Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience

BLUE PENGUINS PUKEKURA EXPERIENCE TOUR (1.5 Hours)

At dusk, enjoy close up viewing of little penguins returning from a day at sea within the Takiharuru Pilots Beach nature reserve. Watch penguins just a few metres from us as they scurry up the beach to their cliff-face burrows, often stopping just metres from us, allowing for awesome viewing and photography of these birds in their natural habitat.

The 1.5 hour tour includes a special “behind the scenes” walk through the reserve prior to the penguins emerging from the sea to learn about the flora and fauna of the area. Learn about our endemic plants, their use by early Māori, and see the restoration work of the habitat that benefits penguins and other wildlife. On tour, we regularly see seals, sea lions on the beach and often see other seabirds such as albatross flying overhead.

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.

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.

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.

Need transport or want to explore more of the Otago Peninsula ? Click on the ‘Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour’ button if you need transport or want expertise in exploring the Otago Peninsula. Designed by the longest serving ranger on the Otago Peninsula, designed for those with a thirst for knowledge about the wildlife, botany, geology and cultural sites of the peninsula. Includes entry into our penguin reserve (5 Hours).

Update: In August and September, the number of penguins we see each night varies but we generally expect to see between 30 and 100 penguins each night. Numbers of penguins seen will increase for the remainder of the year and also for the first few months of the following year.

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 our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience Tour we offer of a 100% refund (in the highly unusual situation where we may see fewer than 5 penguins). This is only applicable for DIRECT bookings by guests that book this tour (our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience Tour) via this website.

*For our Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour which includes being guided around the Otago Peninsula and visiting our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience Tour, we will offer a 100% refund in the unusual event of us not seeing any Blue Penguins on our Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour (DIRECT bookings only). We will offer a 70% refund of that tour price if we see less than 5 Blue Penguins on this tour (DIRECT bookings only).

* For our Blue Penguins Pukekura Late Tour (operates Oct-Jan) we will offer a 100% refund in the unusual event of us not seeing any Blue Penguins on our Late Tour (DIRECT bookings only). We will offer a 70% refund of that tour price if we see less than 5 Blue Penguins on the Late Tour (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.

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL WE ARE OFTEN SOLD OUT ON THE DAY

For our Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience Tour:

This 90 minute tour starts from within the royal albatross centre situated at the end of the Otago Peninsula at Taiaroa Head. 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.

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 blue penguin colony on the Otago Peninsula.

Weather permitting, we will take a ''behind the scenes'' look at the reserve. 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, the restoration of the habitat for a variety of wildlife inhabitants. This is a new opportunity for 2022, added into the tours so guests get a better understanding of the penguins' habitat and the significance of the area to local Māori. 

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 can get cold when the sun goes down so for your enjoyment, wearing extra layers of clothes will help to make this one of your most memorable wildlife experiences. 

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

We are the only blue penguin viewing location that allows photography at night- however no flash photography is permitted.

An added bonus on clear nights is we often get great views of the Southern Cross and the Milky Way above us and your guides will point out celestial features of the night sky when they are visible !

All of our conservation, preservation and restoration work is fully funded by the tour fees. Our values are strongly aligned with the principles of Kaitiaki (guardians of the land and its wildlife) and manaakitanga (care and hospitality of our visitors).

Our 90 minute tours currently run every evening (see the calendar on this booking page)

Please check in within the albatross centre 15 minutes prior to your tour start time.

There is plenty of car, bus or camper parking spaces at the albatross centre.

Note****The albatross centre is only open 30 minutes prior to the Blue Penguin Pukekura tour start time****

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.