Things to see and do in Oamaru, including Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony

Philippa Agnew is the Science and Environmental Manager at Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, one of the country’s best wildlife attractions.

Seeing hundreds of penguins arrive ashore to their natural habitat in the evening makes Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony a must-do activity. They are one of the most charismatic animals and it is a special privilege to be able to see a healthy, thriving population so close to town.

Philippa Agnew is the Science and Environmental Manager at Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. Photo / Supplied

Visitors love the close proximity to the penguins, all the while knowing the penguins are not disturbed by our presence. Our facility is structured in such a way that the penguins are free to come and go, and the dedicated viewing stands and boardwalks mean people can see the penguins and move around in the breeding area without disturbing their movements.

Most visitors don’t know just how much work goes on behind the scenes. We carry out weekly penguin monitoring work that began 30 years ago as a research programme, trapping and habitat maintenance work, and we have a penguin rehab facility where we care for sick or injured penguins.

All the work we do to look after the penguins has resulted in an increase in the number of penguins living at the site. When monitoring began, the population was around 30 breeding pairs and has increased to almost 300 pairs. What’s more, visitors are actively supporting the conservation and research work that we do; all the information that we provide visitors comes directly from our research.

Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony is one of the country’s best wildlife attractions. Photo / Supplied

In the past few years we have been working on a weigh platform that weighs and identifies penguins when they return home every evening. We have partnered with local manufacturer Te Pari Products who normally construct platforms for much larger animals. Soon we will be able to include this data in the visitor side of our operation. Our supporters can also adopt a penguin in the colony and soon, maybe we’ll even have a special login for those supporters to see data for their own adopted penguin. Watch this space.

While in Oamaru, visitors must visit one of the sites that make up the Waitaki Whitestone Unesco Global Geopark. The new accreditation highlights the international significance of the district and the geosites. Sites include, for example, the Moeraki boulders and Elephant Rocks.

The historic precinct of Oamaru is also a must-do, visiting the Victorian buildings, in particular Whitestone City (an interactive historical experience/museum) and then Steampunk HQ, for something completely different.

Then there’s the region’s Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail that stretches from the beautiful Southern Alps right down to the Pacific Ocean.

To find out more and to book, visit penguins.co.nz