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Otago Travel Blogs

Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

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By Lowery
October 4th 2009

45 Degrees South, 168 Degrees East Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Queenstown

sunset/moonrise

A warm hello to all our friends and family waaay up north, and welcome to our newest blog from Queenstown, New Zealand. We finished our last entry searching around for somewhere to live that wasnt a garage with a bed and a sofa in it, and after a couple of weeks searching through the local rags we spotted a cottage available to rent. Along we went for a viewing, and to our delight it was perfect for what we needed. It is a two bedroomed bungalow with a nice log fire in the living room. When lit, it makes you [View Full Entry]

41 Goldfield Heights, our home away from home

By RV Travel
September 30th 2009

Otago Peninsula Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago

If you are seeking a wildlife experience in New Zealand, or just want to talk the language of wildlife in New Zealand then it should be the Otago Peninsula. Aside from Royal Albatrosses and yellow eyed penguins, you can also find sea lions and the occasional sea elephant but the only mainland colony of albatrosses is at the Taiaroa Head which also have seals, penguins and commorants around. Otago Peninsula is located in Dunedin, South Island this haven features deep river gorges and a series of river basins. It stretches along the southern edge of the Otago harbour. You can reach [View Full Entry]

By LoYo
September 29th 2009

The Catlins Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Catlins

Catlins

A few weekends ago I went to the Catlins national park with my friends Clara and Jenny. We drove to Invercargill on Friday and then spent saturday and sunday driving around the catlins and getting out to do short walks, see look out points, and see waterfalls. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend with those girls. We all really enjoyed ourselves and got an entire hostel to ourselves on saturday night which was really nice. The Catlins is so beautiful. I guess everybody will have to get used to me saying this about everywhere I go, but New Zealand [View Full Entry]

By LoYo
September 22nd 2009

Bays in dunedin Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Dunedin

Boulders

Last sunday I rented a car with some friends and went to some of the different beaches and bays surrounding dunedin, the city I live in. We first went to a bay called the boulders, which has perfectly shaped round boulders that look pretty strange. After that we had lunch at a beach called St.Claire. Then we went to a look out called lovers leap. The last thing we did was go to sandfly bay. It had lots of people on it but also tons of wildlife. It was surprising seeing people play rugby right next to the monstrous sea lions. [View Full Entry]

By Ferdi and Talita
September 1st 2009

Day 217-219: Dunedin to Balclutha, New Zealand Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Dunedin

Dunedin Train Station

Monday, August 31st We had a great nights sleep with no sign of angry villagers, flaming torches or pitchforks. After breakfast we set off for Dunedin city centre. Just outside of Long Beach we saw a dead female possum lying in the road. It was sad, not just because they're so cute, but also because we could see her baby's legs sticking out of her pouch. Yeah, we know there are more than 70 million of them in NZ and they're a huge pest, but they're still cute. Once in the city we found an internet shop to backup our pictures [View Full Entry]

By Kiro
August 11th 2009

A Slice of Luck and a Dollop of Patience Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Catlins

Matai Falls

Every Silver Lining Has A Dark Cloud Half the enjoyment and beauty we experience traveling is the journey to each of our destinations, taking us passed or through places that we do not expect to go to or see, these places can throw up a life long memory, whether it is a little café with the best carrot cake, Cosy Nook a weathered old fishing village or Tuatapere the sausage capital of NZ (where we purchased some of their finest beef Bangers!) but with all these delights it's only a matter of time before disappointment rears its ugly head. Invercargill a [View Full Entry]

By LoYo
August 11th 2009

wildlife Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Dunedin

wild life tour

There is much wildlife surrounding Dunedin. It is home to the albatross which have an impressing three meter wing span, seals, many different kinds of birds, and yellow-eyed penguins. I went on a wildlife cruise/tour where I got to see all the wildlife. The best part was watching the yellow-eyed penguins which are an endagered species and are the second larges penguins in the world. Every night the penguins come onto the beach after a day of fishing in the ocean to go to their homes. When I saw the penguins, I was in a hide out on a penguin reserve [View Full Entry]

By LoYo
August 11th 2009

just up the road Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Dunedin

forest up the road

I have fallen in love with the trails here. The first time I ran through this forest I considered taking up illegal immigrant status and staying here forever. I took my sister on a walk through some of these trails when she came. You could get lost in this place because there are so many different trails and all of them are so beautiful. These trails are only about a five to ten minute walk away from my flat. The pictures speak for themselves. [View Full Entry]

By mrandmrsbb
July 23rd 2009

Into the Southlands... Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago

20 July 111

From Omarama we headed down towards the coast and Oamaru, stopping on the way at Takiroa to check out some Maori rock art. This wasn’t very well preserved (and only dates from the nineteenth century) so wasn’t anything amazing but worth seeing nevertheless! In Oamaru they have a well-preserved Georgian harbour and a resident blue penguin colony! We decided not to stay though and instead determined to press on to Dunedin, the main city in the Southlands. We carried on down the coast and stopped at the beautiful town of Moeraki. Moeraki is famous for the Moeraki boulders, str [View Full Entry]

By GoughyandJoey
July 17th 2009

Snowboarding Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Queenstown

This blog entry has been set up to document our amazing (and disastrous) snowboarding efforts. To be updated with regular videos and photos. [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago