FAQ

When are you open? 

We’re open daily from 10:15am until dusk. Scheduling of tours may fluctuate from day to day, but typically we run tours hourly starting from 11:00am.

Although you can book your tour on arrival at the centre, we strongly advise booking an albatross tour in advance. We operate inside a Nature Reserve and have to stay within strict maximum capacity number of people per tour (including children and infants) and tours can fill up extremely quickly on busy days.

Can I get into the albatross colony? Do I have to book a tour to see albatross?

As the headlands is a breeding colony for a number endangered seabird including albatross, there is no public access past the Royal Albatross Centre.

For those wanting to see nesting albatross, we recommend booking onto one of our tours which will take visitors up to an observatory that overlooks the breeding colony. This allows visitors to observe the albatross in their natural habitat without causing disturbance the birds.

At the viewing platform over looking the ocean and cliffside at Pukekura, with come luck, you can see albatross and other seabirds in flight throughout the day.

How do I go to the lighthouse?

As the lighthouse is located deep within the Nature Reserve, there is no public access to the Taiaroa Head lighthouse.

For visitors wanting to see the lighthouse, we recommend walking to the free cliff-viewing platform where you can see the lighthouse from a distance.

What else can I do at the Royal Albatross Centre?

While not on tour, there are a few options to pass the time:

Interactive Gallery:
This informative gallery boasts information on the history of Pukekura and the wildlife that call it home.

Toroa Café:
Grab a bite to eat at our café and watch through the windows for potential albatross flying. Open 10:30am until the last albatross tour of the day.

Toroa Gift Shop:
Open from 10:15am, get some souvenirs to remember your visit!
Struggling with luggage space? Our online store is open 24/7 with delivery options.

Cliff Viewing Platform:
This free viewing platform overlooks the ocean and cliffside at Pukekura. If you’re lucky you could spot albatross, petrels, royal spoonbills, shags and red-billed gulls.

Takiharuru (Pilot’s Beach) Viewing Platform:
This free 5 minute walk takes you down to the Takiharuru viewing platform where you can look for kekeno (NZ fur seals) on the rocks. Open from 10:15am until 90 minutes before sunset.

Just after dusk, kororā (little blue penguins) make their way back to their nests on Takiharuru. Visit bluepenguins.co.nz to enquire about little blue penguin tours!

How do we get to the Royal Albatross Centre from Dunedin City?

The Royal Albatross Centre is a 32km scenic drive from the Dunedin city centre. Allow about 50 – 60 minutes if travelling directly by car, and plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your booked tour.

If you do not have your own vehicle, one option is to book a visit to the Royal Albatross Centre using a tour operator with a package that includes a tour with us and will provide transport from the city.

Public transport is not suitable as the closest bus terminates at Harington Point, which is a 40 minute walk away from the Albatross Centre with no footpath.

What should I wear to the Royal Albatross Centre?

The weather at Pukekura can be very changeable as it is a marine environment. We recommend dressing in layers and bringing warm clothes as it can be very cold and windy- especially in the evening. Sensible shoes are required when joining our guided tours.

We provide raincoats for the albatross tours, but if you are taking an evening tour with Blue Penguins Pukekura you will need to provide your own.

I have limited mobility, will I be able to get around?

Our centre is accessible to those with restricted mobility, with accessible toilets, cafe and displays.

On tours, we have a self-drive mobility carts available for visitors with limited mobility. We do ask visitors to request carts in advance so that we can assign a staff member to accompany the cart.

All tours offered at the Royal Albatross Centre will involve a short, approximately 5 minute, walk up a steep hill. If you are taking the Unique Taiaroa tour, there are two small steep staircases required to navigate through the fort. For further details, please visit our accessibilities page.

The free walk down to Takiharuru (Pilot’s Beach) viewing platform has steps and is roughly 150 metres from the centre.

How do I book a tour?

You can book tours online via our website or in person in our centre.

Due to limited space availability on any given tour, we strongly advise that you book your tour in advance to avoid missing out. Especially over the busy summer season, we occasionally have days where there are very few spots available to book in person.

If you have a promo or discount code, you can enter the code in while making your booking.
Please contact [email protected] for any issues you encounter while booking.

How close do we get to the albatross?

Albatross tours will take visitors up to an observatory which overlooks a section of the albatross breeding colony. The number and location of nesting albatross on view will differ from season to season, with typical distance ranging from approximately 30m – 40m.

Can you guarantee albatross viewing and flying?

As the albatross are wild animals and not in captivity, we cannot guarantee flying albatross sightings on any given tour. The albatross nest on the headlands almost year round, and when we know there are nests in front of the observatory we can guarantee sightings of the birds in those nests.

Albatross chicks depart the headland in September and new season nests are built in late October/early November. During October we hope to see new season adults on the ground, in the air, or both, but there is a chance we may not see any.

Please contact us for more information prior to your visit to check current viewing opportunities.

Are children allowed on guided tours?

People of all ages are welcomed on our guided tours. However, children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult while on tour with us.

Since we are entering a nature reserve and excessive noise may result in disturbance to the wildlife or other visitors. We ask that parents ensure their children are quiet on tour, and reserve the right to ask parents with children to finish the tour early if children are being disruptive.

How many can come on a family pass?

Family Passes include two adults and up to three school aged children (aged 5-17 years old). 18+ year olds are considered adults.
Infants (aged 4 and under) are free on the tour, but does count toward maximum capacities. So please do include them when making a booking.

Refund and Cancellation Policy

You have until 24 hours prior to your tour time to cancel or amend your booking. Cancellations or changes after this time are non-refundable.

In the event of a tour cancellation prior to the tour commencing (due to weather conditions), a full refund or tour re-scheduling will apply.

In the rare event where we do not see albatross on an albatross tour, we will offer visitors a free-of-charge tour to redeem within the next 12 months.

What is an albatross?

An albatross is a large seabird renowned for it’s graceful flight and long journeys over the open ocean. They are closely related to petrels, shearwaters and penguins. Albatross typically nest on hard-to-reach offshore islands, making the mainland colony here at Pukekura an incredibly special place!

What is the best time to see flying albatross?

Being large seabirds, albatross are dependent on strong winds to aid them in flight. We tend to see more frequent albatross flying on windy days, but as the albatross are wild animals we never know exactly when they will visit the headland. On calm days we typically see less albatross flying, but they may stay in the air longer as landing is more difficult.

What is albatross activity like this time of year?

November – January:
Adult albatross are nesting over this period, sitting on either bare nests or an egg. Their partners will be flying in to shift swap with them every few days.

Adolescent albatross will come to the headlands in order to court and find a mate.

January – February:
Chicks start hatching out of eggs from mid-January to mid-February. Albatross parents will be sitting on small chicks, and their partners will be flying in to shift swap every few days.

Adolescent albatross are still visiting the headlands in order to court and find a mate.

March – April:
Albatross parents start to leave their chicks alone on the headlands, and will return every 1-2 days to feed their chick.

The last adolescent albatross will leave the headlands for the winter in April.

April – August:
Chicks grow larger while sitting alone on the headlands. Each parent will return every 1-2 days to feed their chick.

September:
Albatross chicks fledge and leave the headlands over September. Parents cut down on the amount they feed their chicks. Before chicks fledge they will be more active in order to lose weight to make fledging easier. Once chicks fledge they won’t return to the headlands for another 3-5 years.

October:
Breeding adults arrive on the headlands in order to prepare for the next breeding season. During this period there are no albatross nesting on the headlands, so viewing cannot be guaranteed and is dependent on whether flying albatross return to the headland.

What other wildlife can I see around the area?

There is a variety of different wildlife that can be found at Pukekura, but you will have the most success wildlife-spotting over the summer months, when several seabirds come to Pukekura in order to breed.

Pukekura is home to New Zealand’s largest (and increasing) red-billed gull colony which is home to over 10,000 gulls at it’s peak in summer. Royal spoonbills, and several shag species including the rare Otago Shag breed around Pukekura and may also be seen.

NZ fur seals can potentially be seen year-round in the water or on rocky areas like clifftop viewing platform and Takiharuru beach.

Little blue penguins also breed at Pukekura but are scarce during the day – we recommend booking an evening tour with Blue Penguins Pukekura for the best chances of penguin sightings.

Can I bring my dog?

Pukekura is a nature reserve with several ground-nesting seabird species choosing to breed here. Please do not bring your dog or any other pet as it will disturb and possibly harm the wildlife.

Guide dogs are an exception to this rule and are welcome at Pukekura.

Can I fly my drone? 

Being a nature reserve, Pukekura is a permanent restricted airspace, and it is an offence to fly drones in this area.
It is also worth noting that in NZ, no drones shall be flown within 150m of marine mammals (or 300m vertically above).

For more information check the Dunedin City Council or Department of Conservation websites.

Can I feed the birds?

Never feed wildlife! They have specific dietary requirements. Feeding them human foods alters their natural diets and can leading to discomfort and malnutrition. Some foods can be a choking or a burn hazard. While other human foods are toxic to some wildlife.

Reporting sick, injured or dead wildlife?

Please do not handle sick or injured wildlife.
The Department of Conservation manages native NZ wildlife. Call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468), their 24 hour hotline.

For more information check this page on Department of Conservation’s website.

Can I donate towards Wildlife and Conservation on the peninsula?

You sure can!

The Royal Albatross Centre is owned and operated by the Otago Peninsula Trust – Aoteroa’s first not-for-profit charitable trust.

We have a donation box at our centre, otherwise, feel free to check out our Givealittle fundraising page.
Alternatively, donations can be made via the donations page on our online shop.