Iconic Wildlife Tour with Yellow Eyed Penguins & Royal Albatross
Overview
Available languages
7 hours
Mobile ticket
Visit the habitat of the world's rarest penguin. Walk through a private nature reserve on this guided tour for a chance to see the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguin, Little Blue Penguins and NZ Fur seals in the wild. Specially designed hides allow for close viewing of Yellow Eyed Penguins in their nesting habitat *please note the penguins are not kept in captivity in the reserve and they may not always be visible from the hides. A visit to the penguin rehabilitation hospital is also included in this tour.
This tour also visits the Royal Albatross Colony for a guided tour of the nesting area.
Lookouts, photo stops and full commentary provided throughout. Also included is a brief tour of Dunedin's main city sights.
Additional Info
Specialized infant seats are available
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Children must be accompanied by an adult
This tour involves short walks on unsealed tracks and there are a number of easy steps to negotiate in the reserve. Please bring suitable footwear.
Wildlife are free to come and go as they please. While we make every effort to maximise the opportunities to see wildlife, we cannot guarrantee exactly what you will see on the day
Not recommended for people with mobility aids
What To Expect
The Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance
A chance to see Penguins, NZ Furseals and other wildlife in a private nature reserve. Access is by small group tour with a specialist wildlife guide only. Wildlife are free to come and go to and from the sea. The rare Yellow Eyed Penguin nests here but they are very shy and it is not always possible to see them. You will get a close up look at Little Blue Penguins nesting on the reserve. The walking is easy, less than 1 km, but there are a number of steps in and out of the reserve area. reasonable level of mobility is required for this tour.
The Royal Albatross Centre
On this tour we include a visit to the Royal Albatross Centre. It is free entry to the info gallery, cafe and gift shop. Some people opt to do the Albatross Tour add-on (*additional fee applies) where you will go on a special 1 hour guided tour of the nesting area. Viewing is from behind glass but the view itself, seeing the nesting area up close, and informative guide make for an unforgettable experience.
Options
Iconic Wildlife Tour
What‘s Included
Cruise Port pickup and drop off; Please meet us inside the Visitor Building on ship's wharf
Entry fees to Royal Albatross guided tour
Entry fees to The OPERA (Yellow Eyed Penguin guided tour)
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Reviews
36 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Everything including the Hokey Pokey!!
K5639NBdeem,May 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What an amazing excursion this was — highly recommend! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to leave a review. Allison was one of the highlights of the tour. Her willingness to share her knowledge, with just the right hints of humor, struck a wonderful balance between keeping everyone engaged while also allowing people the freedom to explore and experience things on their own. I loved that it was a smaller group — I think there were only about eight of us total. The day felt really well balanced between time in the van and time spent out walking and exploring. Spending time at the penguin sanctuary and rescue was incredible. Part of the walk took us to the breeding grounds where we could see the nest boxes, and along the way there were massive sea lions lounging just yards from us. It was such a surreal experience. We also stopped at the world’s steepest street, where we were given the freedom to experience it however we wanted, which I really appreciated. Another highlight was the stunning train station — my mind is still blown by the intricate design work created with such tiny tiles. I also had no idea how much I would enjoy the Royal Albatross Observatory. Honestly, my ignorance about just how impressive these birds are almost caused me to skip this tour altogether, and I’m so glad I didn’t. Watching them soar overhead again and again, especially compared to the nearby seagulls, was absolutely amazing. There is so much to learn about — and admire in — these incredible birds. Allison truly went above and beyond when I mentioned wanting to try Hokey Pokey ice cream. She stopped at what they called a “milk bar” (what we’d call a corner market). They didn’t have individual ice cream bars, only tubs, so we all searched around the little shop until we found small aluminum tins. Allison then asked the shop worker for spoons, and supplies in hand, we headed outside to dish out Hokey Pokey together. If you ever get the chance to try Hokey Pokey, do it — it is absolutely delicious. Thank you, Allison, for creating such a memorable experience, and thank you as well to my fellow travelers who made the day even more enjoyable. This truly was a memory-maker for us.
A nature lovers dream. Penguins and Albatrosses
Tour282854,Mar 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic experience with Iconic Tours. We visited the Yellow Eyed Penguin colony and the Royal Albatross centre. All admission fees were included in the tour price. The length of each visit was about 2 hours at dan location. Both are superb places to visit. We were very lucky to see penguins and albatrosses. Our guide/ driver for the day was Alan. A living legend who gave us non stop commentary on the whole tour.
Penguins and albatross tour with significant customization
kdknny,Feb 26, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had the pleasure of two guides for our all-day private tour. Greg and his wife, Kim, hosted our personalized sightseeing excursion of Dunedin. We are two couples who arrived via cruise ship and whose list of activities for the day was pretty extensive (we selected the penguins and albatross tour, but made several modifications). With a little preplanning, the twosome of Iconic tours managed to ensure we checked every box on our wish list (even with the extra complications because of several roadwork/traffic obstacles which we encountered). Alternate routes were spontaneously and carefully decided upon. Instead of time stuck in traffic we were instead treated to beautiful “off the beaten path” scenery which was a bonus. If considering working with this company know that they have guides that are very personable and demonstrate great teamwork to get you where you’re going safely and within the time constraints of a cruise ship. Thank you, Iconic Tours (and specifically Greg and Kim). Dan and Kim/Eagle, Idaho Italo and Bert/Terrebonne, Oregon
Not to be missed.
sallycY3169HC,Jan 27, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour was amazing & further to that our guide/driver Alison was an absolute delight. I could not recommend highly enough. Ticked all the boxes & the Albatross put on a show dreams are made of. A must do when visiting Dunedin.
Wonderful local tour with great tour guide and driver
fiona s,Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Wonderful! Lovely local couple drove and guided us around the area. They were so knowledgeable and we also appreciated their flexibility, staying a little longer so we could walk the steepest street, lots of photo stops and nothing was too much trouble. Really great tour and the penguins and albatross were amazing!
Yellow eyed penguin and Albatrosses
Lovetotravel7559,Nov 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Roger was our guide. He was very self deprecating, funny. a wonderful driver and full of history etc. We were happy to be in his care. Kim as the owner fell down on communicating with me several times by email. especially in the beginning. I was almost ready to move on to someone else but I kept trying and he finally responded. If anything could be improved that would be it. The Penguin tour and Albatross tour were as I expected them to be. We saw 2 pair of Albatrosses and saw one flying. They are very ungainly. We saw a yellow eyed penguin in the hospital. We saw a blue penguin in its box. With all wild animals you never know what you might see but I recommend the Bicheno penguins in Tasmania.
Wonderful day in Dunedin and on the Peninsula with ICONIC Tours
GayleneNZ1,Sep 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our Iconic tour was a Wildlife tour which included Yellow Eyed Penguins, Royal Albatross and an introduction to the City of Dunedin. As there were only 2 of us, we were treated to the equivalent of a private tour. Lucky us! Kim was outstanding! Caring, thoughtful and helpful. My husband uses a stick and Kim always made sure he was never left behind. Kim's friendly shared knowledge of the area and its history made the trip enjoyable and relaxing. And we saw Albatross (starting to fledge) and Yellow Eyed Penguins (albeit recuperating ones) at OPERA (The Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance). A great day! Highly Recommend ICONIC Tours - you couldn't do better
The Best Tour Guides Ever!
G763QYdebrac,Apr 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Words cannot describe how happy we were to do this tour with Iconic. By no fault of their own, due to a change in cruise itinerary, we were inadvertently dropped from this schedule. Ann and Kim scrambled to be sure the tour we selected would happen--we cannot thank them enough for their accommodations, to be sure that we got the trip we wanted and expected! The penguin sanctuary, nature walk, and Royal Albatross center were one-of-a-kind places and should not be missed. We were lucky to be given a private tour by Kim, who drove us completely around Otago Harbor, took us to lunch at the delightful Cove Cafe in Portobello, and peppered us with lots of local insights and color! We felt so loved and well taken care of -- please send your business to Iconic Tours, you will not be disappointed!
Memorable journey around the Otago Peninsula
Robin1122,Mar 14, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I cannot say enough good things about this tour. Kim picked us up from our hotel in Dunedin and took us on an amazing journey through the Otago Peninsula. He is extremely knowledgeable about the birds and we got to see stilts, oystercatchers, herons and so many others. In addition, we saw sea lions, yellow eyed penguins, crested penguins and albatross. The weather was perfect and we learned so much about the area. In addition we toured the Larnach Castle gardens and some of Dunedin, included the university and the steepest street in the world. All in all it was a very memorable day.
Seals, penguins and albatross -oh my!
Jeanne L,Mar 11, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Tour guide was very informative and fun describing countryside as they delivered us to the two amazing sanctuaries. Both sanctuaries had incredible staff that guided us on the trails where beautiful wildlife showed up to “wow” us. It was a breath-taking trip!!!!
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Operated by Iconic Tours NZ Ltd