One Traveler’s Quest to Spot Every Penguin Species on Earth

On a rare calm day at Macquarie Island—a remote sliver of land halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica—I sat on a black-sand beach as gentle waves lapped the shore. A group of royal penguins waddled by, stopping to inspect my boots. When I turned around, two more had crept up behind me. I pulled out my phone for a selfie. That moment marked my 15th penguin species in a five-year mission to see all 19 in the wild.

The idea didn’t start as a grand plan. In 2020, I stumbled upon African penguins at a reserve near Cape Town and was instantly charmed. But it wasn’t until a 2021 Antarctic crossing that I got hooked. Watching albatrosses ride the wind from the ship’s deck, I thought: Birds are actually fascinating. A guide later mentioned his dream of seeing every penguin species, and the challenge stuck with me.

I began serious planning during a New Zealand trip, tracking down yellow-eyed, little blue, and Fiordland crested penguins. Luck played a role: a lone Fiordland crested appeared on the rocks at Milford Sound, and yellow-eyed penguins crossed the beach at dusk. Then came an 18-day Atlantic crossing aboard the National Geographic Explorer, taking me from Ushuaia to Cape Town via the Falklands, South Georgia, and Tristan da Cunha. I spotted five species in the Falklands alone, and on South Georgia, hundreds of thousands of king penguins created a deafening, mesmerizing colony. The highlight was the Moseley’s rockhopper, found only on a tiny islet near Tristan da Cunha.

To finish the journey, I joined a birding-focused cruise to New Zealand and Australia’s subantarctic islands. On Enderby Island, yellow-eyed penguins marched fearlessly across hiking trails. At Macquarie, millions of penguins shared the shore with elephant seal pups. On the Antipodes, I spotted my 17th species, the erect-crested penguin.

Now, only the emperor and Humboldt penguins remain. But I’m in no hurry. The real reward has been the remote islands, the long days at sea, and the shared excitement with fellow bird lovers. Maybe next I’ll tackle albatrosses.