Elm Wildlife Tours

"To put this in context, this was our first big holiday with our son that required him to be engaged in what was going on. He’s 5, and gets fidgety if he isn’t sufficiently interested in something. Our trip lasted several hours and included picturesque drives, walks and a fairly involved boat ride, and I’ll remember each of those with great fondness. The structure of the trip is very simple, and the staff are extremely knowledgeable, engaged and personable. The terrain is reminiscent of the Scottish countryside and in winter I imagine this would remind one of the Central European alps. With almost zero flat terrain driving, the views outside were unbelievable - complemented by the depth of knowledge (and wit) about the area down by the gentleman who drove us. We went to see albatross after that- flying in and out of their nests off the mountains by the sea while sea lions were leisurely taking in their much needed late afternoon naps - a scene straight out of Discovery Channel. At the penguin sanctuary, it warmed my heart to see that the whole tour was designed with the conservation of these animals in mind - we were told what animals we were seeing and why it was important to give them space etc. My favorite part was walking through the trenches to go see the penguins. And we actually did manage to, which is generally dependent on multiple variables, none of which was in our control. This tour was an absolute delight and having a tour guide like Mike made it even more enjoyable-he kept giving us small info about animals and other important landmarks etc and had a very good sense of humor. Thanks to Tim, Nigel and the rest of the staff at the boat too, they went above and beyond to make it an enjoyable trip for all of us. And my five year old was engaged throughout the entire 7 hours - unless he was hungry of course! Pack your snacks."

"We had a wonderful tour and a fantastic experience. We did the Royal Albatross Centre guided tour first (definitely worth it) which have us amazing views of the birds. And then we went to the farm and saw fur seals, sea lions, yellow-eyes penguins and even a blue penguin. You definitely want good hiking shoes and a jacket to stay warm. Thanks Warren for an outstanding time."

"We had such a great day on this from our ship. Yosh was so interesting on local bird life etc. We had a good visit to the albatross centre. Saw chicks and also albatross. Nice picnic lunch on the hoof, and off to seals and penguins. We may also have been lucky as we also saw at least 5 albatrosses out on the sea. Spectacular scenery, superb guide, a bit lucky with the weather. Nice quick spin round Dunedin, including the station and steepest road in the world. Probably my wife’s best day of our holiday, definitely the best of our cruise. Many many thanks."

"I decided to do this trip at the last minute but they were very accommodating and squeezed me into the afternoon tour. I had no expectations I really just wanted to see the yellow-eyed penguins. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience, I had SO much fun! Jane was our guide and she was outstanding; she offered fantastic customer service! She is enthusiastic and passionate about animals and she is so knowledgeable; I really enjoyed learning from her, she's a great teacher. The weather was perfect for wildlife sightings so we got to see lots of different animals, including several penguins, which I was so stoked about! Overall very impressed with the whole experience and recommend it if you are in Dunedin! :)"

"This was our first nature tour in the beautiful country of New Zealand and it did not disappoint. Our guide, Stuart, was friendly and very knowledgeable and really helped immerse our group in the local wildlife. Would highly recommend this tour - only drawback was no dinner stop, so make sure and bring snacks and food along with you!"