Dunedin

We are back from our trip to the South Island. We saw many things and this is the first of several blogs to describe our trip. There was too much to put in one blog. We arrived in Christchurch on the 26Th but decided to drive down to Dunedin and the Otaga Peninsula. Dunedin is a lovely town of about 100,000. It is Scottish in origin and you can tell it from the buildings. It is quite a charming town




Just a half hour out from Dunedin is the Otaga Peninsula which is known for penguins, seals, and the endangered albatross. We started out in an 8 wheel drive vehicle to see the seals, yellow eyed penguins , and the blue penguins. The seals were first on the list so they took us to the bay where we saw a group lounging and playing.No one is actually able to walk on their land so they are free to just do what they want. They did not care that we were watching because they knew they were safe. It was truly hard to believe we could get as close as we did.





Next we went to see the yellow-eyed penguins. They were hidden so it was hard to get a good picture of them. We could see them with the binoculars but our lens did not do it justice. We were also able to see a blue Penguin up close. He was very small and they did not let us get a photograph of him so this is the only picture of penguins I could get.




Lastly we went to the albatross center. We got a great viewing of the albatrosses with their young on the ground. It is harder to catch them flying but it was a great day and we saw them fly. They have a 3 meter wing span. they really glide more than fly. Once they are 9 months old they take off and fly over the ocean and don't come back to land for 5 years. They eat and sleep on the ocean. They then come back and court for 5 or so years. They then pick a mate for life. They have one child every 2 years. I find them fascinating.



I found this journey to see the wildlife up close and personnel very enjoyable. I was grateful to have this experience. Stay tuned for more of our adventure of the South Island.