The prince, a tuatara and a bumblebee

The Prince of Wales has met a young tuatara, and an uninvited bumblebee, during a visit to a conservation sanctuary near Dunedin.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, visited the Orokonui Ecosanctuary as the last event of a busy day in Otago - the second day of their seven-day tour of New Zealand.

During a short walk around the sanctuary, the prince was shown and then held a young tuatara.

A bumblebee chose that moment to surprise the prince by landing on his crotch, prompting him to quickly return the lizard to its box.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were earlier greeted by about 2000 fans in Dunedin.

The couple took a train to the city from Mosgiel, where they were greeted by about 500 people and spoke casually with locals eager for a brush with royalty.

As well as the visit to the ecosanctuary, the prince got behind the wheel of a virtual America's Cup yacht on a high-tech simulator at Dunedin firm Animation Research.

The duchess, meanwhile, met several of the country's top and aspiring authors and poets - including Hairy Maclary creator Lynley Dodd - at the University of Otago.

Esther Devaney, who had a brief chat with Prince Charles after the couple's arrival in Dunedin, said she found him very genuine.

"I congratulated him on his grandchildren and he looked me straight in the eye and said 'thank you, that's so kind' - he was really cool.

"As a child, they came on the royal yacht Britannia and I remember my mum taking me down to the wharf and there was this amazing smell - and my mum said, they're cooking turkey for their tea tonight.

"We were so excited because we thought to be royal, that's what you must do - eat turkey every night for dinner."

Five-year-old Saffron Chisholm, from St Mary's School in Mosgiel, presented the royal couple with a bouquet of flowers, a crossword book and a box of chocolates.

Her mother said it was a spur of the moment decision this morning to organise the gifts.

In the central city, about 1500 locals of all ages lined the barricades along the 300m walk from the Dunedin Railway Station to Toitu Dunedin Settlers Museum.

The prince and duchess, who shook hands and talked with fans, met with descendants of some of Dunedin's oldest settler families and were welcomed with a haka at the museum.

At Animation Research, as well as trying out the yacht simulator, Prince Charles tried on a virtual reality headset that took him on a virtual jet boat on the Shotover River.

"I'm not going to look for too long," he laughed.

The virtual jet boat trip featured the same driver who drove Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge when they visited New Zealand last year.

Royal couple visit students in Wellington

Before travelling south, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall individually visited Tawa College near Wellington and Te Whaea, the National School of Dance and Drama.

The prince was led into Tawa College with a rousing haka and music performed by the school choir, the Blue Notes. He then circulated the hall chatting candidly with students.

He also watched the girls' cricket team practise and spoke with members of the first XV rugby team.

Wearing a suit made of New Zealand wool, Prince Charles also viewed a wool exhibition on display in a large shipping container in the school grounds.

For Tawa College principal Murray Lucas, it was his second time meeting Charles - the first was in 1980, as a young teacher at the same college.

"I also just commented how much I appreciated his work for the environment as well, which I think is fantastic.

"We had a talk about that and I just said how much I appreciate the way he related to each student because they felt special because of his visit."

At Te Whaea, the National Dance and Drama Centre in Wellington, about 80 students gave the duchess a choral welcome.

She was given a tour of the facility, in the suburb of Mount Cook, escorted by Lady Janine Mateparae.

The duchess was also treated to a classical ballet performance and visited the costume workshop, a pilates studio and a contemporary dance class.

One actor, Jasper Powell, was taken aback when the duchess stroked his fur coat.

"And then she was like, you look warm, not at all fazed, and she just sort of jumped right into it.

"We were expecting her to plough on through but she took her time with us which was really quite nice."

The prince and duchess attended a wreath-laying ceremony yesterday at the Pukeahau National Memorial Park in front of about 100 people.

They leave New Zealand next Tuesday for Australia where Prince Charles will celebrate his 67th birthday at a beach barbecue in Perth on 14 November.