Otago Peninsula and Dunedin

 

Royal Albatross

Sunday, March 20 and Monday Morning, March 21, 2011

It's a long drive under overcast skies from Invercargill to Dunedin. Dunedin, Edinburgh of the south, was for Scottish settlers a major sheltered port deriving wealth from a gold rush starting in 1861, and then farming and shipping of fiber and frozen meat. All that wool and the extra animals must get to market. Miners came mostly from Australia, and the wealth contributed to the Gothic Revival architecture done in bluestone and limestone, and the establishment in 1871 of the University of Otago with about 25,000 students today.

Otago Harbour is bordered on the east by the Otago Peninsula and then the Pacific. Otago Peninsula is our destination for the afternoon as the skies clear and we find ourselves on a very narrow road heading north toward sanctuaries for rare wildlife. At the north end at Taiaroa Head are Royal Albatrosses wheeling overhead. There is a nesting colony with baby birds we could see for a hefty fee, but with limited time, we opt not to do that. There are also fur seals on the east side of the point and, we understand, penguin colonies. We'd need to stay until evening to see them come ashore. The albatrosses are massive birds and we spend quite a lot of time just tipping our heads back watching them soaring aloft, coming in from fishing at sea. Truly amazing. A very patient Stewart Island shag sits unperturbed at the end of the parking lot. About halfway down the peninsula and out an unpaved track is the NZ Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium where we see blue cod (local fish and chips fish) and other native fishes. I buy a beautiful abalone shell as a remembrance.

In Dunedin finally there is our B-and-B. An older couple is spending a week there, escaping their fear of earthquakes at their home in Christchurch. The proprietor shows us the shared kitchen where we can cook, if we wish. Our room overlooks an old neighborhood of stately homes, most now converted to apartments or lodging. The recommended evening dinner spot was Speight's Brewery (1876), a downhill walk. Not too difficult to sell Henry on that idea. After eating we walk around downtown Dunedin. There is the Octagon "square," the statue of Robert Burns, and the spires of St. Paul's Cathedral (Anglican).

The next morning it's raining again. The owner of the B&B suggests a drive out along the west side of Otago Harbour to Port Chalmers, and to the point opposite the albatross colony. There is a long breakwater there. We get out and walk way to the end. People are fishing, divers are snorkeling for abalone, there are fur seals, gulls, shags, and offshore a small bird. I'm calling it my blue penguin, even though visibililty wasn't good in the rain, but it was about the right size. Soaked and driving back toward Dunedin, we search for lunch in Port Chalmers, but it's all closed up. So, back to downtown to an Irish pub to eat and decide what's next. We run into our friends from Christchurch at the pub.