Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour and Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience (5 Hours)

Formed millions of years ago from a series of major volcanic eruptions, the Otago Peninsula is an expansive finger-like piece of land that juts out into the vast Pacific Ocean. Erosion over the last 11 million years has resulted in leaving behind some spectacular land formations and coastal scenery.

Now a wild bustling haven for wildlife, we regularly see albatross, penguins, seals and a variety of wading and land birds as we explore the peninsula.

If you are a visitor that truly wants to see and understand the unique ecosystems, wildlife, culture, geology and botany of the Otago Peninsula then this tour is the one for you!

Join us on this tour designed by our Operations Manager, Lyndon Perriman, former wildlife ranger for the Otago Peninsula for over 30 years! Designed for those that are nature enthusiasts, for those that want to see and learn as much as possible about the environment, the species we see and the places we visit. Gain unique insights into the cultural connection of the people of this land as we travel to remote areas of the Otago Peninsula weaving many stories and visiting significant sites to Māori along our near 100km return journey.

“The best value tour of the peninsula to see a range of species, to learn from experts and be guided and become fully immersed in the Otago Peninsula’s natural beauty”.

At $135 for nearly 5 hours, that works out at just $27/hour ! Let someone else do the driving and show you the peninsula and its wildlife!

Tour Itinerary

After departing from our last pick-up point in Dunedin, we pass by some of the city's most famous landmarks before being whisked out to explore the vast Otago Peninsula. We take the scenic high road on the Otago Peninsula to give guests an overview of the city, the peninsula and the geological past that has shaped this peninsula.

Along the way we detour off from sealed roads to venture along back country unsealed roads. Here we explore tidal inlets, vast areas of highly productive marine ecosystems that feed the range of wading bird species we see. For those with a botanical interest, we view native forest plant species and discuss how New Zealand's early split from the super-continent Gondwana impacted on the path of evolution of our endemic plants and animals, species that evolved in a highly unusual environment, being one almost completely void of mammals.

Natural resources were abundant when Māori first stepped ashore here. We visit many sites that are still considered to be highly significant sites today. The sharing of knowledge along the way will complement what you learn later in the evening when we join our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience tour at the end of the Otago Peninsula.

The largest penguin colony is at our reserve at Pukekura. A highly significant site for Māori.

At our reserve at Pukekura, we have access to the largest penguin colony on the Otago Peninsula. Here too, we often see a multitude of different species that bred here over spring/summer.

In spring/summer Pukekura is home to over 10000 seabirds including a nesting location for royal albatross.

While we arrive too late in the day for us to visit the nesting site of the albatross, our arrival in the late evening is still often an excellent time to see albatross flying overhead.

Apart from our winter months (June-September), we almost always see albatross flying at this site.

Our arrival at a later time of the day is often when the younger adolescent albatross return from sea to the headland to glide around with the aid of increased sea breezes. Our guides will led you to cliff face viewing locations to increase your chances of seeing albatross flying overhead.

A visit to the cliff viewing area is often rewarding for sightings of a huge variety of other seabirds seen nearby such as different species of shags, gulls and other coastal nesting species.

Often too from here we see other species of seabird in the albatross family foraging at sea. With the aid of binoculars, we can help you identify several species.

Below, a breeding location exists for New Zealand fur seals, these animals can be seen most of the year on the exposed bedrock or are often seen frolicking in the waters nearby.

From here it's into the nearby royal albatross centre to begin our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience.

BLUE PENGUINS PUKEKURA EXPERIENCE TOUR INFORMATION

Just like the first part of our Otago Peninsula In-depth tour, Blue Penguins Pukekura tours are hosted by local expert wildlife guides who share the rich cultural history of the area while also sharing biological knowledge of endemic flora and fauna.

In the albatross centre, hear local stories and understand how the plentiful resources, the shape and position of this headland led to the area's use by different iwi (tribes) over many centuries.

Weather permitting, we will take a quick, ''behind the scenes'' look at the reserve Be guided to areas not available to the general public. See where the birds live, understand the habits of the penguins and admire the efforts of the whanau (local families) in their care of the land and the wildlife inhabitants.

The beach we visit to view the penguins is owned by local Māori, we spend time learning about their dedication to the preservation of the area and the wildlife inhabitants throughout this one and a half hour guided tour. This small beach (Takiharuru) has a population of over 250 breeding pairs of kororā/little penguins. It is now the largest penguin colony on the Otago Peninsula.

Then just before sunset, we move back onto our purpose-built platform to watch and wait for the first birds to return from sea. Penguin arrival time does vary from night to night, and we highly recommend our guests come prepared by wearing extra layers of clothing. It often gets cold when the sun goes down.

We can't stress this enough, for your enjoyment, wearing extra layers of clothes will go a long way to making this one of your most memorable experiences.

Viewing of the Little Blue Penguins is guaranteed, and this is an attraction and an experience not to be missed when visiting Dunedin, NZ's wildlife capital.

WE GUARANTEE PENGUINS AND WILL OFFER REFUNDS* ON ANY NIGHT WHERE WE SEE LESS THAN 5 BIRDS

*We see penguins on 99% of nights. For our Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour we will offer a 100% refund in the unusual event of us not seeing any Blue Penguins on this tour (DIRECT bookings only). We will offer a 70% refund of this tour if we see less than 5 Blue Penguins (DIRECT bookings only).

We can not honour full refunds for any third-party bookings such as travel agents that make a booking on their clients behalf.

It's the mission of Blue Penguins Pukekura to ensuring the protection of the land and increase the diversity of wildlife in this nature reserve while also ensuring visitors experience one of nature’s marvels, often described as an experience of a lifetime.

After the Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience Tour is completed your driver will take you back to your central city accommodation.

Important Notes:

A low level of fitness is required for this tour, but we do walk on some uneven ground and our walk down to the penguin viewing platform is a walk of around 150m and there are around 30 in-built steps to climb up and down.
No meals are provided on this tour. We suggest visitors eat before the start of the tour or bring a few snacks. The tour length is approximately 5 hours.
Because of the tour length and content, this tour is not suitable for children under 6 years. Vehicles do not carry small child restraints.
While our vans are limited to 12 persons we do join others on the Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience part of our tour.
The tour includes viewing of a range of wildlife species, some species are more regularly seen that others and abundance does vary with seasons:
99% of tours see Blue Penguins (and extremely close to us, regularly less than 1-2 metres away) as well as a huge range of different wading and coastal seabird species (5-50m distance from us).
Sightings of royal albatross (flying above the Pukekura headland, at a distance of about 30-50m distance from us) almost always occur between the months of October to May. Less likely in the months of June-September or whenever there is no wind (as these are gliding birds). We don’t see the nesting location of this species.
Sightings of New Zealand fur seals occur very regularly for much of the year, often seen close to our blue penguin viewing platform (10-50m away) or below our cliff viewing location (40m away).
Sightings of New Zealand Sea Lions are less common but are often seen on the beach at our reserve (10-50m away) over spring/summer.

Our pick-up locations are restricted. If you are not staying at one of the following hotels then use our main central pick-up point (outside the Dunedin Visitor Centre I-SITE in the Octagon) from the drop down list as your pick-up location.

We pick-up from the following hotels in Dunedin: Fable Hotel, Distinction Hotel and Scenic Hotel Southern Cross.

For guests staying elsewhere in Dunedin, please use our main pick-up location outside the Dunedin visitor Centre I-SITE in the Octagon.

We also offer pick-up from Larnach Castle (for guests staying there) situated on the Otago Peninsula (but note pick-up from Larnach Castle does mean missing the first 20-30 minutes commentary). YOU MUST BE BOOKED TO STAY AT THE CASTLE’S ACCOMODATION TO BE PICKED UP FROM THERE. YOU WON’T BE ALLOWED INTO THEIR CARPARK UNLESS YOU ARE STAYING THERE.

While Fable Hotel, Distinction Hotel, Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, outside the I-Site in the Octagon and Larnach Castle are our only pick-up locations please note we do drop off at ALL central Dunedin Hotels/Motels at the completion of this tour.

Student/Backpacker deals are available for this product use code Backpacker12 as a 12% promo code discount (ID will need to be sighted at check-in).