Porpoising Penguins in Dunedin

A rehabilitated hoiho / yellow-eyed penguin at Penguin Place (taken with 400mm zoom lens).

If you’ve never seen hoiho / yellow-eyed penguins in the wild then let me tell you about what a truly amazing experience it is. 

For years I’d looked enviously at other peoples photos of hoiho on social media and wanted a chance to see the penguins for myself. On my first attempt back in February I didn’t have much luck seeing wild hoiho, so I was determined to go back and try again. When I was in Dunedin for the Writers and Readers Festival again in May I made sure I had time to go back to Penguin Place, and I’m so incredibly glad I did.

Hoiho at the Penguin Place rehabilitation center (taken with 400mm zoom lens).

Penguin Place is an absolute must-do if you’re in Dunedin, especially if you want to see hoiho. The tour costs $55, an absolute bargain for a 90 minute tour, and the proceeds go towards rehabilitating injured and underweight penguins, which is pretty amazing. The start of the tour took us to see the rehab centre where some adorable penguins are being cared for, this gave us a chance to get close to some penguins before they get released back in to the wild.

After a brief educational (and pretty sobering) talk about the declining mainland hoiho population, we jumped on a bus and headed to the next and most exciting part of the tour. Now here’s my favourite part - we walk through a series of camouflaged underground tunnels that lead to concealed viewing hides where we can view the hoiho without disturbing them. In all my years birdwatching I have never seen something so considered and respectful of the wildlife.

Camouflaged tunnels that lead to concealed viewing hides.

Most commercial birdwatching tours advertise the chance to ‘get up close to wildlife’ which really doesn’t sit well with me at all, but Penguin Place is different, they have created an environment that allows visitors to see penguins without disturbing them or causing them stress. As someone who is respectful of the safety and well-being of wild animals I believe we shouldn’t cause stress to any animal just for a photo opportunity. So the Penguin Place set-up is proof that we can enjoy seeing wildlife without compromising their safety or invading their personal space.

As we walked through the camouflaged tunnels to the first viewing hide we waited for a few minutes scanning the waters edge for signs of penguins. Suddenly I spotted a few large shapes bobbing in the water, I was watching what is known as ‘porpoising penguins’, when the penguins ride the waves until they reach water that’s shallow enough to stand up in. It was a pretty surreal experience as I stood and watched the rare penguins making their way to shore, I honestly felt quite emotional watching them as I know they live incredibly tough lives, with depleting food sources in the sea and rising ocean temperatures to try to cope with. Rather than take photos I decided to film a video to capture this special occasion so I could share the whole experience, here it is uploaded to my YouTube account.

A hoiho keeping an eye out for threats on the shore.

As the penguins made their way further up the beach they begun to head up a track that would lead them directly past the viewing hide we were watching from. Suddenly a sea lion made its presence known, and the two hoiho quickly changed direction and took a different path up towards their homes. I was pretty gutted that they didn’t walk right past me, but it was amazing to see a sea lion and I still had a great viewing of the penguin pair.

A rather intimidating sea lion.

The hoiho pair making their way up a different path.

A hoiho swerving to avoid a sea lion in evening light.

As those two hoiho ventured out of view, my tour group left the viewing hide and went to try our luck at the other hides. We were lucky enough to see three more hoiho, but none as close as the first two. Seeing five wild hoiho totally exceeded my expectations of the evening, and as the sunlight faded we made our way back to the Penguin Place centre very content and happy. I 100% recommend visiting Penguin Place, it’s a wholesome, unique and ethical wildlife experience, and a rare chance to see one of the world’s most endangered penguin species in the most natural way possible.

Spot the hoiho.

Juvenile hoiho at Penguin Place (taken with 400mm zoom lens).