The North Island brown kiwi chick, the first from the park's young breeding couple this season, hatched on December 19 and has already outlived siblings hatched earlier in the year, with none of the complications they faced.
Wildlife manager Nicole Kunzmann said the yet-to-be-named youngster was "bright-eyed, energetic and everything a young kiwi should be", running around and probing in its brooder box when not sleeping.
While it required help hatching, due to its leg being stuck behind its head, now it had made it this far, Ms Kunzmann said staff were confident it would thrive as long as it learns how to feed and can put on weight.
Kiwi Birdlife Park director Paul Wilson said the hatching came at a special time - just before the end of the park's 25th year after it was transformed from the town dump, harbouring car wrecks to a conservation haven.
Today also marks the second anniversary of the death of his father and park founder, Dick Wilson, who had the vision, sparked by his passion for conservation, to allow people to view kiwi.
"My dad died two years ago, so it's just really fitting and special that the kiwi's come at this time and it's really a dedication to him, this little chick," Mr Wilson said.
"He would have been ecstatic to see it."
He said it was also a tribute to the hard work of park staff, especially head keeper Paul Kavanagh who was meant to be taking leave to go camping, but gave that up to help with the chick.
The park is planning a locals' day next Saturday to welcome the chick into public display, to thank those who had supported the park, and to include a Maori blessing and naming.
The chick can be viewed via a live camera feed in the park cafeteria, but Ms Kunzmann said they were hoping to move it to a sectioned off area in the kiwi house where it would also have a camera in its burrow so visitors could see it.
Once the chick reaches the same weight at which it hatched, feather samples will be taken and sent off to determine the sex of the bird.
