NZ - Dunedin

We drove an hour to the Mt Cook turn off, and we could just about make out the base of the mountain. We ummed and ahhed about going as the weather was getting worse, but as we were here, we decided to drive the 50km to the campsite. When we got there the cloud had dropped further and we could no longer see any of the mountain, and the tourist office confirmed that the weather was beautiful until about 3hrs ago, but as Mt Cook is close to the coast the weather is very unpredictable and can change in an instant. The weather could get better tomorrow, but then again it may not.

Disappointed, because we wanted to do some exploring and walking over swing bridges, we decided that our time would be better spent elsewhere, and that we would try and come back later in our trip. So we turned around and headed to Dunedin…

Dunedin was back on the East coast of NZ, 4 hours drive away, so we made haste. The drive was very picturesque, driving by lots of green mountains, milky rivers, sheep (with 40 million across the country and outnumbering humans 10-1, we have to give these woolly mammals a mention), and deer (not as many as there are sheep, but cuter).

As we were on a long drive, we had to rush a bit, and ordinarily we’d like to have stopped at the look out points and walks. There was one stop with Maori rock art, where we considered stopping, and we wished we had as they filmed “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” here.

En route to Dunedin, we stopped at Ourama, which is home to the yellow eyed and blue penguin. They also had a museum and we wanted to stop for a tea break, but silly us, it had gone 4pm and everything had shut!!

Still, the beach with the wild penguins never closes, and the best viewing time is from 5pm onwards when the penguins come in from the ocean after a days fishing to roost and check on their babies. They apparently go as far as 40km from shore to find food. We arrived about 4:30, so a bit early, but we weren’t disappointed despite the rain. The footpath took us along the cliff to a couple of lookouts, and our first spot was a seal on the beach below.

After watching the seal for a bit, this extremely dodgy old man approached us unshaven, rain dripping off his snotty nose, wearing this old raincoat, and badly fitting jeans. He asked us if we wanted to see penguins, and that they were just around the corner. Stories of Peter Falconie and not accepting sweets from strangers flooded our mind, as he was very adamant that we should follow him. He said he’d already asked one couple to follow him, and they declined, which just confirmed his was a psycho killer looking for victims…

But of course, we wanted to see the penguins, and we reluctantly followed him, slowly at a distance, ready to defend against any sudden movements. He then led us passed the bird hide and started walking down a closed off path. We questioned him if “the path was closed” and he replied “which path” as there were a couple of walkways. We continued to follow nervously, and when we turned a corner 50yds from the bird hide he stopped and pointed, and sitting there at the top of the cliff, minding their own business, were two cute yellow-eyed penguins. He was actually an honest man and we were safe ;)



This is the closest that we are ever likely to get to these endangered creatures, so we are quite grateful to the strange old man. We wonder how these penguins get up to the top of the cliff, as after going back to the bird hide, we watched them come ashore, walk up the beach, and then begin their climb up the almost vertical cliff face. Its quite incredible that they can barely waddle on land, yet they can still make this climb that even a human would struggle with.

After watching the penguins for about an hour, we headed onto Dunedin. The drive was quite scary as the mist came tumbling in and you could barely see anything on the roads. As we didn’t have a phone card, we couldn’t call ahead to book somewhere. This caused us a bit of stress because it turned out all the campsites and cabins were fully booked. Luckily we managed to get the last room at the YHA. This actually worked out well for us, as it was close to the centre of the city, and was a really lovely cosy place to stay (clean, warm, and extra blankets for chilly nights). They recommended an excellent place to eat, and suggest a self-guided walking tour.

That evening we headed into the centre, which was surprisingly lifeless. The Octagon is the epicentre, which is full of bars, restaurants and cafes, yet they were all empty. We couldn’t work it out with accommodation being fully booked!! Apparently, the city gets like this during the university holidays, and when the students are around, the place is buzzing. Anyhow, we found the Italian that they recommended, and this was so packed and for good reason, they had amazing pizzas…