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Welcome to the Ōamaru penguin conservation experience

After sunset, witness little penguins returning home from their day fishing at sea. During the day, learn about the penguins in our brand-new Discovery Centre, see them in our specially designed nesting boxes and explore the breeding colony.

Latest Stats

Updated:
6:30pmEvening Viewing start time
177Number of penguins arrived ashore last night
0Eggs are being incubated
0Chicks present in the colony
644Chicks fledged for the season

2025 End of season round up

After a long and incredibly successful year, we’ve officially wrapped up the 2025 season - and what a season it’s been! With a record-breaking 644 chicks fledged from our tourist colony, and 994 in total across the two colonies we manage, this year will certainly go down in the history books. To celebrate, we thought we’d do something a little different… welcome to our Penguin Awards 2025!

Read the full story

Home to hundreds

Ōamaru Penguins has an ever-growing population of little penguins/kororā. Every week, our staff visit the nesting boxes to track how many penguins are living here, creating detailed records of every bird in the colony and their breeding success. Dive into the data and see how our colony is growing.

Meet the colony

The work behind the colony

Since 1993, we’ve conducted vital research at the colony and a second control site to monitor Ōamaru’s little penguin populations and support the species’ wider conservation efforts.

See what we do

Get to know the team

Our hands-on approach to conservation sets us apart in the tourism world. The story of Ōamaru Penguins is driven by passionate people who have dedicated their time to protecting the little penguins.

Meet the team

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