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Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Come and discover the world’s only mainland Royal Albatross Colony at beautiful Taiaroa Head.
Gain an up close and intimate experience with these magnificent birds and learn about their secret lives during this fascinating 1 hour guided tour.
Enjoy a short film that tells the story of the Albatross then watch the birds in their natural environment from the viewing areas on Taiaroa Head.
Learn about the area’s rich cultural history and sit back and enjoy a snack at the Royal Albatross Centre’s café.
This informative wildlife experience is not to be missed!
Price:
Location: 1260 Harington Point Road, Dunedin.
Transport: The Centre is located a 45-50 minute drive from Central Dunedin. There is no public transport to the tip of Otago Peninsula, own transport is required.
Please note: Due to high demand for the albatross Centre and the Penguins, exact trips times will be confirmed with you via email from the centre. Trips run every 30/60 minutes so if your exact time selection isn't available, you will be scheduled to the next available trip. You MUST check in 30 minutes prior to your tour to present your voucher and be issued tickets.
Authenticated Reviews & Photos All of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme
Showing all 14 authenticated Bookme reviews
From Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Kia ora and thanks for taking the time to write a review. Thanks for supporting us by taking a tour. There is the chance for great viewing at the moment, with 3-6 nests on view, chicks hatching and adolescents back at the colony and socialising. Our team love sharing their knowledge and stories of the albatross and introducing visitors to the 'Royals of Taiaroa'. It is indeed a special and unique experience to be able to view these magnificent wild birds in their natural habitat and see the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross close up. Your tour fees do go to a good cause - for conservation and education programmes to help look after this amazing wildlife sanctuary. A portion of the tour fees goes to the Pukekura Trust and supports the Trust's role as guardians of the headland. Our Otago Peninsula Trust is NZ's first charitable conservation trust, which was set up in 1967 to 'preserve and enhance Otago Peninsula'. As well as supporting conservation, pest control, habitat restoration and visitor facilities we also offer special prices and days for families to enable greater access and appreciation to the colony. We run education programmes for school children at a minimal cost for the pupils; in 2016 we hosted around 1500 students. The Trust also donates over $11,000 of free tickets annually to help schools, charities and good causes fundraise. The Royal Albatross Centre itself, with it's comprehensive historical and educational displays, videos, toilets, cafe, gift shop is free to access for everyone. This is only made possible by the Trust's activities. As you will appreciate, it costs a significant amount to run a centre like this 364 days a year. We very much value all the contributions people make so that the Trust is able to offer this access and facilities to everyone year round. The cost of providing water and toilets to guests is about $100,000 per annum as water and sewage have to be trucked in and out of the headland. Thank you so much for your support of our Trust. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday! All the best Ashleigh Compton
Jillian from Australia wrote on 11 October 2016
Must do tour
A must for any one who wants to see these magnificent birds in the wild. Very informative and great viewing area.
From Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Kia ora and thanks for taking the time to write a review. Our team love sharing their knowledge and stories of the albatross and introducing visitors to the 'Royals of Taiaroa'. It is indeed a special and unique experience to be able to view these magnificent wild birds in their natural habitat and see the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross close up. Your tour fees do indeed go to a good cause - for conservation and education programmes to help look after this amazing wildlife sanctuary. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday! All the best Ashleigh Compton
Rosalind from United Kingdom wrote on 02 December 2016
Albatross on egg
Interesting and saw Albatross sitting on egg but none in flight (there was little wind). Cafe good also.
From Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Kia ora and thanks for taking the time to write a review. Our team love sharing their knowledge and stories of the albatross and introducing visitors to the 'Royals of Taiaroa'. It is indeed a special and unique experience to be able to view these magnificent wild birds in their natural habitat and see the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross close up. Your tour fees do indeed go to a good cause - for conservation and education programmes to help look after this amazing wildlife sanctuary. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday! All the best Ashleigh Compton
Kirsty Freeman from New Zealand wrote on 04 December 2016
Albatros- Classic
bit expensive for what it was I thought...I hope the majority of the money goes to protecting the birds etc..
From Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Kia ora and thank you for your review. The cost of the tour contributes to the stewardship of the Albatross. It enables the Otago Peninsula Trust, which manages the Royal Albatross Centre to continue to offer albatross experiences to the public, to offer education programmes to children, free interactive displays contributing to understanding of the peninsula wildlife and ecosystem for visitors and to continue in its role "To preserve and enhance the Otago Peninsula". A portion of the tour fees goes to the Department of Conservation and supports the department's role as wildlife guardians and for their management and care of the albatross at the colony. The $50 cost for the one hour tour or $55 cost for the 90 minute tour compares very reasonably with other NZ tour attractions - and as this is run by a not-for-profit trust you can be assured that the tour revenue is being used for a great cause! Thank you for taking a tour to the Royal Albatross and supporting the work of the Otago Peninsula Trust. As a kaitiaki of the headland we are primarily driven by the conservation of all the species that call Pukekura home, including the Royal Albatross at the world's only mainland albatross breeding colony. We love to share this special place and unique wildlife experiences with our visitors. By taking a tour visitors are contributing to the care and conservation of these species – we are the only operator that submits funds to the Department of Conservation for Royal Albatross viewing. The best way to see albatross is by taking a tour, otherwise there may be an occasional one spotted flying from a distance, we offer the best chance to see albatross in their breeding environment - the only mainland royal albatross breeding colony in the world! Otago Peninsula Trust is NZ's first charitable conservation trust, which was set up in 1967 to 'preserve and enhance Otago Peninsula'. Our Annual Report is available online for anyone to view to see how funds are used and the good work we carry out; Trust members have membership privileges, we also offer special prices for families and days where locals can visit for very special prices. We run education programmes for school children at a minimal cost for the pupils. In 2016 we have hosted around 1500 students. The Trust has also donated over $11,000 of free tickets to help schools, charities and good causes fundraise. The Royal Albatross Centre itself, with it's comprehensive historical and educational displays, videos, toilets, cafe, gift shop is free to access for everyone. This is only made possible by the Trust's activities. As you will appreciate, it costs a significant amount to run a centre like this 364 days a year. We very much value all the contributions people make so that the Trust is able to offer this access and facilities to everyone year round. The cost of providing water and toilets to guests is about $100,000 per annum as water and sewage have to be trucked in and out of the headland. The albatross guided tour offers an informative, knowledgeable hosted experience for the limited number of visitors that are permitted by the Department of Conservation to access the colony. This includes a video, explanation of and insights into the lives of albatross, exclusive viewing from on the wildlife reserve and the only chance visitors have to easily access a close up experience of an albatross breeding colony. The activity is different every day, all year around as albatross court, breed and raise their chicks. We have 30 nests with 4-6 in view of our exclusive observatory – chick hatching is currently underway. There are over 20 species of wildlife that live at Pukekura, the observatory allows viewing of this wildlife too – and magnificent views of Otago Harbour and Peninsula. We very much value to contribution that visitors are able to make to this precious wildlife sanctuary by supporting the Royal Albatross Centre's tours and activities. All the best Ashleigh Compton
Marjolein Damen from Netherlands wrote on 18 October 2016
Royale Albatros Center
Very good, close view ons the albatrosses and a very good explenation
From Royal Albatross Centre - Classic Albatross Tour
Kia ora and thanks for taking the time to write a review. Our team love sharing their knowledge and stories of the albatross and introducing visitors to the 'Royals of Taiaroa'. It is indeed a special and unique experience to be able to view these magnificent wild birds in their natural habitat and see the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross close up. Your tour fees do indeed go to a good cause - for conservation and education programmes to help look after this amazing wildlife sanctuary. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday! All the best Ashleigh Compton
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Ross from Australia wrote on 21 December 2016
This was the highlight of the South Island tour
We all loved the experience of seeing the Albatross up close, while we were in the observatory 5 young Albatross got together and had a party. Not only did we see the Albatross soaring past our window but there were the NZ fur seals swimming around below and many other birds. Our guide was great telling us all about the location and the birds, a wealth of knowledge.