Discover Kororā, the Little Blue Penguin, the world's smallest penguin.

BLUE PENGUINS PUKEKURA EXPERIENCE TOUR (1.5 Hours)

Kia ora, we welcome guests to join our guided tours to visit the largest colony of penguins on the Otago Peninsula !

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.

ABOUT THIS TOUR-WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE

• At dusk watch Little Blue Penguins return from the sea and scurry up the beach just metres away.

• Enjoy exceptional viewing from our purpose‑built platform overlooking the beach.

• Watch penguins swim in from sea and land on the beach just in front of us. From there they head for our aptly named “Penguin Highway” their main access to the reserve. This is a place where our penguins often stop allowing for awesome viewing observations of penguin socalisations and photography of these birds in their natural habitat.

• On tour, we regularly see seals, sea lions on the beach and often see other seabirds such as albatross flying overhead.

• Learn from expert local guides who share the area’s cultural history and unique ecology.

• Most of our guides have conservation backgrounds and love to share the rich cultural history of the area while also sharing biological knowledge of endemic flora and fauna.

• Our tour starts within the Royal Albatross Centre where you will learn about the penguins, other wildlife, our work and the cultural significance of this area before we venture down to the viewing platform.

OUR MISSION

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. We want our visitors to have an experience of a lifetime and their reviews often say this is the best wildlife experience they have had in New Zealand. Your visit directly supports conservation and habitat restoration guided by the principles of kaitiaki (guardianship) and manaakitanga (care for visitors).

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is welcome (non‑flash). We’re the only night‑time blue penguin viewing site in New Zealand that allows photography. Sorry but tripods are not allowed (as they are a trip hazard for guests around you).

Need transport or want to explore more of the Otago Peninsula and see other wildlife too ? Click on the ‘Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour’ button.

PENGUIN NUMBERS:

In September to February, we will likely see between 50-300 penguins each night!

In the non-breeding months (March to August) we expect between 10 - 80 penguins each night.

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

We see Blue Penguins 99% of the nights we visit the reserve. It is very rare for us to not see any penguins.

* For all of our tours we offer of a 100% refund (in the highly unusual situation where we don’t see any penguins or a 50% refund if we see fewer than 5 penguins). This is only applicable for DIRECT bookings by guests that book our tours via this website.

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

We use diffused lights to view the penguins at night (these don’t harm or cause any disturbance to the birds).

WHAT TO BRING

The first 25 minutes is within the Royal Albatross Centre for the introductory talk and slide show, then we are outside for about 1 hour.

It is often cold at night so bring additional clothing!!

Bring your camera (no flash photography allowed).

Plan you trip well, we suggest leaving Dunedin 1 hour before your check in time.

Bring your questions!! We have several guides working each night that love to engage with you!

Access, Location, Fitness level and Check-In

• Meeting point: Within the Royal Albatross Centre, Taiaroa Head

  This tour runs nightly — however bookings are essential (we can be sold out over a month ahead).

  Check in 15 minutes before start time (penguins arrive at dusk so our tours are timed for late in the day)

  There is ample parking for cars, buses, and campers

  Fitness: Low level of fitness required, but note there are a number of stairs to walk up and down between the viewing platform and the car park.

  • Click HERE for walking access details

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL WE ARE OFTEN SOLD OUT (Sometimes several weeks in advance).

Our 90 minute tours run every evening (see the calendar on this booking page-the calendar shows the next available night).

START YOUR
BOOKING BELOW

If the date you require is not highlighted it means it is already fully booked.

If you want a guided tour from Dunedin that includes transport, then book our other tour (Otago Peninsula In-Depth tour).

Sorry we do not have a waitlist, any cancellations for a sold-out future date will show up as free spaces on this website automatically.

If sold out, the only other availability might be on our Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour.