Penguin Place

Harington Point Rd, RD 2 | Otago Peninsula, Dunedin, New Zealand

64 3 478 0286

Website

Adult penguin with moulting chick. Full image uncropped. (Canon EOS50D, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8; sho

Ranked #8 of 31 attractions in Dunedin

81 Reviews

Type: Nature/ Wildlife Areas

Useful Information: Activities for older children

38 visitor photos

Update attraction details

Write a Review

81 reviews from our community

Sing-at-Four

singapour, Singapour

Senior Contributor

26 reviews

Reviews in 13 cities

7 helpful votes

“Magic!”

Reviewed 12 May 2012

A great place to meet the yellow eyed penguins and learn more about their life. Our guide was really nice and knew many things about the life of the penguins. We saw around 10 penguins just close to us. We were hided and some of them were just 1 meter in front of us. We took so many pictures and... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

World Passport

Los Angeles, California

Top Contributor

89 reviews

Reviews in 44 cities

129 helpful votes

“Yellow penguins live in their protective surroundings”

Reviewed 7 May 2012

It's a private sanctuary built specifically to protect the penguins. We encountered few yellow and blue penguins. As a matter of fact, we saw some of them in action, meaning walking and even fighting (verbally) with one another. We saw few seals too. It's an awesome tour, about 90 minute long. They take you on a small bus and walked... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 6 more reviews by World Passport for Dunedin

elle076

Canton, Michigan

Senior Contributor

31 reviews

Reviews in 14 cities

12 helpful votes

“Great stop!”

Reviewed 30 April 2012

My husband and I were lucky enough to go when there was no one else there, thus getting a private tour. We saw several penguins, some very close up, and even some aggressive behavior by one male penguin trying to keep the other out of his territory. The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely recommend.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

brainycoral

Singapore

Contributor

11 reviews

Reviews in 8 cities

6 helpful votes

“Fantastic service!”

Reviewed 26 April 2012

The people here are absolutely friendly and they know their wildlife like the back of their hands. I arrived late but was quickly shuttled to meet up with the group. The walk around the hill offered spectacular views and the experience up-close with the seals and penguins was an unforgettable experience. After the walk ended, the guide held me back... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 3 more reviews by brainycoral for Dunedin

Greetings, thanks for supporting us and joining our guided tour. We are very passionate about the penguins and other wildlife we have in our surroundings. It's great the guide went our of their way to make your experience as memorable as possible- each visitor means a lot to us and we appreciate you choosing to visit us and for taking... More

Amanda136

Sunshine Coast, Qld

Senior Reviewer

7 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Yellow Eyes”

Reviewed 24 April 2012

Great for nature lovers to be able to get up close to the yellow eyed penguins and seals basking on the headland. Very professionally run. well worth the money.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 2 more reviews by Amanda136 for Dunedin

Hello and thanks for joining our tour and sharing your experience. We do get very lucky with close-up penguin viewing due to our unique system of the trenches and viewing hides. Although each tour is 100% different we are usually pretty fortunate. If you are ever back our way we would love to show you around again! Thanks. More

proffitt25

Singapore, Singapore

Contributor

19 reviews

Reviews in 18 cities

62 helpful votes

“Extremely well done”

Reviewed 24 April 2012

This is a must see. The hides created to let visitors see the penguins but not stress them out are perfect. The guide was very knowledgeable, and the scenery was breathtaking. Well, well worth the visit!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Glad you agree with us, we believe Penguin Place is a must see! We provide an excellent place for visitors to view, photograph, to gain an intimate understanding of the Yellow Eyed Penguins and the issues they face plus directly help fund a private conservation effort. We appreciate your feedback. More

TinaandBri

Bristol

2 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Not worth the $49 entry fee....”

Reviewed 22 April 2012

On holiday in New Zealand doing the whole thing on a fly-drive. We went to Penguin Place while we were staying at Dunedin. We paid $49 each which is about £50 for the two of us....that's a lot of money by anyone's standards, isn't it?? We saw a couple of penguins under a bush admittedly quite close and two from... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Thanks for visiting our project and for expressing your feelings. I can appreciate your feedback regarding price, sure we would love to be able to offer our tours cheaper but it would not be viable or sustainable. Please remember Penguin Place is a private effort which is fully self funded, therefore 100% funded by our tourism. We receive no assistance... More

colaroid81

Derby, United Kingdom

Contributor

11 reviews

Reviews in 6 cities

1 helpful vote

“Really good tour!”

Reviewed 20 April 2012

We saw lots of yellow eyed penguins in and out of the hides and saw one win a fight with a seal! The tour was informative and interesting but I don't think children too young to keep quiet should go!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Thanks for visiting and cheers for the feedback! Glad you found the tour interesting and that you were well informed. With regards to children, we do cater for most people- generally children are pretty good and well behaved, in the situation where they cannot be kept quiet we just ask for the parents to just move away slightly with the... More

besttom

Manama, Bahrain

Senior Contributor

49 reviews

Reviews in 30 cities

54 helpful votes

“Just Not Worth It”

Reviewed 11 April 2012

person found this review helpful

I first have to say their website is horrible and where it COULD be a source for useful information such as "You must maintain QUIET at certain portions of this tour," it might help people who visit here w/ young children who won't always keep quiet no matter WHAT you do. It would also be helpful to explain some of... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 2 more reviews by besttom for Dunedin

Thankyou for your review. I would like to reply with a few points. You are very correct about our website, it is out of date and not up to standard and a new one is currently under construction, we will have a new site very soon and we take on board your feedback. On any wildlife tour keeping quiet is... More

Sue K

Rotorua, New Zealand

Senior Reviewer

8 reviews

“yellow eyes”

Reviewed 7 April 2012

This was fasincating trip, and the tunnels and hides made for fantastic viewing, penguins were in the moulding season

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 7 more reviews by Sue K for Dunedin