Luxury accommodation New Zealand in a private hotel Dunedin, Otago

default default default

Northern Royal Albatross

The remarkable adult Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) has a huge three metre wingspan and weighs up to 8 kgs. It spends half its life gliding the thermals out at sea, and the other half breeding. A total of 17,000 birds now survive. The only accessible breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatross in the world is at the Taiaroa Head at the far end of the Otago Peninsula.











Taiaroa Head currently boasts 25 breeding pairs. Most of these birds mate for life and rear a chick approximately every two years. Here they arrive in September, build their nests in early November, with a large white egg of up to 500 grams laid during the first three weeks of November. Parents then share 11 weeks of incubation duty, and afterwards take turns guarding the newly hatched chick for another 40 days. In total Northern Albatross parents spend nearly 300 days caring for the egg and chick before they leave their young and head out to sea for a full year. These endangered seabirds are not easily frightened by humans, and easily viewed at the modern and highly educational Royal Albatross Centre at Taiaroa Head, just 30 kms drive from Corstorphine House.

See our Otago Eco Discovery Package ยป