wingspan national bird of prey centre

Fun little visit. Can combine this with Wai-o-tau in a day easily. The show starts at 2pm. There is a few. Bring a zoom camera and get some beautiful pics of these amazing birds. Enjoy the show!

Wingspan is a small operation and I would definitely second their recommendation to get there for about 1.30. They have a small aviary of Falcons and owls and then a 1 hr falconry demonstration. If you love birds of prey and especially Falcons then this is the place for you. The team that run it are very knowledgeable and passionate about saving Falcons and growing the population in NZ.

Have been meaning to go for a while, wasn't really sure just what to expect, but it was far far better, to have such people with so much knowledge of our native Falcons, when so many don't even know they exist was awesome. And to see a barn owl and know they are some in northland really made my day. To see the flying displays was so interactive I am not sure who enjoyed having a falcon sit on the gloved hand most, kids or adults, my husband and I loved every minute of it, now it's up to us to try to spread the word of the fabulous work you do at wingspan, thank you all so much for a lovely day

I am a fan of Hawks and Falcons anyway, but this attraction was so awesome that even now, nearly 11 months later I still rave about it, the staff were so friendly and knowledgable and the birds of course are so well treated and looked after that it was a pleasure to see. the fact that the birds are generally rescue cases make it a bit more special, and the photos I was able to get are treasured!

Definitely worth a visit if you are interested in animals, or want to take the kids somewhere different from the other high adrenaline (not to mention cost) activities in Rotorua.Plan to arrive around 1:15 so you can check out the small aviary and museum, and then find a good seat for the show at 2pm (show lasts around 60 mins). The falcons in the show are pretty cool - and the falconers are really interesting and have great knowledge and presentation skills (thanks Debbie and Andrew). I think I learnt a lot - didn't even know we had native falcons, and that they're even more endangered than the kiwi.You can get some pretty close up photos of the birds in the aviaries, as some of them come right up to the wire mesh window - you wouldn't be able to get that close in the wild and they are pretty cool to look at (and a little bit scary!).If you are lucky you might get to have one of the birds sit on your hand during the show - that's pretty neat.If you are a party of at least 2 adults, I'd recommend signing up for the Family membership - gives you free visits for a year and helps support a charitable trust, and it's only $20 more than than the cost of 2 adults.Great way to spend a couple of hours, thoroughly recommend.

I loved this place. I recommend if you go to make sure it's around the time in the afternoon when the Falcons come out to fly, they are just beautiful. They let us come back in the afternoon as we had gone in the morning not realising the flying time. Very friendly staff

What an awesome job these dedicated people are doing. Loved loved loved this place. So incredible to get up close and personal to these magnificent animals. And chat to passionate people about what they are doing.

Really informative show. Great for all the family. It was really interesting and the staff were really friendly and willing to answer all questions. I highly recommend visiting wingspan.

A friend of ours told us to visit wingspan and we are pleased they did. Took my two sons aged 11 and 7 and we all really enjoyed it. It's runs by a charitable trust so it's a fairly casual set up. But the display of falconry and the boys being able to actually hold a falcon was pretty amazing. Highly recommended.

Really enjoyable, and very informative. The show was really well presented, and I learnt a lot about New Zealand's native falcons.

Very reasonably priced and enjoyable. The show was entertaining and interesting. Highly recommend. Great for kids too as they bring the falcons around for the kids to hold if they want.

The hour-long show featured two falcons, both of which put on an impressive aerial performance. The talks by their handlers were extremely informative, and their passion for their subject was evident. 2.00pm daily is the flying time, and undoubtedly the time to visit.

Visited this after hearing about it in the newsThe staff were friendly and clearly passionate about what they are doingThe native falcon is a beautiful bird and the flying display was remarkableThe speed of the birds is surprising Would definitely go again

A great place to take your kiwi and overseas visitors. Learn so much about our birds of prey. I have been twice and will go again. See the falcons up close as well as the great work the trust is doing to help other species like owls etc. Make sure you go in the afternoon. We arrived at 1pm and looked through their little museum and the aviaries and then it was show time! The Falconers bring out one bird at a time for their feeding and flight time at around 2pm - so worth seeing.

A little place with a good sized aviary showing a range of NZ predators, a nice little museum and the bird show was educational but full of action as the rangers and falcons showed their falconry and hunting skills respectively.