Auckland Zoo

Kiwi and tuatara in one walk-through zoo

Hours: Daily 9:30am-5:30pm (last entry 4:30pm); earlier close May-Aug. Closed Christmas Day
Address: Beside Western Springs Park, about 15 minutes west of the CBD

Auckland Zoo sits next to Western Springs Park. The star is Te Wao Nui, the precinct given over to New Zealand's own animals. Kiwi doze in a dim nocturnal house you have to peer into, tuatara sit motionless behind glass, and the paths through native bush are never quiet; birdsong follows you the whole way.