Bay of Islands Shore Excursion: Puketi Rainforest Guided Walk
Overview
Available languages
4 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
See New Zealand's stunning natural beauty on a guided walk through the Puketi Rainforest when your cruise ship docks at Bay of Islands. Take in the scenery as you look for rare bird and plant species, stroll among lofty kauri trees that have evolved in isolation for millioms of years.Over 80%of the plants are only found in New Zealand. You’ll enjoy a personalized experience on this rainforest walk led by an expert local guide, with a group limited to FOUR people.
Additional Info
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Minimum age is 5 years
A maximum of 4 people per booking
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking (Full day tour if option selected)
Medium fitness level required on half day walk, higher level of fitness required on full day walk.
Please bring good walking shoes, sunscreen, hat and day pack.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Local guide
Port pickup and drop-off
Covered by Viator’s worry-free policy: guaranteed on-time return to your ship
Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
What To Expect
Puketi Nature Trail
After pickup from your cruise ship, you'll head to the Puketi forest to start your rainforest adventure. Follow your friendly local guide along well-marked paths as you explore this subtropical forest. You'll learn about the flora and fauna and walk among towering kauri trees. Kauri trees are found only in New Zealand’s North Island and are among the world’s most ancient forests, with ancestors in the Jurassic period. Your guide will share legends of the Maori people and stories from European colonial history as you stroll by thundering waterfalls and magnificent trees, including two of the largest kauri in New Zealand. Keep an eye out for native birds such as the rare kokako, which was only recently reintroduced to the forest. You'll marvel at the variety of the 370 recorded species of plants – some not found anywhere else in the world! You’ll witness conservation efforts in the forest, learn the Maori names for some tree species and come to understand the ecology and legends of the kauri tree. Also enjoy a stop for refreshments around the halfway point of your walk. At the end of the tour, you will be returned to your ship with great memories from this excursion into the lush Puketi forest. Worry-free Shore Excursion: We will ensure your timely return to the Bay of Islands port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.
Options
Bay of Islands Shore Excursion: Puketi Rainforest Guided Walk
Pickup included
Reviews
27 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Rainforest Experience
David H,
Mar 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The best rainforest experience I have ever done. Ian was incredibly knowledgable and gave us the tour of a lifetime. We spent twelve days on a Sydney, New Zealand cruise and this stands out as the best excursion we had on this trip, if not our lifetime. Given our small group and our physical abilities, he modified the excursion to suit us. He truly loves the land and can identify, and mimic bird calls and can look at absolutely anything in the forest and give you some information on what you are looking at. Ian was not only a top tour guide to us, he has quickly become a good friend. I would give him ten stars if I could.
Ian is uniquely qualified...
Dennis M,
Feb 10, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Ian is uniquely qualified to lead this tour as he does volunteer work in the forest. He is a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide.
Great excursion in the Bay of Islands!
Yvonne B,
Feb 9, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00What a wonderful excursion into the Puketi rainforest to see the majestic Kauri trees. Our guide, Ian, was early to pick us up and made sure we knew right where to meet him from our ship. We were in a group of 4 people and had the perfect guide! Engaging, fun, comfortable, so smart, he grew up here and knew so much about many different New Zealand topics. He is very passionate about his country and shared it with us. He talked to us in detail about the flora and fauna as we hiked a beautiful walk in the woods. We also stopped at a second location for a shorter walk too. I highly recommend doing this tour and ask for Ian, he is the best!
Helen was great
Michelle S,
Jan 14, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00Our hiking guide, Helen, was passionate and knowledgeable. We enjoyed her pride in her forest. Our small group got our exercise for the day
FABULOUS private tour!
Clara S,
Dec 29, 2022
- Review from Viator
5.00This was one of of the best tours we've had in all of our cruising experiences over the years. Our tour guide, Ian, was very friendly, patient and knowledgeable. The rainforest walk was spectacular, and we learned so much about the ecosystem and their conservation efforts. Ian brought some delicious muffins his wife made for us to enjoy when we took a short break and also took us to this wonderful local Blueberry farm where we had some delicious fresh blueberries and amazing blueberry frozen yogurt. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this tour and highly recommend it.
Rainforest getaway
Nancy A,
Dec 5, 2022
- Review from Viator
5.00If you love trees this trip is for you! This Rainforest tour was really nice. We were picked up promptly and taken to the forest. The tour guide was very informative and knew slot about the trees and conservation of the trees inside and the wildlife. The birds were hard to see but did see a beautiful pigeon as well as fan tails. Very peaceful. Great team and trip.
Bay of Islands trip
geoffreym628,
Mar 15, 2020
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Ian picked us up in his Toyota Land Cruiser and took us to the Puketi Kauri forest. What a great tour. Just me and my wife! A brilliant trip. Many thanks.
Like a NZ version of the Redwoods in the USA
maserk,
Feb 13, 2020
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00I am not 100% certain this is the right tour but we booked it from our ship the Ruby Princess, so I think this is the one. At any rate, we enjoyed our trip to the Puketi Kauri Forest. We were taken from the port on a large bus out to the forest, where we were given a tour and explanation of the kauri trees and other plants by Anna (and it was her first day). We learned a lot about the importance of these trees to the Maori people, as well as some of the culture/beliefs about their gods like Tane Mahuta.
Well off of the paved road
Tom P,
Jan 14, 2020
- Review from Viator
4.00We did a shore excursion trip with Puketi Rainforest Tours last week. Ian picked us up as we came off our ship, and drove us to the start point, providing a positive and gracious commentary as he drove. His wife Barbara drove us back to town after the tour, and dropped us as planned and on time. Everything came off like clockwork. Helen led our small (three customers) tour. She was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the flora and the birds and the moths. Her bird calls were a pleasant surprise. She went into a bit more detail than we wanted, actually, but that's just us. She answered all our questions to our complete satisfaction. It was a great encounter.
Great way to see the forest
HattieCoco,
Dec 31, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Ian was very knowledgeable and made the night walk a fun and informative experience. A great way to experience New Zealand native bush and even as a local gave us a fresh perspective. Awesome to see the kauri trees, not so much the wetas!
From NZ$253.00
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