Dunedin and the Otago peninsula

---

---

Hi all. I'm sorry it's taken 4 months to get this onto my blog. (I've dated it December as that's when I was actually there!) More to catch up on after this too, so keep an eye out for further updates!
I finally escaped from the mayhem (well, compared to the rest of south island) of Queenstown, and took the bus to Dunedin. Dunedin means 'Edinburgh of the South', but apart from various street names (Princes, George, Corstorphine amongst others) it doesn't bear too much resemblance. Except perhaps for the cold wind that was blowing, and the sound of bagpipes. A kind of tourist fatigue overcame me as I arrived here - but luckily for me I had people to catch up with, which was great - Clare's dad Rob, who gave me a great tour around the university and the city, took me to see Tunnel beach, and on a walk up Flagstaff hill, where there were panoramic views of Dunedin and the Otago peninsula. And I had time for lunch with Alex, a friend from Cambridge, who is now doing a PhD at the university.
On my second day I went on a wildlife tour to the Otago peninsula, first to the royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head (the only mainland colony in the world, apparently). Fortunately it was windy enough for the birds to be out cruising around the cliff tops - their wing span is truly impressive, but they also reach pretty fast speeds so I abandoned all attempts at photography and just remembered to keep my mouth shut as I watched them go overhead - being crapped on by one of those would be enormously unpleasant. After the albatross we headed out to a remote beach where there are yellow eyed penguins, Hooker sea lions (both species the rarest of their kind, and only found in NZ), and fur seals. The penguins come ashore late in the day, having been out fishing all day, and walk up the beach and across the grassland to their roosting areas. We were lucky enough to see some at close quarters as they walked up a track from the beach, and also saw chicks being fed from a hide near their nests. We got to see fur seals lounging on the sand, and also a huge male sea lion coming out from the sea. It was a great experience, and also possibly one of the windiest places I have been for a while!
Leaving Dunedin on the bus, we stopped at Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world according to the Guinness book of records. It doesn't look that steep in my photo, but my legs were wobbling by the time I'd walked up and down it 😊

---

Photos

Otago peninsula wildlife tour
very windswept beach where we walked to see the penguins and sea lions

Yellow-eyed penguins
penguins walking home to their burrows from the beach