Dunedin

I arrived in Dunedin at 7pm and made my way to Penny's Backpacker. Shortly after arriving I got a text from Emma to meet her and a friend for dinner. We had a nice meal at Etruscos and then headed out to the Otago Peninsula to see the Blue Penguins. It was pouring rain. The road was soooo curvy with an immediate drop off to the water and no guard rail. We were rushing because it was getting dark. It was a bit hair raising but we made it. It was dark when we got to the penguin area but we saw on before we even got out of the car. They were everywhere and they were loud. We viewed them as best as possible in the dark and pouring rain. No pictures were possible because the flash hurts their eyes.

The next day I decided to move backpackers to a place called Manor House and to stay another day to do the Back to Nature Tour. Manor House is a really great place to stay - awesome staff, good beds, good shower. It is an old home converted to a backpacker.

The Back to Nature Tour is also a great tour. It was very reasonably priced and lasted from 2:30pm to 9:30pm. Our tour guide was Chris from Scotland (but born in NZ). Dunedin was settled by the Scottish. We went to Lanarch Castle and viewed native flora. Then on to a tidal flat to view birdlife - including the variable oystercatcher [my friend from Abel Tasman], the Royal Spoonbill, swans, ducks, slilts, and plovers. Then we went to the Royal Albatross Center and checked out the nesting albatross. Following that we went to a beach to see the Yellow eyed penguin, NZ seals and NZ sea lions. The Yellow eyed penguins are endangered so it is a treat to see them. We were lucky enough to see one swim in from the water and limp up the beach to his home in the sand dunes. He had probably been bit by a barracuda. We saw several other penguins along the beach. We also saw a number of seals and sea lions.

I had a chance to wear my rain pants on the tour because it was quite windy and cold with a touch of rain. Shorts didn't cut it is as we sat quietly watching the wildlife.

There are a few photos of Queenstown (taken from the terrace at the Deco backpacker) and Dunedin here.