Ōamaru Penguins - Ōamaru, Otago, New Zealand

Every night after sunset, the world’s smallest penguins swim home to this rocky shore. In winter only a few dozen come in, but during the summer breeding season up to 250 land in a single night. During the day, keep an eye out for New Zealand fur seals instead.

The colony sits in an old quarry. Back in the 1960s, rock was dug out here to build Ōamaru Harbour. Once the quarrying stopped, the penguins moved in. A protected colony was set up in 1992 with about 30 breeding pairs, and it has since grown to more than 200.

In its best season on record, nearly 1,000 chicks made it out to sea from Ōamaru’s two colonies, and one busy pair raised six chicks when two is normal.

Did You Know? Russell, a town in the Bay of Islands, used to be called Kororāreka, which means “delicious little blue penguin.”

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