Otago

Yesterday and today, we traveled from Queenstown to the east coast of New Zealand's south island.  We traveled across the Otago region, visited Dunedin (pronounced dune-eed-an), the Otago Peninsula (just outside Dunedin), and then up the east coast toward Christchurch.  We will travel to Christchurch tomorrow for our last few days in New Zealand.

This has been the more subdued part of our trip.  The scenery on the east coast and flavor/flare of the Otago region and east coast towns (Alexandra, Dunedin, Timaru) - while still nice - isn't the same as the rest of New Zealand.

Trip Across Otago

The trip down out of Queenstown was a still a beautiful ride.  The Otago region was first populated by Scotts.  And the reasons are obvious as you travel this area.  It reminds one of the rocky and mountainous areas of Scotland that you see pictures of and there are more sheep than men in this part of the country.  There were also a few pockets of massive fruit orchards (Cromwell being one).  As I was the driver for most of yesterday, I don't have as many pictures of the surrounding country side.  This area is also the central "gold rush" region that attracted so many to New Zealand in the 1860's.  The Kawarau River (same one we bungy jumped into) and Cluthia Rivers still cut some amazing gorges through this area.  Here are a few pictures of the Kawarau gorge.

East Coast and Tunnel Beach

On the coast, we drove up the Pacific to Dunedin.  We stopped at Tunnel Beach before hitting Dunedin.  This is a natural arch and sandstone cliffs area just before Dunedin.  Beautiful and a bit scary looking at the same time.  In America, there is no way people would be allowed out onto the cliffs like we were.

 

 

 

K did not find the hike up from the coast very fun however.

Coastlines in New Zealand - by and large - are not the type of place one hangs out on like the beaches of America.  They are often rocky cliffs with more gravel than sand, buggy (sand flies on the west coast were terrible), but still beautiful in their own way.  Think more of the rock coast of upper California and Oregon versus the sandy beaches of the southeastern US.

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second largest city (about 120K) on the south island and 7th largest in NZ overall.  It once was the biggest city in all of NZ (1900) and is today a college town (hosting University of Otago - the country's first university - and Otago Polytechnic).  Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinburgh and many signs of its Scottish roots are found in the town and surrounding region.  It is also home to the New Zealand Cadbury factory.  Not without its charms, this is also a working city and tourism is only part of its way to make a living.  So, it was not as clean or charming as we have found other parts of New Zealand.  Here are a few pictures from around town.

from our hotel room down onto the university campus

Dunedin's iconic train station

Dunedin's iconic town hall and St. Paul's Cathedral on the "Octagon", which is Dunedin's famous town center - in the form of an octagon versus typical square.

Dunedin is also home to one of NZ's famous breweries - Speight.  We ate at their brew house restaurant.  So with chocolate and beer in town, you know it can't be all bad.

Otago Peninsula

This morning, we departed Dunedin to visit the Otago Peninsula.  This peninsula juts out into the Pacific from the east of Dunedin.  This was a beautiful peninsula that reminded me a little of Martha's Vineyard combined with the upper part of California's coast (around Medicino).  Here are a few shots of the peninsula countryside.

 

 

Yellow Eyed Penguins

On the peninsula, we had two activities planned.  First we visited the yellow-eyed penguin reserve.  Secondly, we visited NZ's only castle.

 

Yellow-eyed penguins are one of 18 species of penguins in the world and extremely endangered.  They are found only in New Zealand's south island and a few smaller surrounding NZ islands.  There only 3000 left in the world.  The reserve serves as "the" center of study and care ("hospital") for these little penguins.  Our tour guide (Phil) was excellent. They are currently in their molting season.  I think this may have been one of K's favorite parts of the trip.  She loved the little guys.  Here are some pictures of the penguins.

We also got to see some sea lions and Blue Penguins (just a little) which we will see again in Australia (where they are more prevalent).

We also got to meet the "wild" beasts of the reserve's owner too.  K seems to attract this wild creature no matter where we go.

Larnach Castle

The Larnach Castle was built by William Larnach as a mansion for his family.  He was a Scottish business man and ended up a NZ politician.  The castle was started in 1871 and finished in 1887.  It sits on a hilltop on the Otaga Poninsula.  Stunning views all around it and no expense was spared inside the castle - especially considering the position of NZ and its resources in the late 1800's.  The story of Larnach is a bit of a tragic one.  He had 3 wives in his life.  The reported affairs of the last one (supposedly with his son no less) and his financial failures caused him to commit suicide.  He shot himself right inside Parliament House in Wellington (he was a powerful member of Parliament at the time).  His castle remains his legacy and I sense perhaps his tragic life adds to the mystique of the castle.  The gardens around the castle were as impressive as the castle itself.

Moeraki Boulders

We wrapped up our day visiting the Moeraki Boulders (about 1 hour north of Dunedin).  These are almost perfectly round boulders that lie on the Pacific beach.  Supposedly rocks of this nature are not that unusual around the world, but the size and almost perfect spherical shape of these make them very abnormal.  The boulders are formed by cemented mudstone that are pushed up from the crust and made visible by coastal erosion.  They are odd looking when you see them up close - like some giant stone creature laid giant eggs.

We head north to Christchurch tomorrow for our last couple of days in New Zealand.  Truly a beautiful and amazing country.  K and I will never forget this trip.  But Australia awaits!