The wildlife capital of New Zealand

By Anna King ShahabFeatures correspondent

From seeing majestic albatross at The Royal Albatross Centre to walking through ancient cloud forest at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, two passionate conservationists share their top tips.

Known as the wildlife capital of New Zealand, Dunedin sits on the rim of an ancient volcano that is now Otago Harbour in the southern reaches of the country's South Island. In a country renowned for its natural beauty, Dunedin stands out: a city surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful landscapes teeming with endemic and endangered marine, bird, reptile and plant species.          

Two locals who have built careers out of a passion for protecting this natural landscape are Hoani Langsbury and Tahu Mackenzie.

Ecotourism manager for the Otago Peninsula Trust, Langsbury has spent more than two decades working on conservation efforts on the peninsula, a biodiversity hotspot that starts at the southern end of the city's harbour and stretches 20km into the Pacific Ocean. Langsbury's ancestors (his tribal affilitions are Ngāi Tahu, Kati Mamoe, Waitaha, Kati Hawea) had been living on the peninsula for around 500 years by the time the first European whalers arrived in the late 18th Century, and looking after the ecosystem here is his primary goal. "When the environment is cared for, there will always be interesting things to visit," he said.

Mackenzie spent her formative years running wild on the peninsula and is now an education officer at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a 307-hectare, predator-proofed and biodiverse area 20km north-east of the city. Mackenzie, who was awarded Educator of the Year in 2020 for her role providing learning outside the classroom to children and young people, describes her city as "the most stunning place in the universe".

These two passionate conservationists share their top tips on where to immerse yourself in nature in and around Dunedin.

1. Take a drive along the Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula is a long, rugged finger of land embraced by the sheltered harbour on one side and lashed by the wild waves of the Pacific on the other. It's also home to many animal species, and, according to David Attenborough, a place every visitor to Dunedin should see.

Exploring the peninsula's rugged coastlines and windswept white-sand beaches, juxtaposed with tranquil bays and rolling hills, yields the chance to spot a large variety of wildlife. "There are a couple of dozen species to see," said Langsbury, such as "fur seals, royal spoonbills, spotted shags and red-billed gulls. The gull colony is around 3,500 and growing, which lets us know the marine environment is healthy – although it can be a little fragrant!" While the coastal road is scenic, the Highcliffe Road that winds along the ridge offers the most sublime views.

If you're keen to spot as many species as possible on the harbour and peninsula, Langsbury recommends booking a tour. Monarch Wildlife Cruises offers a wide range of tours with options covering both land and sea, and all promising plenty of wildlife viewing.

From the sea, you get a prime view of the lighthouse at Taiaroa Head with fur seals lolling on the rocks below, and if you're lucky, Northern Royal Albatross riding the currents above their breeding colony. Langsbury says, "Keep an eye out for orca, including calves, which are often seen along the coast."

2. Get up close to majestic albatross at The Royal Albatross Centre

The northern royal albatross is one of the largest sea birds on the planet; its 3m wingspan helps it travel thousands of kilometres across the Southern Ocean to feed, returning to land to breed. Taiaroa Head at the tip of Otago Peninsula is the only mainland breeding ground in the world for this endangered species (the few others being on remote uninhabited islands), and The Royal Albatross Centre helps protect the colony while enabling a close-up look at the birds and their life cycle, from courtship and nesting to growing chicks eagerly welcoming a parent gliding in with a feed after a lengthy fishing trip.

"There's always something fascinating to see," said Langsbury. "Eggs are laid in November and hatch in January. In July the chicks start to lose their white fluff and gain flight feathers. They're large and ungainly at 10-12kg because their parents have been feeding them well. In August, their parents put them on a diet, dropping the portion size and landing about 50m away to make them walk. We have adults coming back to breed in September at the same time chicks are trying to take off, stretching their wings so that the wind pretty much lifts them up."

Book a tour to visit the glassed-in observatory with a view of five to six nests, including the nest that's home to  RoyalCam, a 24-hour livestream operated by Cornell University. This season, the star of the show is a male chick called Manaaki, who hatched on 20 January 2023.

The centre also runs tours of Fort Taiaroa, hidden underground beneath the colony. The fort was built and armed in the 1880s in response to the perceived threat from Tsarist Russia. Explore the underground tunnels and see the Armstrong Disappearing Gun, the only working model of its kind in the world.

3. See New Zealand's smallest and rarest penguins

Three species of penguin are found in New Zealand – and in Dunedin you can see two of them in the wild.

The hoihō (yellow-eyed penguin) is endemic to New Zealand and is one of the rarest penguins in the world. Tall and heavy with a yellow band of feathers from the eyes across the back of its neck, there are only several hundred breeding pairs remaining.

"From some of the beaches on the peninsula you might see hoihō landing at dusk, but you really need to keep a distance, they're very vunerable," said Langsbury. "It's best to see them at Penguin Place instead."

This reserve and rehab centre, located on the Otago Peninsula, offers daily guided tours where visitors can meet hoihō along the beach (along with other wildlife) as well as see sick, injured and orphaned birds being nursed back to health in the rehab centre.

Further up the peninsula, get a close-up view of kororā (little blue penguins) landing on Pilots Beach at dusk after a day out fishing.

Tip:

Pukekura's tour capacity is limited, so booking in advance is usually necessary.

At Blue Penguins Pukekura, you can get within a few metres of the world's smallest penguins thanks to a cleverly designed viewing platform that aims "to have as little impact as possible on the habitat", said Langsbury. "Low-glare, recessed lighting means that the birds aren't disturbed, they simply come up from the water, pass underneath the platform and head off to their burrows."

Several hundred blue penguins call Pukekura home, and Langsbury said there won't be any disappointed faces after a tour. "You're guaranteed to see penguins no matter what day you visit."

4. Walk through ancient cloud forest at Orokonui Ecosanctuary

Splitting from the continent of Gondwanaland to become geographically isolated 85 million years ago, New Zealand's landscape features many animal and plant species found nowhere else on Earth and vulnerable to introduced predators. Orokonui Ecosanctuary is a wonderful example of an "ecological island", its 307 wildlife-rich hectares protected by a predator-proof fence, boasting pockets of ancient forest and areas that are being returned to what would have existed pre-human arrival.

Tip:

You can pay an entry fee to walk the sanctuary's trails on your own, or book in for a guided tour.

"The native cloud forest here is unique," said Mackenzie. "Between two steep mountains, the valley attracts a vortex of cloud known as the 'Blueskin blanket'. The moisture gives sustenance to the lush ancient forest, which is rich with mosses, epiphytes, vines and ferns."

A variety of native birds and reptiles call Orokonui home, including pairs of rare takahe, a breed that was declared extinct in 1898; 50 years later, in 1948, a tiny population was discovered hidden away in a remote part of Fiordland. "You'll hear them before you see them," said Mackenzie, "the males' deep booming call vibrates through the ground." A kiwi creche nurtures young Haast tokoeka kiwi – a particularly rare subspecies of the rare, flightless and nocturnal kiwi, New Zealand's national bird.

Follow the ecosanctuary's social media to see what antics the baby kiwis get up to at night.  

5. Get immersed in nature in the central city

Its periphery is brimming with wildlife, but Dunedin also offers travellers a taste of nature at its heart.

"We're very lucky that a large tract of forest was preserved in the 1850s – the Dunedin Town Belt", said Mackenzie. The Victorian concept of a town belt – a buffer of natural landscape between city and countryside – was put into action in a number of British settlements, but in most cases the valuable land has gradually been lost to development. Dunedin's town belt remains impressive, encircling the land side of the central city and accessible within a short walk from The Octagon, Dunedin's central landmark.

When to visit

Langsbury says one of the best times for nature-lovers to visit is during the 10-day New Zealand Festival of Nature/Wild Dunedin festival. The festival takes place annually around Earth Day in late April and boasts more than 100 events celebrating the wildlife and wild places of the city. The festival will next take place 19-28 April 2024.

"There's a series of walking tracks, with panel and QR code interpretations along the way," Mackenzie said. "It's lovely to walk among trees that are hundreds of years old, right in the city". 

Mackenzie also highlighted two cultivated gardens that extend the green line of the town belt. Woodhaugh Gardens' tall trees are home to kererū, New Zealand's large native pigeon that famously gets tipsy on fermented fruit. Dunedin Botanic Garden is internationally recognised for its collection; admission is free, and Mackenzie says the cacti garden in the arid hothouse offers an enjoyable juxtaposition to the natural landscape of the region.

Mackenzie also recommends visiting the Tūhura Otago Museum where there's plenty to discover around the natural history of the Otago region and beyond. Be sure to check out the moa eggs in the collection – as Langsbury pointed out, moa (a giant, flightless bird now extinct) were once abundant on Otago Peninsula. Langsbury's ancestors, the first human inhabitants, he said, 'Ate very well... archeological evidence tells us they didn't have to bother with shellfish, there were plenty of moa to be had until they were hunted out."

6. Take a wild beach walk at St Clair or Doctors Point

Dunedin's coastline is stroked with long white-sand beaches, and you can choose your level of seclusion.

Head across the lagoon from Orokonui and a short way up the winding coast of Blueskin Bay and you'll arrive at deserted Doctors Point Beach. Go at low tide, says Mackenzie, so that you can wander through the series of large sea caves known as The Arches. "You might see penguins, seals, sea lions, and there are beautiful mermaid pools – the sea is a bit cold to swim in but it's nice to roll up your trousers and wade in the pools as you take in the astounding surroundings."

Just a 10 minutes' drive from the city centre, St Clair Beach boasts a long crescent of white sand and crystal-clear Pacific Ocean water studded with hardy surfers (a surf school is on hand for anyone keen to undertake initiation). Langsbury suggests a walk along the esplanade followed by lunch at Tītī, one of several restaurants overlooking the beach at its southern end, which sources as much produce as possible from local growers.

From Tit, the no-exit road leads to an open-air heated saltwater style pool built into the sea wall in 1884. If you want to explore further, Mackenzie says to look for the track starting by the pool and follow the coastal walkway for 15-20 minutes to neighbouring Second Beach. Here, entanglements of giant kelp lap the rugged shoreline and the rocky beach is backed by fascinating basalt columns. "The rock pools are full of sea creatures and fun to explore," said Mackenzie, "And if you're feeling brave you can climb up the lower columns. At the top of the columns are hollows – think of them like nests. Make yourself at home in one and watch the ocean awhile."

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