits you.
Hikes
Our afternoon/evening tour ends with a one- to two-hour guided kiwi-spotting walk inside Tāwharanui's predator-proof sanctuary.
Kiwi spotting
Swimming at Anchor Bay or a quick dip in the mermaid pools
Modern art gallery and sculpture trail at Sculptureum
Sculpture trail at Brick Bay Winery
Wine tasting
Stop in for some fresh oysters at Matakana oysters, Auckland’s best gelato (Charlies), coffee (Matakana Coffee) or bacon butty (Matakana bacon)
Experiences
Gourmet picnic beside the beach, weather permitting
Food (included)
Please enquire. Not included in standard tour:
Lunch/Dinner at a Winery or Brewery in Matakana.
Additional tastings at vineyards
Additional Options
Tell us the day you’re after. We’ll build the route for you.
Hiking options
Easy — the Ecology Path. A 3.5 km walk over about 1.5 hours through native forest.
Medium — the North Coast Track to Takatu Point. Around 7.5 km, 2.5 hours walk with the best views on the peninsula.
Adventurous — the North and South Coast Loop. Around 11.3 km, 3.5 hours, the full circuit through forest, farmland and coast
All walks can finish at Anchor Bay, a white-sand beach, generally protected from the prevailing south-westerly wind. Depending on the tides, we may also be able to show you the mermaid pools.
Matakana - Food, wine and art
Build your day around:
wine
fine dining
sculpture trails
art galleries
local producers
oysters
coffee
gelato
breweries
Tell us what you like.
And then the sun goes down.
After dark, we walk quietly into the forest with red-light torches, listening and looking for wild North Island brown kiwi.
Sightings aren’t guaranteed.
But this is one of the few places near Auckland where you have a genuine chance.
Kiwi after dark
Lunch somewhere worth stopping for. Gourmet New Zealand picnic included.
Restaurant and dining experiences available as an additional option.
Food
Here are some additional options which we can include in the itinerary:
we can take you to one of Matakana’s best wineries for fine dining
for a more relaxed dining experience, we would suggest Sawmill brewery, an independent, New Zealand owned brewery which serves delicious local food
we can include additional stops for wine tasting.
Please enquire before you book so that we can customise your day for you.
Additional options
Pricing
Standard afternoon / evening tour (includes kiwi walk)
Standard day tour
Length
8.5 hours
8.5 hours
Adults (16 yrs or older)
NZ$850
NZ$950
Children (3 - 15 yrs)
NZ$425
NZ$475
free
Infants (0 - 2 yrs)
free
Minimum two guests.
Included:
Auckland pick up and return
Private tour guided by Paul
Gourmet picnic lunch (or dinner for the afternoon/evening tour)
One wine tasting
One sculpture walk
Kiwi walk on afternoon/evening tour
Pricing may differ for customised tours. Please enquire directly with us.
Example Itinerary
This is an example afternoon / evening tour, not a fixed itinerary. Your actual day will be agreed around your group.
4:15 pm
Auckland pickup
2:00 pm
Walk a 2km sculpture trail
3:00 pm
Wine tasting
3:45 pm
Quick stop for fresh oysters
Explore Tāwharanui walking the ecology trail
4:30 pm
Relax (or swim) at Anchor Bay
6:30 pm
Sunset picnic
7:00 pm
Start looking for wild kiwi
8:00 pm
Arrive back in Auckland
10:30 pm
We take one group per day, so dates are limited. If you have fixed travel dates, book or enquire early.
[ FAQ ]Tour FAQs
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We hope so! It is not guaranteed as they are wild kiwi, but we will do our very best.
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Very unlikely. Kiwi are nocturnal so they will likely be sleeping during the day, waking up in time for our afternoon/evening trip.
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Probably not — takahē are one of New Zealand's rarest birds, with roughly 500 alive and just 4 at Tāwharanui, so a sighting would be exceptional (though we'll be keeping an eye out).
We make a donation to TOSSI, the volunteer group whose pest control made the sanctuary possible, for every Rua tour so, even if we don’t see a takahē this time, you might when you come back.
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It’s completely customisable. Tell us about your group when you enquire (fitness, interests, how long you've got) and we'll shape the day around that.
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The standard day has a published from-price, per person, minimum 2 guests. A shorter or longer day is quoted directly once we know what you're after — see Pricing above.
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Anchor Bay is one of our favourite swimming spots in Aotearoa. It is generally calm or has gentle surf as it is protected from the prevailing South-Westerly wind. We'll point out where's safe on the day and won't permit swimming if the conditions are unsafe.
There is also the option of taking a quick dip in the ‘mermaid pools’, which are big rockpools which appear a few hours either side of low tide.
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We’d love to take you there if it is open (Saturday mornings, 8 am – 1 pm). If you would like to go, we would suggest we leave earlier than the usual Rua daytime tour as it can get very busy.
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There are dozens of different types of birds in Tāwharanui. You’ll likely see Pūkeko, Pīwakawaka, Tūī, Kererū, Pāteke, Pūtangitangi. If you’re very lucky you might see kiwi (especially on our afternoon/evening tour) or takahē.
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Please contact us for options.
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If conditions are forecast to be wet on your day, we'll contact you 24 hours before your tour to give you an update so you can choose whether you’d like to go ahead. If you don’t, a full refund is available.
We will never run a tour if the weather makes it unsafe to do so, so if we’ll have to cancel you’ll get a full refund.
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Absolutely – our tours are shaped to your group, and we set the pace to the slowest legs in the group. We’re more than happy to stop for ice cream at any point.
Other Tours
Want to see more? Tahi - Rainforest. Waterfalls. Black-sand coast.
Or contact us and we can prepare a custom itinerary shaped around your group.
