pohatu penguin habitat

So we were on a cruise and each excursion costs like million bucks and the experiences provided by the cruise line are always second class (in fact our cruise director was incognito on this independent excursion) Anyway, our tour guide Avril was awesome. She took us on a beautiful scenic drive and stopped at some of the most beautiful vistas we'd ever seen. When we got to her families penguin preserve we saw several species of penguin (and lots of sheep too) and learned that her family is pretty much singlehandedly trying to rejuvenate the penguin population in Akaroa. Overall an inexpensive, charming and great experience.

This attraction is owned and operated by folks with a passion for nature, the animals and their beautiful land. If visiting the Akaroa area this is a must-see trip. You will see the very endangered blue penguins, some yellow-eyed penguins, as well as a multi-generational homestead that operates this animal sanctuary. Nothing fancy or contrived; but a genuine look at New Zealand's nature treasures.

The owners are very passionate to wildlife conserving, which is the most attractive part of this tour. This tour is one of the most scenic and perfect way to see Akaroa, specifically the Banks of Peninsula. Hence,what you can see is not just the sweet little town, but the adventure and the other side it could offer - understanding the endangered wild little penguins. I love the host, their effort to conserved the nature and wildlife. Thumb's up!

We visited in February and were picked up by Ben by our cruise ship. He drove us to the bay where we would complete our kayaking adventure.During our session we were very fortunate, in that we saw dolphins as well as plenty of seals and penguins. It really was something fabulous, to see the wildlife in their natural environment in the way we did.Ben was very knowledgeable and showed us the penguins that they had at the house by the lake. We got plenty of great photos and an experience that we will never forget.Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this day the success that it was!!!

We booked the sea kayaking tour, both my husband and I are in our mid-fifties and not very fit, were unsure if we could physically complete the tour but I suppose if you are lucky with good weather and an excellent guide anything can be accomplished.We were a bit apprehensive at the beginning of the tour when greeted by a ditsy middle aged woman, but once we met up with our guide Ben, we were reassured we made the right decision. The drive from Akaroa town to the starting area was a little scary as the roads are narrow and they are around hill tops but I am here to tell the story!I cannot speak highly enough of our guide, Ben, his passion for wildlife (birds in particular), knowledge of plants/foliage and his professional experience at leading this tour. We kayaked out with penguins swimming amongst us, seals and amazing scenery, he even took us into a cave.I can thoroughly recommend this tour, well worth it.

It's the end of penguin viewing season now but this tour was great. We had a friendly and informative tour guide, the views were stunning and different from what you'd see on your own - plus we got to meet some sheep and very cute penguins. I would have preferred a slightly shorter tour vs. including the stop at the owner's house for tea and biscuits but, all in all, it made for a great day.

5 of us booked the Pohatu Package. We were picked up by Ben in Akaroa and driven to Pohtau where we spent 2 nights in the supplied accommodation . We had a fabulous stay where we sea kayaked, saw the penguin habitats and the nature walks. The most amazing part of the experience was meeting the owner of Pohatu, Shireen. I don't know where Shireen finds the energy to do what she does. If it wasn't for her there would be far fewer penguins than there are.

Thank you for coming with us and your comment on tripadvisor. As you mentioned you came at the end of a season so less penguins are around. But even in season, on a day trip you would not be able to see hundreds of penguins. They either spend the day at sea fishing or on land in their burrows hidden from predators so if we can show penguins during the day it is because of the monitoring we do in the artificial nesting boxes. It is an important part of the conservation allowing us to check on the colony. If you wish to come back, try the months of October and November, there are the 2 months with thousands of penguins breeding.Concerning the cormorant it was a nice extra at the time. You might be glad to hear that even if it was tricky to feed, we have been able to rehabilitate it and send it back to sea.

4 hour tour versus 2 hour tour.I am sorry to hear that you feel that we have wasted time. Our 4 hour nature tour (FuIl Scenic Nature safari) is about experiencing all of what this unique area has to offer at a relaxing paced. This tour is conservation based including penguin conservation but is not only penguin focused. It gives you a broader view of the outer coast of Akaroa extinct volcano (walking down to the Akaroa Heads scenic reserve) and gives you a great opportunity to sit in the farmer’s garden around refreshments to talk with the locals. I do not know if you were on your own or with other participants but I doubt that we spend 40 minutes enjoying the peacefulness of the area if others were not enjoying themselves.The scenic reserve walk is an option depending on time but mostly on the fitness of the participants.

We originally booked a kayaking tour but due to turbulent winds we were rebooked onto a land-based tour. We had a very professional, knowledgeable, interesting, and enthusiastic guide who showed us around the beautiful countryside with all the points of interest and best scenic views. We had a very nice host at the farmhouse down by the bay who made delicious cookies and milk. The penguins were amazing and we got to get up close and personal with them, but they were wild, NOT a petting zoo situation. Very cool estate! Were completely blown away and greatly impressed. Would recommend to anyone!

We were travelling with our 5-year-old son and so opted to do the nature tour. Our guide was Shireen, who was so knowledgable and informative about Akaroa, its history, wildlife, farming and the penguins. We were treated to stunning views of Akaroa with lots of stops for photos. At the habitat we met several penguins and were able to see Shireen release one back into the wild after he had spent some time recovering from a flipper injury. My son also enjoyed meeting the sheep, ducks and puppies. An authentic NZ experience...kudos to Shireen and her crew for the work they are doing with the penguins and many thanks for sharing it with us!

We stayed 2 nights out at Flea Bay and was definitely one of the highlights of our 2 month trip to NZ and Oz. The guides were knowledgeable, friendly and great with our 7 tyear old son. The penguin tours at night were awesome as was the kayaking in the bay during the day. We were even treated to having a small pod of Orca Whales come right into the bay near the beach - so amazing. We would recommend for anyone who is interested in meeting wonderful people in a more remote setting and witnessing the natural wonders of the Banks Peninsula up close and personal!

We arranged this trip whilst in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula on the South Island in New Zealand. Their shop and booking office is across the road from the I-Site at the supermarket end of Akaroa.We set off with Avril of Pohato Penguin Tours at 11.00 am. She is the niece of the people who run the farm where they protect and foster the penguins and is she is very friendly and knowledgeable. It is quite apparent that she is passionate about protecting the penguins and conservation in general.There were seven of us on the trip and the route took us over some very winding gravel roads, some no more than tracks, fit only for four wheel drive vehicles. We stopped several times for photo opportunities although it was quite cloudy and given the altitude also cold. The farm is at Flea Bay and very remotely situated, quite different from the lifestyle to which we are accustomised. On our arrival we were greeted by an enthusiastic flock of sheep that came running to us expecting to be fed. It was quite different to sheep’s natural reaction to people and demonstrated how tame they were.The penguins we saw were White Flipper and Little Blue varieties.We were first shown a White Flipper penguin that was found with an injured flipper which looked like an infant but was just small (they are the smallest breed of penguin). We were then shown a baby Little Blue that had been orphaned and was tiny. It had to be fed several times a day on anchovies. There were many more in nesting boxes scattered around the farm. When we moved down onto the beach we saw seals resting on the rocks and on the way back to the mini bus we were lucky enough to pick up a Paua shell from the beach.We found the trip a rewarding and enjoyable experience, as it was the first real life encounter we had had with wild penguins.Contact: http://www.pohatu.co.nz/Penguin+Tours.html

This tour was great!! It was a small group and the tour was very personable. We got picked up in Akaroa and drove about 45 minutes (with 3 scenic photo stops along the way) to a family's farm. This family was great and it was really interesting to see what they are doing to help protect the penguins. They built little hobbit style homes for the wild penguins who have made their home there. We got to walk around the farm and see the different penguins up close. Really great tour, nothing else like it.

Pohatu Penguins is one of the most beautiful tours we have ever been a part of. Going to the top of Misty Point and to the beautiful Flea Bay with Kevin was spectacular. The views and the story of how his company is protecting and increasing the number of the cute Little Penguins was wonderful. And, seeing these darling animals and feeding the sheep at the farm made for a perfect day. Thanks, Kevin.