How To See Little Penguins in Akaroa Ethically, New Zealand Ecotour

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Are you curious about the unique opportunities for conservation-based ecotourism in New Zealand? The coastal town of Akaroa, tucked away between the South Islands’ fjords and mountains, offers a unique opportunity to spot one of New Zealand’s cutest animals, the little penguin. With responsible tourism, you can do more than watch these little ones waddling about; you can actively participate in their conservation! This small, flightless bird, once threatened with extinction, is now thriving thanks to the dedicated efforts of the local community.

By joining an ethical ecotour with Pohatu Penguins, visitors can contribute to their conservation and witness firsthand the incredible work done to protect these remarkable birds. This guide details my experience with Pohatu Penguins and covers everything you need to know about ethical viewing of penguins near Akaroa to have the trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to Traverse Journeys, a responsible travel company, for hosting me on their nature-based tour of New Zealand. I had the chance to add this ethical penguin tour to their itinerary and leaped at the opportunity. They are a company that aligns with my MVV here at Curiosity Saves, but all views and opinions are my own.

Reflecting on my 10-day North and South Island tour, my favorite part of the country was a little slice of paradise called Akaroa, a small town on the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. The drive down to Akaroa is an excellent look at the rich landscapes of rural New Zealand, with mountains, sweeping green valleys, fjords, and some of New Zealand’s most unique wildlife. Akaroa is a haven for wildlife and home to the endangered Pohatu penguins and the Hector dolphins.

I highly recommend seeing and learning about both species and their empowering conservation stories. However, this post will focus on how to see wild little penguins in Akaroa, New Zealand, with an ethical ecotour. During the tour, you’ll learn about their rehabilitation and the dangers they face.

This colony of white-flipped penguins in Akaroa was pushed to the brink of extinction until a local couple took matters into their own hands to save them. Eventually, the conservation board stepped in to provide support. Tourism complements these efforts. Their story of survival gives me hope.

Booking an evening tour with family-owned Pohatu Penguins to learn about and observe the penguins is a top thing to do when visiting Akaroa. By booking through Pohatu, an expert guide company that works directly with the conservation and preservation efforts of the species, you can rest easy knowing your money goes directly back toward helping the penguins. Tours are ethical, safe for the penguins, non-invasive, and educational!

Akaroa Pohatu Little Penguin Colony Conservation

When Shireen, the founder of Pohatu Penguins, grew up on the Banks Peninsula, penguins thrived in every bay. She recalls a time when seeing the penguins was just a part of her everyday life. Things soon worsened as more people and predators, such as ferrets and stoats, moved into the area. The invasive predators hunted the penguins, and gill netting became popular, causing the species to enter the extinction vortex.

Shireen and her husband Francis began to notice that penguin sightings were no longer frequent. They were lucky to find even a few. The sudden population collapse was dramatic.

The couple owns a secluded farm on a hill in a cove, which is the native habitat for these little penguins. When Shireen and Francis Helps (what an appropriate last name) first started working toward penguin conservation, they asked the local Department of Conservation for help. They received a frustrating response that the DoC had all, but they had all but given up on the penguins, saying it was too late to save them.

The Helps decided to take action and began the long and arduous task of conserving and rehabilitating the population. They did this by trapping predators, creating barriers and stable homes for the penguins, educating themselves, working with locals, and doing everything possible to save this adorable species.

The penguin numbers are steadily increasing, and the colony is now the largest little penguin colony in New Zealand and the last open hill colony.

Seeing their success, the Department of Conservation finally came around. They now support and recognize their efforts, certifying the family-owned business as an ethical ecotour operator. They have since received various awards for their work.

Visiting the Helps’ farm, you’ll find dozens of homes they built for breeding pairs and safe spaces they have created for the penguins to thrive. Their daughter has said that growing up while her parents worked tirelessly on saving the penguins meant she often fell asleep listening to penguin noises, as they were allowed to nest in the floorboards of her bedroom. During storms, her kitchen would transform into a nursing home for injured penguins.

You feel like you are part of their family, too, as you spend time on the farm and in the safe bay where the penguins live. You learn and experience conservation firsthand, so you know that every penny you spend helps these amazing animals live to see another day.

DID YOU KNOW: The Maori word for little penguin is Kororā

When to See the Penguins

The penguins aren’t around all year, so if you visit from mid-February to mid-April, you’re most likely out of luck. You can contact Pohatu Penguins for a special tour during the winter months, which will allow you to support the cause and conservation efforts even if you can’t see the penguins.

The best time to visit is September – mid-December when you have a high chance of seeing penguins.

I visited in November, and we saw everything from nesting couples to active swimmers out hunting.

All the dates outside these two windows have a rating of “highly likely” or “likely” chance to see penguins. Tour times change depending on the sunset, as dusk is the best time to see them, so ensure you know when your specific tour starts.

Remember, seeing wild animals is never guaranteed, and Pohatu Penguins follow ethical guidelines of never promising or baiting wild animals.

On this Ecotour, the Penguins Come First

It is important to note that this is not “a penguin parade,” all tours prioritize the penguins’ health and safety. You must adhere to all safety guidelines, which include no flash photography, keeping a safe distance, staying quiet, walking at night with no lights, following your certified guide, and in general, not being an ass.

These tours are available to help conservation, not for your pleasure or to see cute little penguins. So, set your expectations and ensure you view wildlife for the right reasons.

Booking And Penguin Tour Options

Pohatu Penguins and the Helps family offer several tours to learn about and see the penguins. The knowledgeable tour guides are penguin experts and always observe and collect data throughout your tour. It is interesting to see what information they collect and why it is essential.

On some tours, such as the Evening Penguin Tour or the extended Nature Tour, you might volunteer to collect data for some first-hand experience!

There are four penguin tours, ranging from evening tours to see the active penguins coming ashore to nature tours during the day, kayaking, and, for those true penguin fanatics, an overnight stay.

Evening Penguin Tour

The evening penguin tour focuses on the penguins, and you see them up and active. The penguins are most active just at dusk when they return to their nesting areas after a day of fishing.

The tour starts in Akaroa, and you take a scenic drive to the Helps’ farm and wait for dusk. You can learn about conservation efforts, data collection, and penguins. You return home well after dark.

Cost: $75 for adults NZD

Nature Penguin Tour

Take a 2—or 4-hour scenic tour of the stunning area and learn about the flora and fauna in the area and the penguin conservation program. Both tours include a tour of the farm and a peek at the nesting penguins during the day, but during the longer tour, you may have the chance to see rehabilitation efforts, including feeding and swim therapy!

The longer tour also includes a more extensive scenic tour of the area and time for tea and a light snack.

Cost: $65 – $95 for adults NZD

Kayak Tours

There are two kayak tours to choose from. The early morning tour lasts about three hours and includes kayaking with a guide, wildlife viewing, and a scenic drive.

There is also a 4-hour tour with a longer scenic tour, photo stops, and commentary. Both are dependent on weather and ocean conditions and include all the gear you need for kayaking and a guide.

Cost: $75-$95 for adults with discounts for groups. NZD

Pohtau Package

The package allows you to stay overnight in a rustic beachside cottage. You can participate in the evening penguin tour, discounted kayak tours, hiking or beach combing, or just relaxing under the night sky. You can choose from a 24- or 48-hour option, and you will need to bring food to cook in the fully equipped kitchen. This is a great way to escape into nature while supporting the conservation efforts of New Zealand’s little penguins.

The tours highlighted above from Get Your Guide are all offered by Pohatu Penguins, certified conservation-based guides to operate on the Helps’ farm. They are the company I took the tour with, and they received a 5/5 star review from me! I hope you book with them.

What to Pack

The weather in this area can be unpredictable due to the mountains and water, so pack accordingly in case it rains or cools off in the evening. I would bring a jacket, pants, sturdy shoes like runners or hiking shoes, your camera—NO FLASH—dinner or a snack, and water. A backpack to keep everything in is super helpful.

They provide binoculars, camo covers, transportation, and a guide.

Evening Little Penguin Experience: A Review

The great thing about traveling with Traverse Journeys on their New Zealand Fantasy Tour is all the tremendous ethical additional excursions you can book during your free time. I decided to book the Pohatu Penguin Evening Tour with the Helps family.

As the sun started to lower, we met at a pick-up point in Akaroa, where we met our guide, Kevin, an Environmental Studies graduate from France. He met a family member, fell in love, and decided to stay and dedicate his life to saving penguins and protecting the wildlife in New Zealand.

Our tour started with a drive up and over a lush mountainside. The views opened up to the quaint harbor village below. We stopped for photos, and our guide talked about some of the area’s flora and fauna.

The lighting was just perfect, with the sun getting lower over the water as herds of sheep grazed on the hillside. We took two photo stops during our climb up the mountains. As we summited, our 4×4 van began to traverse a narrow dirt road. We had to drive slowly to ensure that sheep could cross freely and safely.

As we descended the other side of the mountain, a hidden cove appeared; this is where the last hillside colony of little penguins lived in New Zealand. We parked our van and entered a gate to the humble farmstead of the Helps family to a surprise.

Sheep—tons of fluffy baby sheep came bounding out to meet us, and we got to bottle-feed the babies and feed the chubby adults. It was a magical moment that I will cherish forever.

After feeding sheep and other farm animals, we were given an orientation about how important it is to respect the penguins. We all wear fantastic camo jackets to blend in and not startle the little penguins. After everyone was suited up and ready to be safe around the penguins, we went to our first nest.

The nest was a hand made wooden box with a number on it, Kevin, gently lifted the top of the nest and inside was a snuggling breeding pair. We learned how to collect data about penguins and the necessary identifiers of healthy pairs. We noted whether they were male or female if they had an egg and other notes about the pair or individual penguins. We learned that there is some fierce competition for nests and eggs – meaning that penguins can take each other home and steal eggs, and in this whole process, eggs can get destroyed.

Data collection is vital to see how many eggs are there daily if parents are switching, stealing, or nesting on a broken egg. In essence, this all informs the conservation efforts of how many babies might make it and, in turn, how many new penguins might join the colony. The wooden houses were hand-made by the Helps family, but no locals participated in the efforts and built and donated homes. Handmade homes are essential because erosion or anthropogenic disasters can destroy their natural homes. The best way to give penguins a fighting chance is to provide them with a safe and comfortable breeding place. We also saw some natural nests, but they were few and far between.

We checked out a few nests and helped Kevin collect data before moving down to the viewing platform. Just as the sun was setting, we set up a large telescope and got out our binoculars. We could see penguins swimming in the water coming toward us.

They started to go to shore when the sun set and darkness set in. We learned that penguins make a straight line to their nest, no matter if it is the harder way. They climbed over rocks and even straight over a sleeping seal – their predator, who thankfully was uninterested, clamber over rocks, jumped, fell, and flopped their way back up to their nests. The entire time, Kevin gave us information about the penguins, answered questions, pointed them out, and took notes.

After some time, it was time to let the penguins settle in for the night, and we began the trek home and back to the van. We returned very late, so I suggested you eat dinner before or pack food as most restaurants will be closed.

Help Save the Penguins & Learn More

It was such a great value and very educational. I enjoyed learning about the conservation efforts and knowing my money was going toward a good family doing amazing things. I highly recommend this tour as the best thing to do in Akaroa and a top ecotour in New Zealand to see the little penguins.