I flew 12.5 hours to Auckland, then 2 hours to Dunedin, then drove 2 hours to Oamaru so that I could throw my bags in my motel room and put on warm layers and head to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony before sunset. Oamaru has embraced its penguin colonies–both the little blue penguin and the yellow-eyed penguins. There is good signage from Highway 1 and through Victorian Oamaru. I had to stop the Toyota Yaris rental car and take a picture of this sign on he road out to the blue penguin colony. Of course it is cute and makes tourists like me smile, and it serves a serious purpose as the penguins nest all along the hillside and actually cross this road n the early morning and after sunset on their way to and from the sea.
The little blue penguin, also known in Australia as the fairy penguin, is the smallest penguin weighing in at only 1 kg. They begin their breeding season about this time of year. Scientists say they mate for life, except when they get “divorced”, or lose their mate to predators, and so on. Best to say that they do return to the same colony each year after several months feeding at sea and will seek out the mate from the previous year if they are still getting along.
This colony is growing. The partnership between the penguins and the nonprofit that offers the viewing and provides them with more and more nesting boxes is working. The penguins here often raise two sets of clutches or eggs a season. This year, for whatever reason, they got a late start and may only get one set of chicks raised before they moult in summer and go out to sea again.
The center is chock full of information and I read the exhibits before joining my guide for both the day tour and the night tour. It is affordable–together it was $46 USD per person. Your entrance fee supports the work the nonprofit is doing to continue to enhance the colony. You can also “adopt a penguin” for $150 NZD.
For the day tour we walked on the boardwalk through a “Hobbiton” for penguins with nesting boxes throughout a wide expanse of man-made hummocks. Most appeared to be in use (with penguin poop on the doorstep). I also was able to go into a special hut where penguins are nesting beneath. A special light that does not disturb the penguins but allows us to see them in their nests and specially built boxes so people can see into their nests, allows me to see several nesting pairs. They also have a “penguin cam” on four nests outside of the hut. A couple of these also had birds at home and I could watch on tablets inside the hut.
This was all very interesting and worthwhile, but I wanted to see more of the penguins interacting with their environment . For this section, I have to rely on photos from Google images because no flash photography is allowed and by this time the light was fading beyond the capabilities of my humble camera.
When I first arrived I was one of the Center’s only visitors, but when we returned toward the time of the evening viewing a couple of dozen other people had also gathered. People were from all over: China, New Zealand, Australia, and USA. It was a cold, cold evening and none of us were adequately prepared. Most had paid for the premium tickets, which afforded seating that is slightly more protected from the wind. Not that you ever sit, because as soon as the penguins begin to appear everyone is standing and craning to get the best possible view.
This particular colony approaches from the sea at a rocky, steep slope. We strained to try and see them in the water. You can see from this photo (aided by daylight) the blue penguin is not very noticeable in water. Their coloring is designed to fool predators. The blue topside helps them blend in water, and leopard seals that might be looking up at their white bottom side will not see them either. It took our eyes a short while to adjust to the growing darkness and the special light that helps us see but is outside the penguins’ spectrum. There was a big New Zealand fur seal (not a threat to penguins) who was sleeping very still on the rocks and it was fun to watch as one by one people recognized the big black rock as a seal. The penguins had a similar reaction as they came ashore. Some of them actually bumped into the seal.
Finally, as we were reaching popsicle stage, we began to see the penguins washed ashore by the rough surf, scrabble a toehold on the rocks and hop to higher ground. A few feet from the surf’s edge they stopped to seemingly catch their breath, then continue hopping up the rocks to higher ground. Once there they clustered and preened their feathers and “cooled off” from their recent exertion.
When a group of 6 to 10 were ready to march on home, they scampered across the open area to a narrow chute and then on to the various nest boxes. It reminded me of commuters at a train station. (I cannot help but compare their behavior to human behavior as silly as it may seem at times.)
After an hour of watching the penguins do their nightly migration from sea to nests, I was really cold and really happy, I smiled a lot during that hour! They are just so darn cute. It is such a privilege to see them in something closer to their natural habitat.
We carefully left via a raised boardwalk back towards the visitor’s center. We stopped whenever there were penguins moving near us and waited for them to pass. This location is fully handicapped accessible, though that night we did not use the wheelchair ramp at the end because a blue penguin was preening himself on it. We were able to stand just a few feet away and admire.
The helpful center guides gave me information about yellow eyed penguin colonies in Oamaru and along the coast and suggested viewing times. I bought a beautiful new penguin book and a very handy merino scarf in the gift shop. The center does not have a cafe; there is a restaurant a short walk away.
As I drove slowly away with the car heater on full blast, I saw a pair of blue penguins on the sea side of the road with a couple of people enthusiastically taking flash photos. I could see the wisdom in not allowing flash photography or videography. Hopefully those penguin fans will leave them soon and allow the penguins to recover before crossing the road.
Fully satisfied, I drove back through the small town to the Highland Mews Motel to my very warm room and bed for a very satisfying nights sleep. Before turning out the light I set my alarm for 6 a.m. to rise in time for a yellow eyed penguin experience.
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