Royal Albatross Centre Photos
Recommended Reviews - Royal Albatross Centre
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About a 45min drive on a narrow and winding road along the sea from Dunedin, this place was thankfully easy to find with GPS. I came to watch the blue penguins come in from the sea at night. It was a cold and rainy evening and I did not have a reservation, but there was not a big group so I was able to sign on for that evening's viewing when I got there about an hr before you make the hike from the visitor center to the viewing platform. The visitor center is modern with clean bathrooms, a café, and a gift shop. They have surprisingly reasonable pricing on some of their outerwear. I ended up being a nice hooded sweater jacket for $45NZ because of the chill that evening and it was good quality. There is a little viewing platform out to the ocean with the lighthouse on the cliff above behind the visitor center that is great place to kill time while waiting for the viewing to begin. I also enjoyed chatting with the staff, who were nice and helpful. One of the staff even looked up some info she did not know about the penguins that she shared with me later on the platform! When the viewing starts, they give you a quick briefing in the VC and advise that there is special lighting for the penguins because they have highly sensitive vision and though photography is permitted, do not use your flash under any circumstance. You then hike down to the viewing platform that overlooks the little bay the penguins come inland from. There were several seagulls and sealions already on the beach and one sealion was particularly amusing as he waddled in and out of the water chasing the seagulls. We only had to wait about 15mins before the first group of the tiny little penguins emerged from the water and waddled their way to the rocky hill to get to their nests. It was pretty packed on the platform with everyone vying for the best view/photos. But, about 30mins or so, people had disbanded and some had already headed back up to the parking lot, so it was free reign to see the next groups of penguins coming up the hill and walking right by the platform. It was such an amazing and incredible experience to see the little penguins "coming home" and is a "must-do" if you are in the area. I loved that we were able to photograph and video without disturbing them (you cannot do this at the Oamaru penguin colony) to keep the treasured mementos of such an awesome viewing. We saw about 7 groups come in with about 40+ penguins total. It is a bit of a hike back up to the parking lot with several stairs and an incline dirt path. The path is lit w/special led lights, so you aren't in complete darkness, though I did have to use the flashlight on my phone when I got closer to the top and finding my car in the parking lot. I will say the drive back in the dark is a bit harrowing, so highly recommend leaving last from the parking lot and taking your time getting back to town.
My wife and I really enjoyed seeing the Albatross, seagulls and cute little penguins! The food at the cafe was good too! However, after listening to the guide about global warming, micro-plastics in the ocean, and how bad us humans are, we were about ready to jump off the cliffs into the sea. Then we decided that we would just further pollute the ocean and decided to continue our visit to God's great creation in New Zealand!
The little blue penguin tour is well worth the drive. Not as many or as much interaction as on Phillip Island, Australia but one of the best vantage points locally. We got excellent pictures and time to watch them. Some of the other patrons were bothersome and had little to no manners on sharing viewing space. That however is not the centers fault. Limiting numbers could help as there were a lot of people. Having seen them before, I found a quiet corner and waited for the penguins. Standing and just watching I got some amazing pictures of them interacting in their natural habitat. The Center really is a blessing for Conservation and is worth a visit if you've never seen penguins or simply want to enjoy their goofy on land antics.
We have had some wild weather during our stay in New Zealand, and this time it worked in our favor. Albatross like windy days to fly on the currents. They don't flap their wings much. We had a perfect day for flying and we saw many albatross at the observation deck. The tour starts with a short video and guide led discussion. You then walk to the observation deck to see albatross in the wild. They provide binoculars to enhance your viewing. We saw birds sitting on their nexts, preening each other, and flying. It was a great show. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the albatross and many other birds within our view. I'm so glad we were able to go to this tour. I learned so much and the birds were amazing to see in the wild showing us their natural behaviors. read more
Fort Taiaroa here has hidden tunnels & a 1886 Armstrong Hidden Gun. Besides a military history here it's the only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross. There is a gallery, gift shop & cafe here. Many different tours are offered and a virtual :45 tour from their website. The albatross' are nesting on the grass now. They arrive in September, mate, lay eggs, incubate, have hatchlings & then guard them for a year. The albatross have a 9 Ft wing span & they gently lift off cliffs & glide not flap. They can live to 60 yrs & mate for life. The females go out further for food & are getting caught in fishing nets. There is a female shortage & there are same sex pairs now. The center was fascinating, unfortunately we didn't see any albatross, a lot of seagulls. Thought we saw some gem a distance near the lighthouse. read more
6 years ago
Want to hug a baby albatross? Want to take a selfie with an albatross? Want to fire a cannon? If your answer is "yes" to any of the questions, don't visit the Royal Albatross Centre and Fort Taiaroa. This is a centre to help protect the majestic birds. Yes, the babies are cute, but you'll need binoculars (provided) to see them. I recommend taking a tour that includes both the albatross and Fort Taiaroa. On my visit, one of the albatross nests happened to be closer to the observation room at the Fort rather than the main observation room. If I hadn't paid extra for the longer tour, I wouldn't have gotten a better look at a baby albatross. There are other tour options as well. I would have loved to see penguins, but I didn't arrive at the right time for that, which is in the early evening. When you get hungry after all the walking, the Toroa Cafe on site boasts a rather large menu. I had the fish and chips which was quite nice. read more
8 years ago
Joint a tour to see a few baby albatross. The tour guides were knowledgeable to answer everyone's questions. Very educational introduction of these interesting birds. Good to know that we can follow up by watching their live web cam on their website!! read more
About a 45min drive on a narrow and winding road along the sea from Dunedin, this place was thankfully easy to find with GPS. I came to watch the blue penguins come in from the sea at night. It was a cold and rainy evening and I did not have a reservation, but there was not a big group so I was able to sign on for that evening's viewing when I got there about an hr before you make the hike from the visitor center to the viewing platform. The visitor center is modern with clean bathrooms, a café, and a gift shop. They have surprisingly reasonable pricing on some of their outerwear. I ended up being a nice hooded sweater jacket for $45NZ because of the chill that evening and it was good quality. There is a little viewing platform out to the ocean with the lighthouse on the cliff above behind the visitor center that is great place to kill time while waiting for the viewing to begin. I also enjoyed chatting with the staff, who were nice and helpful. One of the staff even looked up some info she did not know about the penguins that she shared with me later on the platform! When the viewing starts, they give you a quick briefing in the VC and advise that there is special lighting for the penguins because they have highly sensitive vision and though photography is permitted, do not use your flash under any circumstance. You then hike down to the viewing platform that overlooks the little bay the penguins come inland from. There were several seagulls and sealions already on the beach and one sealion was particularly amusing as he waddled in and out of the water chasing the seagulls. We only had to wait about 15mins before the first group of the tiny little penguins emerged from the water and waddled their way to the rocky hill to get to their nests. It was pretty packed on the platform with everyone vying for the best view/photos. But, about 30mins or so, people had disbanded and some had already headed back up to the parking lot, so it was free reign to see the next groups of penguins coming up the hill and walking right by the platform. It was such an amazing and incredible experience to see the little penguins "coming home" and is a "must-do" if you are in the area. I loved that we were able to photograph and video without disturbing them (you cannot do this at the Oamaru penguin colony) to keep the treasured mementos of such an awesome viewing. We saw about 7 groups come in with about 40+ penguins total. It is a bit of a hike back up to the parking lot with several stairs and an incline dirt path. The path is lit w/special led lights, so you aren't in complete darkness, though I did have to use the flashlight on my phone when I got closer to the top and finding my car in the parking lot. I will say the drive back in the dark is a bit harrowing, so highly recommend leaving last from the parking lot and taking your time getting back to town. read more
8 years ago
Go see the little blue penguins. You won't regret :) They are ADORABLE. Come out in little groups of triangles. We were there at 9:30 and they didn't come until 10pm! But once they did, it was a field day! Interestingly they are not afraid of humans so you get good view of them. read more
7 years ago
My wife and I really enjoyed seeing the Albatross, seagulls and cute little penguins! The food at the cafe was good too! However, after listening to the guide about global warming, micro-plastics in the ocean, and how bad us humans are, we were about ready to jump off the cliffs into the sea. Then we decided that we would just further pollute the ocean and decided to continue our visit to God's great creation in New Zealand! read more
12 years ago
The little blue penguin tour is well worth the drive. Not as many or as much interaction as on Phillip Island, Australia but one of the best vantage points locally. We got excellent pictures and time to watch them. Some of the other patrons were bothersome and had little to no manners on sharing viewing space. That however is not the centers fault. Limiting numbers could help as there were a lot of people. Having seen them before, I found a quiet corner and waited for the penguins. Standing and just watching I got some amazing pictures of them interacting in their natural habitat. The Center really is a blessing for Conservation and is worth a visit if you've never seen penguins or simply want to enjoy their goofy on land antics. read more
15 years ago
An informative and educational tour of the Albatross colony. We saw the fascinating social and family life of the breeding colony, albatross guarding their baby chicks and the of viewing these albatross in their natural environment. read more
8 years ago
More info about Royal Albatross Centre
1260 Harington Point Road
Harington Point
Dunedin 9077
New Zealand
Directions
03 478 0499
Call Now
Visit Website
http://www.albatross.org.nz/
Hours
Outdoor Amenities
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