The South Island is a veritable cornucopia of marine wildlife, you literally can't walk onto a beach without finding mussels, cockles, paua or crabs. The further south you get the bigger the marine life, until you are almost running smack into thirty pound albatross and enormous seals. The catch is that most of the known nesting grounds are surrounded by maximum security prison-grade razor wire fences and cute little tourist centers that charge upwards of $40 for the privilege of viewing New Zealand's most stunning wildlife.
If you are ever in the area and insulted by the steep admission prices let me recommend two worthwhile things to do. Sit in the parking lots of the attraction. The penguins seem to have run of the place and many nests stretch beyond the fences keeping humans out. Albatross and other seabirds are obviously not obstructed by measly 10ft razor wire and can be viewed quite clearly from outside proper viewing grounds. The second thing to do is to ask the locals and I don't mean the woman working at the i-SITE info desk, but the Kiwi's in your campsite or at the local cafe. Many of them have spent their entire lives in the area and have a wealth of valuable tips for viewing wildlife in an intimate, natural and free setting.
It's probably the closest you will ever get to seeing these magnificent creatures outside of a zoo and I urge you to walk off the beaten track, skip the hoardes of obnoxious flash-happy tourists and seek the animals in the setting in which they were meant to be seen. Even from a distance, squinting in the last lights of day, you will not be disappointed.
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