Elm Wildlife Tours: Peninsula Encounters!
“Elm Wildlife Tours” is a highly committed, award-winning tourist operator offering a wide range of different tours on the Otago peninsula all year round. The “Peninsula Encounters” tour is a full day trip known as their most popular tour, taking you to the peninsula’s wildlife hotspots to see Albatross, Sea lions, Fur Seals, Yellow eyed Penguins and some other birds along the way.
In the afternoon we got picked up by a “Elm Wildlife Tours” shuttle in Dunedin’s city centre.
Something that we really liked straight away was the small group size, making the tour a lot more intimate. When we all made ourselves comfortable we got handed out information sheets (also available in multiple languages) that gave us brief summaries about the main attractions we are going to see on the trip and a list of birds we could be spotting. The guide also encouraged everyone to introduce themselves so that everyone gets to know each other a little bit and made the trip a lot more social as well.
Our first stop was the Albatross centre to see the Royal Albatross. There was an Albatross centre/museum as well, which we had time to explore while a couple of people went to a private conservation area to watch the Albatross up closer (has to be added to the tour separately or as a package). Due to the season and weather we visited we unfortunately weren’t very lucky to see the Albatross up close (only from very far away), which was a little bit disappointing, especially because we missed our chance to see them in Kaikoura as well.
Our next stops were the breeding NZ Fur seal colony, Sea Lions and Penguins. The private conversation areas we accessed were absolutely stunning and made us feel very thankful to be here. At this stage a little bit of walking is required and so a basic level of fitness is advantageous. Appropriate warm and waterproof clothing is a must, even us wearing a millions of layers were still cold due to the windy weather conditions. We'd also advice to wear walking boots to keep your feet nice and toasty, especially when it’s wet or muddy so be aware of the fast changing weather when preparing for the trip. We'd also like to mention the urgent need for drinks and food to keep you going all day.
Jordan and I had already seen so many fur seals that we didn’t expect anything amazing. However, we were surprised by the largest breeding colony we have seen during our travel plus the biggest and most adorable group of baby fur seals. We literary could have watched them play around forever. Down at the beach a number of sea lions were already waiting for us and we even saw penguins coming out the water every now and again. The most entertaining parts were when a Sea lion wanted to play with us and so tried to chase us (so obviously the guide saw this coming and led us to another save track) and when two penguins greeted each other with a specific greeting.
Our guide was absolutely amazing, probably one of the most knowledgeable and passionate guides we’ve had during our travels. He always pointed out bird species to us and had plenty to say about them, which was very impressive. He was especially fascinated by Sea lions that he has been studying for years, which was of course the highlight from the guide’s point of view. Especially the private conservation areas make the trip a highly unique experience.
Again there are so many different tour options that fit everyone’s requirements so we recommend checking out all the options on their website, the link is down below.
Kiwi Scores: Action: 3/5 Service: 5/5 Uniqueness: 3/5 WOW-Factor: 4/5 Cultural value: 3/5 Value for money: 5/5 Accessibility: 3/5
Useful Links:
VLOG: https://youtu.be/sOXYLy7nFbc
Elm Wildlife Tours: https://www.elmwildlifetours.co.nz/our-tours/peninsula-encounters