Two brown kiwis have a new home in the Otanewainuku Forest near Oropi following their release into the wild.

The kiwis – a male named Te Kaha and female named Marama – were released as part of Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust's ongoing operation nest egg captive breeding programme.

Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust's Peter Crane with Te Kaha, one of two brown kiwi which were released into the Otanewainuku Forest near Oropi on Sunday. Photos: Supplied

Trustee Harry Taylor says on Sunday the kiwis were released into an area the trust calls ‘The Hotel', which is a man-made burrow under tree roots in a part of the forest near Mountain Road.

'It went really well, we put them into the burrow where they would have slept until night fall before wandering off into their home in the forest,” says Harry.

'There were about six trust members and volunteers present, and we were joined by several local families which was really good as the trust tries to get the local community involved with what we do.”

At the time of their release, both kiwi were about two-years-old, with Te Kaha weighing in at about 1.5kg, while Marama weighed in at a little over 2kg.

Harry says during the kiwi breeding season, which takes place from June to February, the trust transports fertilised eggs from the wild to the Kiwi Encounter facility in Rotorua where they are hatched.

After some six months, the chicks are then taken to the Warrenheip Creche in Cambridge, which is a predator free environment run by the trust, and where they remain until they're big enough to fight off predators when released back into the wild.

'At the moment our kiwi programme is gaining a lot of momentum,” says Harry. 'We did a few releases last year and we've got a few more lined up for later in the summer this year.

'So it's great to be releasing and hugely satisfying to be releasing kiwi back into the forest.”

For more information about the Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust or find out how to get involved visit their website: www.kiwitrust.org

Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust's Cheryl Petersen (right) with Lesley Dodunski and Marama - one of the two brown kiwi released back into the wild on Sunday.