Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

We're just finishing up a week in the southern NZ city of Dunedin - we're actually staying on the Otago peninsula nearby, an area that's known for its wildlife and natural beauty. There are both blue and yellow-eyed penguins that nest on the beaches here and colonies of Sea Lions that also haul out on the sand. The weather hasn't cooperated too well - chilly and showery for the most part, but we have managed to get out & about in between the showers.

Dunedin was originally settled by Scottish emigrants back in the 1850's. In fact the name Dunedin is the Gaelic version of Edinburgh - their place of origin.


The Victorian facade of the train station in Dunedin


We've been able to do some hiking around the peninsula - an area that very much reminds us of Ireland, right down to and including all the sheep in the paddocks as we pass. As you can see it's been bundle-up weather for the most part. Hard to believe it's the middle of their summer.

This is a local landmark we hiked to earlier today called "Lover's Leap". Rita's afraid of heights so wouldn't get too close to the edge of the viewing platform.



Along the way we passed thru a picturesque section that we called the Orc Forest, since it reminded us of some of the scenes from LOTR.




You almost expect Frodo and Sam to come thru the trees in some places.




The hike today took us to one of the pretty sandy beaches along the southern coast. Pretty blustery but worth the effort. The prevailing winds from Antarctica have created some spectacular dunes - even rivaling the Nohili area at Barking Sands on Kauai. Going down was pleasant enough but the slog back up hill to the car was a royal pain. Thank goodness it was a cold day - we worked up a pretty good sweat trudging thru the ankle deep sand.



No beach trip here is complete without some critter sightings. This Sea Lion hauled himself up on the beach just after we walked by, and wasn't too happy to see us there when he looked around. Unlike fur seals, which are quite shy around humans, the sea lions aren't afraid of people at all. Quite the opposite. They get pretty antagonized if people get close and are known to chase you for 30 or 40 yards. If they catch up to you they pack a pretty severe bite too.


Stopped to eat lunch at one end of the beach and out of the wind. Wandered around a bit and came across this baby sea lion up in the dunes, apparently sleeping off his lunch.

We depart for Invercargill on the far southern tip of the South Island on the 22nd, then catch a flight over to Stewart Island for a week. The island consists almost completely of Rakiura National Park - one of the few places in New Zealand you can routinely see Kiwi birds and Wekas (a close relative) foraging for food in the open. Both are flightless, ground nesting birds and are endangered species. No dogs or cats are allowed on Stewart in order to keep predators away from the birds and the other wildlife that live on the island. No internet connectivity where we're going so we'll be blacked out for a week, until we arrive in Queenstown on the 29th.