The Royal Albatross colony at the Taiaroa Headland on New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula offers an extraordinary chance to see nesting albatrosses.
The Royal Albatross colony on Taiaroa Headland
It’s a long time since the old fort on the Taiaroa Headland was used for spotting enemy ships. The visitors these days are far more welcome.
To see a northern royal albatross nesting is a rare privilege. These elegant birds, which soar so mesmerisingly above the ocean with their fixed wingspans of well over 2.5 metres, are rarely seen so close to humans. In fact, the Royal Albatross Centre at the end of the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin is the only human-inhabited ‘mainland’ colony in the world.
- For an Otago Peninsula day tour that includes the Royal Albatross Centre and Larnach Castle, head here.
The history of the Royal Albatross Colony on the Otago Peninsula
The first albatross egg was laid here in around 1920, although there was too much interference at the site for any chicks to successfully fledge until 1938. The conservation efforts started early, though, with a full-time field officer being appointed in 1951 to protect the birds and keep predators away.
The birds are electronically tagged to track where they get to, and it’s the longest continuous study of any animal population anywhere in the world.
- For a day tour from Dunedin including a guided visit to the Royal Albatross Centre and the yellow-eyed penguin colony, head here.
The lifestyle of a northern royal albatross
Albatrosses are quite remarkable creatures. When they fly the nest, they don’t do it by half measures. The first flight can take them as far as Chile without sleeping or eating.
They spend 85% of their lives at sea, mainly eating octopus and squid and drinking saltwater. They have been recorded flying at speeds over 130km/h, and they use remarkably little energy doing so. They lose more energy through heat loss in their feet when they touch the water than they do when flying.
After spending their first few years roaming the seas, they come home to find a partner – a process that generally takes two to three years. But eggs have to be fertilised on land, and that means that for the bulk of the year, albatross can be found guarding eggs or returning to feed chicks at the Taiaroa Headland.
- For an Otago Peninsula wildlife cruise, including the fur seals and albatrosses, book here.
Watching albatrosses fly in New Zealand
Through the windows of the old fort, it’s possible to see the albatross swooping on the updrafts. But there’s also one perched diligently just in front, protecting its egg. Suddenly, another flies in and clunks to the ground without a shred of the elegance it has in the air. The contrast between airborne grace and landlubbing clumsiness is joyous to see.
The male is coming home to take over egg-nursing duties. He wanders over to his partner, and soon she will fly off for a day or two, feeding herself up for the next stint.
- For Dunedin accommodation, check out the best deals here.
Seeing New Zealand’s albatrosses on a boat tour
To see the albatrosses at their finest, however, you need to be in a boat. The MV Monarch takes binocular-wielding passengers past the headland to observe not just the northern royal albatross, but several of its cousins.
The continental shelf is just 10km away, and the tidal currents coming out of Otago Harbour combine to make this a prime feeding ground. Southern royal albatross – the largest of all the albatross species, with wing spans up to 3.8m – feed here but never touch land.
They’re joined by the greater albatross, sooty shearwaters and giant petrels. The latter are smaller – they have two metre wingspans – but they make up for it by being highly aggressive scavengers. The other birds simply opt to not get in their way when one dives for something just below the water’s surface.
New Zealand fur seals on the Otago Peninsula
It’s not just birds that thrive here, though, and the good ship Monarch pulls up closer to the rocks, letting its passengers get a closer look at the New Zealand fur seals.
One of them is using its front flippers to slowly inch its way upwards to the rock pool where an absolutely gorgeous pup is hanging out. It’s an ungainly method of getting about, but apparently it allows them to climb as high as the lighthouse on the headland and run as fast as a human over short distances.
The pup looks out to sea. It probably doesn’t know that the next bit of land is South America, 8,500km away. But here, at the end of the world, wildlife has found a place to thrive.
More New Zealand South Island travel ideas
If you’ve enjoyed this account of watching albatrosses fly on the Otago Peninsula there are plenty more New Zealand South Island articles on Planet Whitley. These include…
- Seeing rare native birds at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.
- Why you shouldn’t visit Milford Sound from Queenstown.
- The shocking story of Larnach Castle.
- A road trip along the Catlins Coast.
- What to do on the Christchurch to Oamaru drive, before seeing Oamaru’s penguin colony.
- Kayaking around icebergs on Tasman Lake.
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