As with everything that you find these days penguin tours do vary and it is up to you to know when a bargain is to be had. Unlike most other nature tours most penguin tours happen during the whole year, so you are never short of finding the correct inspiration. This is your guide to the workings of penguin life so that your understanding of these creatures is not only limited to what movies and nature channels have to tell you.

However, your specific location in Australia or New Zealand might limit you to certain penguin tour sites. Alternatively if this is too limited for you then you can travel to the other sites. However if you add fuel costs the closer to home penguin tours might prove worthwhile.

Technological aids

Due to increased need for understanding you will find that some penguin tours offer you great ways of learning about penguins. Some have more advanced technological tools such as MP4 audio tours along with your penguin viewing. Others offer you comprehensive guides that will keep you enthralled with the specific species that you are viewing.

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In some nature reserves you will be able to enjoy a more treated viewing of the penguins. This can be a romantic treat should you want to treat it is as one. Some parks offer you a viewing box that gives you an extraordinary view of the penguins. The reason for this is that penguin tours often happen at night as this is when the penguins return to their respective burrows to ‘get ready for bed’. So this means that you are sometimes outside and have to contend with the elements. You might not also be allowed to bring certain items. This then makes a viewing box an appealing option as you can sit in the warmth while enjoying the spectacular display or natural performance by the penguins.  Perhaps this is an option ideal for winter. You still get the close feel that penguin tours are all about.

Watch the penguins as the dive and fly through the air, and watch them waddle around on land. It’s absolutely breathtaking to be able to watch these lovely little birds in their home, undisturbed. Not only is New Zealand an absolutely magical, gorgeous place, the native animals are amazing to take in as well, and are one sight you simply need to see.

There are three different species of penguin that are native to the New Zealand area, and that are all available to see on penguin tours in New Zealand – simply a must-do activity for anyone touring through New Zealand! The first penguin is the Korora, or the little blue penguin, or little fairy penguin, which is actually the smallest penguin in the entire world! There’s something amazing about seeing this tiny little penguin on a penguin tour, or during the breathtaking penguin parade, in which hundreds, even thousands of these little penguins launch themselves out of the water. There is also the yellow-eyed penguin, which has an astonishing shade of bright yellow splashed on it’s face, as well as the Fjorland penguin, which is actually one of the rarest in the world! Not only does New Zealand have some of the most adorable, and fascinating birds on the planet, we also have two extremities – one of the rarest, as well as the smallest penguin on the planet! Also, since penguins are not a migratory bird, these particular species are not going to be seen anywhere else – they’ve been in New Zealand all their life, and will stay there, making them truly a New Zealand sight. This is one activity you simply cannot pass up!

There is something that is just truly magnificent about being able to witness animals in their natural habitat, outside of a zoo, and New Zealand is able to offer just that with their native penguin population. Being able to take in the breathtaking landscape of New Zealand, along with watching these adorable little birds is truly an experience simply like no other.

When hunting, penguins will typically go for a few different kinds of prey. Penguins gravitate towards krill, which is a kind of shrimp, small squids and small fish. Different kinds of penguins will go for different kinds of prey, but they typically gravitate towards the same kind of food, as this helps to rid of competition among species. Krill makes up the majority of the diet of both Antarctic and sub Antarctic penguins.

Smaller penguins, which are found along the Antarctic and sub Antarctic, will usually feed on both krill, as well as smaller squids, while those penguins that can be found farther north will usually eat small fish that they find while swimming.

The Adelie penguin will usually feed on smaller krill, while the chinstrap penguin will gravitate and hunt for larger krill, since they are a slightly larger penguin than the Adelie penguin.

Both Emperor penguins and King Penguins will usually eat small fish, as well as small squid, and do not usually eat krill unlike many other varieties of penguins, setting them apart from some of their relatives.

Penguins will eat more depending on the time of the year, as well as the amount of food available, of course. It also depends what area the penguin is in.  A colony of around 5 million Adelie penguins can eat up to 8,100 tons of krill and small fishes in a single day, demonstrating that penguins do need a lot of food despite being a smaller bird.

Penguins typically feed while in the water, about 15 metres underwater, but this is also dependent on the season, time of day, as well as the location of the penguin while feeding.

Penguins will usually use their sight, and not their hearing or sense of smell like some other predators. Penguins can spot their prey because the majority of their prey produces light, making them much easier to spot than some other preys. Penguins will often catch their prey with their bills, and swallow it completely, without even stopping to chew at all.

Different species of penguins will travel different distances when they are looking for food. Some penguins will go as far 15 kilometres, while some will actually venture as far as over 800 kilometres for their food. Sometimes, penguins will actually get their nourishment in holes mean for seals, or other various cracks in the ice.

What is the Penguin Parade? At dusk, the adorable and charming Little Penguin, also sometimes known as the Little Blue Penguin or Fairy Penguin needs to leave the ocean and go back to their burrows in the dunes. One by one, the Little Blue Fairy Penguins will begin to pop out of the water… You’ll see one’s head peek out, and then it leaves the water, followed by hundreds, and even thousands. Having spent the whole day out in the water, looking for food, it’s time to go home. It’s really amazing to see thousands of these sweet Little Blue Penguins scurry across the sand to their homes, and it attracts crowds from all over the world to take in this magnificent sight. The Little Blue Fairy Penguin is the smallest penguin in the world, hence its name, and is probably also one of the cutest, due to its minute size. The Penguin Parade is truly one of Australia’s most unique attractions, and something you certainly need to see while you’re in the area.

Australia is filled with gorgeous, secluded beaches that are perfect for Australian Penguin tours. It’s truly amazing to be able to experience and view the penguins in their own habitat. Being able to witness the penguin’s interact is a really unique experience you’ll be sure to remember forever.

Penguin tours are an incredibly exceptional experience you won’t find in many other places – penguins, for the most part, are not known to be migratory birds, and tend to stay strictly in one place. This makes Australia the only home of the Little Blue Fairy Penguin, a sight that is completely unique in Australia. Taking in a penguin tour is a totally unique spectacle that is absolutely like no other – you simply need to go on a penguin tour!

Since all penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, they are used to very warm temperatures and climates. While they do need to be varied somehow, as some temperatures are simply too much for other breeds of penguins when compared to what it takes for others. When the temperature is perfect for the penguins, they are much more likely to breed with one another.

Penguins will create colonies with one another, and then they will all breed in groups. When penguins create their colonies, they will try to avoid human disruption of any kind, and will avoid anything that makes them feel uneasy, uncomfortable or unsafe in any way. After penguins get into their colonies, they’ll start making a little nest for their family. Penguins will start finding their own pairs when they’re about three to four years old, and will become very physical and communicate quite a lot when they are courting one another.

The female penguin usually always lays two eggs, but not any more. Penguins actually lay the smallest egg when compared to their body size, when compared to all other birds. Out of the two eggs, one will either not hatch, or if both hatch, one will usually be incredibly weak and may even die off, as the penguins can only really raise one chick, and much prefer to raise the stronger penguin, as they know that they’re more likely to succeed and continue breeding.

Chicks will begin to mature and grow incredibly quickly after they hatch. After 3 months, they no longer need assistance from their parents, and are typically able to find food as well as fend for themselves, with little to no help from their parents.

Most penguins will usually mate for life, but that is not always the case. Some breeds of penguins will switch partners, such as the Humboldt, or Adelie penguin. Many penguins are actually capable of ways of breeding that many scientists and researchers aren’t aware of yet.

Penguins will still breed in captivity, despite the fact that many birds will often not. However, the penguin still prefers to breed in the wild.

Penguins are very social creatures – they love to communicate among each other, chattering away, squawking, and also using different body language to communicate different feelings and thoughts. They also use this kind of communication during breeding season, to find mates, as well as to warn one another when there are predators in sight.

Surprisingly, penguins don’t fear humans – they know that we’re no threat to them! Their main threats are things like predators like seals and whales, as well as oil spills, pollution, human land development, and the harvesting of their food.

Another surprising fact about penguins and humans? They can actually walk faster than humans! While their little waddle is obviously pretty comical, it actually allows them to walk incredibly quickly, even quicker than any human.

Penguins spend the majority of their lives in the water, and actually leap right out of the water while they’re swimming or paddling around. Many penguins can hold their breath for nearly 20 minutes while under water, allowing them to swim around and hunt for their prey. While on land, penguins will walk around, collecting stones, and then store them in the crop for later use. This helps them swim or float to the surface of the water quickly, since they need to breathe again quickly and easily after being under water for so long.

The penguin’s internal heating system is truly incredible. The body of the penguin is insulated with a layer of blubber, to keep them warm. Since penguins often live in Antarctic temperatures, it’s obviously important for them to be able to keep warm and stay that way, particularly in the freezing waters, which they will dive into in order to hunt for the small fish, krill and crustaceans that they often feed on. The penguin has more feathers on its body, layered and layered, over square inch, which helps to keep it warm in the frigid waters as well. The penguin will control its blood flow through its fat as well as relying on it for body heat. The penguin’s amazing body helps it keep warm and stay that way!

Penguins are mostly so adorable because of their ‘tuxedo’ appearance, as well as the fact that they’re not completely afraid of humans, unlike most other birds. They also seem to be full of personality, the way they constantly chatter and communicate to one another, as well as their adorable body language and signals they make in one another’s direction. The way many penguins communicate, and stick with one another in groups and colonies reminds us of our own nature as humans, making them even more endearing to us, whether they’re on the big screen, television, comics or books.

Typically, in pop culture, many authors and writers will portray penguins as living in the North Pole. It’s funny how when we think of penguins, we do typically imagine them in colder temperatures, when in fact; virtually all penguins do live on the Southern Hemisphere.

Most recently in films, penguins have become quite a hot topic. Penguins have been featured in Happy Feet, Surf’s Up, as well as March of the Penguins, all of which were box office smashes. These three films have all helped to make penguins popular in pop culture. Happy Feet features a penguin named Mumble, whom is an Emperor penguin, but isn’t able to perform the same mating call as them, leaving him to be rejected by the other Emperor penguin. However, Mumble is able to do a tap dance, which still leads to rejection from the Emperor Penguin. The Emperor Penguins then blame a sudden food shortage on Mumble, and they then force him out of their colony, after which he goes and attempts to live with the humans. Surf’s Up is another CGI film based on the life of penguins who surfed. March of the Penguins is more of a documentary based film, featuring the life of penguins.

Another popular mention of penguins in pop culture is the unforgettable Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which has now become a classic. Written by husband and wife duo Richard and Florence Atwater, the book was awarded as a Newbery Honor Book in the late 1930s, and has become an essential childhood book ever since.

Part of the penguin pop culture are also the television series Pingu, which was another childhood favorite for many, a cartoon following the lives of penguins, starring one named Pingu.

The Snares penguin is usually identified by its bill or beak. The Snares penguin’s bill is much thicker, larger, and even heavier looking than many other penguins that look similar to the Snares penguin. There is white all around the base of the beak.

When the Snares Island penguin breeds, they tend to breed in the summer. On Snares Island, the temperature is fairly moderate and warm, great for both vegetation and breeding. There is often a lot of fighting, and confrontation when it comes to fighting and finding both a place to nest and breed, as well as when it comes to finding and gathering nesting materials. The Snares Island couples will begin to find little holes in the ground, and then cover them with all of the materials that they gather together, usually grass, branches, sticks, and leaves from trees, that they find around, and use them to line their nest or burrow. When the nest is finished being built by the two Snares Island penguins, the female Snares Island penguin will then lay its two eggs, and like many other penguins, the first egg won’t hatch at all. Both the male and female Snares Island Penguin will incubate the egg that lives on and sticks it out, for at least two months. The egg will then hatch, and the female Snares Island Penguin goes out to hunt for food, while the male Snares Island Penguin will stay behind and look after the newly hatched penguin. The younger Snares Island chicks will stick together to protect one another, until they are old enough to look for one another.

Royal penguins breed all over the Macquarie Island, in little colonies that are scattered throughout the island. There are about 850,000 pairs of breeding Royal Penguins, which makes it one of the larger species of penguins. The Royal Penguin is actually the largest penguin out of the crested penguin species. The Royal Penguin has bright orange crests, as well as black crests, coming out of the sides of its head. The Royal Penguin also has white feathers all over its entire face. The Royal Penguin is a part of a sub-species of the Macaroni penguin, sometimes leading to the two being mixed up.

The royal penguin breeds in the early fall. The royal penguin will typically stick together in large groups, and is usually found near rockhopper penguins. The male Royal Penguin will come to the breeding area to begin building a nest, collecting all kinds of building materials, including twigs, branches, sticks, grasses and pebbles to build the nest. The female Royal Penguin will arrive within the month, and the male Royal Penguins will begin courting them over to mate, using their typical methods of communication, including chirping, vocalizations and verbal signs, as well as physical movements and signals. The female will then lay two eggs within a couple of weeks, and, like many penguins, only one egg will typically live on and stay alive. The male and female Royal penguins will take turns incubating this egg for a little over a month. The Royal Penguin chick will hatch out of the egg, and the male Royal Penguin will watch over the chick while the female Royal Penguin hunts for food to feed her family. After a while, both of the Royal Penguin parents become responsible for gathering and searching out food, leaving the Royal Penguin chicks alone. At this time, the Royal Penguin chicks will gather together to stay safe, and after two months they can fend for themselves completely.

The erect-chested penguin is often know as the ‘Sclater’s Penguin’.  There are about 200, 000 erect-crested penguins, and the erect-crested penguin looks a lot like both the Fjordland penguin, as well as the Snares crested penguin. The erect-crested penguin is actually the largest of the various crested penguin species, often weighing around 3 to 4 kg. The erect-crested penguin gets its name from, of course, the stiff crests it has, though it still slightly resembles some others. As with many other penguins, the male erect-crested penguins are typically larger than the female erect-crested penguins. The erect chested penguin is typically found strictly in New Zealand, or the sub Antarctic region, or among the Antipodes and Bounty Islands. The erect-chested penguin live and breed strictly on these four islands. The adult erect-crested penguins have black heads, as well as black throats, and will have a black throat with a yellow strip running across their face, with a white belly. Researchers do not know a lot about the breeding habits and patterns of the erect-chested penguin, but they are most likely similar to other erect-crested penguins.

Erect-crested penguins are known for being very social, and constantly communicate with one another through body language, movements and chirping. The erect-chested penguin often will notice each other through initially spotting one another, and then making their signature erect-chested penguin movements, and making their signature erect-chested penguin vocals in one another’s direction.

The erect-chested penguin usually breeds in the early fall, with the females following the males. The erect-chested penguin will begin building nests for themselves, as little holes in the ground, made out of any plants or materials they can find in the forest. They usually use some grasses, stones, and mud to keep it all together. The erect-chested penguin female will then lay two eggs, with only one of the eggs that hatch ending up surviving. The second egg will also usually be much larger than the first egg that the erect-chested penguin lays Due to the erect-chested penguin’s outgoing, vocal nature, they typically are very argumentative when building their nests, often fighting over building materials and where they choose to nest. The erect-chested penguin tends to live in tightknit groups, and sticks closely together.

The erect-chested penguin tends to feed on crustaceans, small fish, and krill, which is typical of many varieties of penguins.