| Species | Where they can be seen | How to get there |
| Little | Little penguins can be seen coming ashore in the evenings on many beaches
on South Island
Dave Houston's site provides details of several viewing sites. Little Penguins in New Zealand |
Flights are readily available to places such as Christchurch, then rent a car and ask locally where penguins can be seen. |
| Yellow-eyed | Yellow-eyed penguins are mostly found these days on the Otago peninsula
outside Dunedin. The best place to go is Penguin Place, where there are
organised viewing facilities from hides cut into the ground inside the
Yellow-eyed penguin breeding grounds. Also contact the Yellow-eyed Penguin
Trust (PO Box 5409 Dunedin New Zealand tel (03) 479-011 fax (03) 479 0019)
for more details
Dave Houston's site provides details of several viewing sites. Yellow-eyed Penguins in New Zealand |
Basically you need to drive to the Otago peninsula although there are sometimes organised coach tours from Dunedin. |
| Fiordland | The Fiordland penguins nest on the south west coast of South Island. Most of the places where they can be found are inaccessible. They can be seen (in season June to early December) on Monro Beach near Lake Moeraki. If you sit quietly at the back of the beach and wait you should be rewarded by some penguins coming and going from the sea. Remember these birds are very wary of people and won't come out if you make a lot of noise or move about a lot. | If you drive along the West Coast road you will find Lake Moeraki about 20 miles north of Haast; there is a car park and a path to the beach. There is a wonderful lodge at Lake Moeraki, the Moeraki Wilderness Lodge. It is expensive but if you can afford a couple of nights there you will find it very worthwhile. Prices are fully inclusive and the guides will take you out on walks to places you could not otherwise reach and show you lots more penguins. |