Southland artist Danny Owen, aka Deow, was walking along the beach last Friday with his wife and his 2-year-old daughter Gigi Owen when he saw the animal.
"We were sort of coming down from the north entry and thought ‘what the hell is that?’ We thought it was a toddler in a uniform, like, dressed up.
It was the first time she had seen a penguin in real life and the toddler was stoked with the discovery, he said.
Mr Owen was surprised as he had walked along the beach every week for years.
He said he had never imagined he would spot such a rare species.
"It was about two, almost three feet tall, so it was big.
"We just sort of had a wee look from a distance, and decided to take Gigi up for a look at it. The penguin seemed fine, in good health, but obviously lost because it wasn’t in Antarctica where it should be."
He said since Friday his daughter had continually asked to see the photos of the penguin and could not stop talking about it.
"It was kind of cool to see it and I know Gigi really loved it, so I think it was definitely a rare experience."
The king penguin is the second-largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. They usually live on subantarctic islands.
