Pōhatu is the largest Australasian Little Penguin colony on mainland New Zealand.

Duration

Approx 2.5-3 hours

Ages

Ages 2+

About

The best time for penguin viewing is the breeding season between end of August to December. You can see moulting penguins in January and February, but starting the end of February through early April we do NOT have penguins. There are also some windows of excellent viewing opportunities from mid April to September when the birds return periodically from sea.

This is a wonderful option for people who wish to take part in our monitoring program and learn more, in depth, about our conservation efforts. This gives you great insight into the life of a penguin and an opportunity to see the birds up-close.

First, you will set off with a walk around the colony to monitor nesting sites and make sure that our Little Penguins are doing well. Then, you will have the opportunity to spot the penguins undisturbed from our hides , socializing on the water with our binoculars and our telescope and at dusk a high likelihood of some returning to shore, we depart before it gets to dark and leave it for the penguins to do their thing without us in their way.