This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Ōamaru Penguins has reached another milestone this week, welcoming its 100,000th visitor for the season.
The figure already surpasses last year’s record-breaking total of 82,226 visitors, with the season continuing through to June.
The milestone follows a record breeding season for the colony, with 994 kororā chicks recorded across its two sites.
Ōamaru Penguins operates without external funding, with ticket sales supporting its conservation and research work focused on protecting and understanding the little penguin population.
Ōamaru Penguins general manager operations and commercial Cyndi Christensen says visitors value the opportunity to experience the penguins up close while supporting conservation efforts.
“Visitors discover we’re doing something quite special here. Bridging the gap between sustainability, conservation and ethical tourism, every aspect of our work feeds directly back into protecting the kororā.
“Having broken records for both visitor numbers and breeding this season shows that our formula is working.
“We are really proud of the success we’re seeing, and the contributions the Colony is making both to the conservation of kororā and to the regional tourism industry.
“We are grateful to all of our visitors and supporters because the work we do cannot be done without them.”
Tourism Waitaki general manager – RTO Heather Matthews says the season reflects both the quality of the attraction and wider visitor growth across the district.
“The tourism industry continues to mature across the Waitaki district where its natural and cultural treasures range from the Waitaki Whitestone UNESCO Global Geopark and the Alps to Ocean cycle trail, through to Steampunk HQ and the historic Ōamaru Heritage Precinct – currently in the global spotlight as an East of Eden filming location.”
The 100,000th visitors, from Ōamaru, received a certificate and penguin adoption package to mark the occasion on Monday, May 25, 2026.
Ōamaru Penguins is open seven days a week, with evening viewing times currently starting at 5.15pm.
