About us

Ian Cooper, along with his daughter Daisy, owns and operates Okarito Kiwi Tours. Ian and Daisy lead the trips.

Ian originally came from Hertfordshire in England. He came to New Zealand in 1998 as a backpacker.

Daisy
Daisy was born and raised in Okarito in 2007. She has spent her whole life around Okarito Kiwi. She has taken the impressive step into the family business and now works alongside her Father leading tours out into the bush looking for Okarito Kiwi
Daisy has the natural ability to find and respect Kiwi. She has shown the maturity at a young age to lead groups with the same passion and empathy as her Father. She holds an impressive success ratio in finding kiwi on the trips that she has led.
Since her first few trips Daisy has amassed a great collection of positive google reviews. 
LICENSED OPERATOR

Only licenced operator in South Island that can take you looking for kiwi in the wild

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

Experience the Okarito Brown Kiwi in the wild

GUIDED TOURS

Ian Cooper along with his daughter explain the flora, fauna and history

During his tour of New Zealand he got dropped off in the tiny village of Okarito. He loved the village so much he stayed. During his stay in Okarito he became fascinated by the local Kiwi that inhabits the bush around the local area.

Ian spent many nights out in the bush and found an un-canny knack of being able to read the behaviour patterns of kiwi.

He had a long term dream. His dream was to share his night-time experiences and start a lifestyle business guiding in kiwi environment. In 2006 he approached the Department of Conservation with his idea.

The Department were very positive and encouraged Ian to apply for the only Concession in the South Island to guide people looking for kiwi.
Within 4 months Ian was operating Okarito Kiwi Tours. Since then, Ian has been honing his technique to minimize any possible disturbance on any kiwi he encounters.

200+ TripAdvisor Reviews

Book 10 months in Advance

20 Years Experience

20+ Visitors from 20 Countries

Ian and Daisy lead the trips with a passion and enthusiasm that rubs off and develops in others. The major goal of a trip is to see a kiwi behaving naturally in its own environment with no idea it is being watched by fascinated humans.