New Zealand Part V : Around Dunedin

 

The area around Dunedin, on the South Island of New Zealand, offers some spectacular views. Our friend Stu joined us at our Airbnb cottage we rented there, so we had a little more time to reminisce and build some new memories.

We visited the Royal Albatross Colony on the Otago Peninsula for a second time. It’s one of our favorite places in the area. The albatross, the largest sea bird in the world, spends more than 85 percent of its life on the sea. The colony near Dunedin is the only place they breed on a mainland. But for a local biology teacher, Lancelot Eric Richdale, who began studying them in the 1930s, and protected their nests, the colony would likely no longer exist.

It’s a stirring sight to see an albatross in flight. It has the longest wingspan of any bird—up to 11 feet. From the observation building, we observed fathers regurgitating food to into the open beaks of their hungry chicks. Both parents feed the babies, taking turns to gather food for themselves. But if one parent fails to return, both the other parent and baby will starve. Surprisingly, the babies grow bigger than their parents until they get ready to fledge. Then, they slim down. Once they have fledged, the young birds will stay at sea for five or six years before they return. At the time we were there, the center had 25 or 26 nesting pairs.

Albatross chicks can be bigger than their parents.

There are yellow-eyed penguins in this area too, which we have seen in the past, but we didn't find any on this visit. However, we did encounter a gruff fellow on a beach. Kevin named him Bullwinkle.

 There's a reason you're advised to keep 10 meters (about 32 feet) away from the sea lions. They will let you know if they are irritated. Kevin was barely 10 meters away, but Bullwinkle didn't like him that close. He charged! And boy, could he charge! I think he was considering whether photographers would make a tasty lunch.

Dunedin offers several attractions too, including its marvelous 1906 railway station that Traveller magazine calls one of the top 16 rail stations in the world. At the Otago Museum, Kevin found time to try and hatch a reproduction egg of an ancient moa, an extinct flightless bird that grew up to 12 feet tall. The museum also featured a butterfly garden, perhaps the best I've seen for variety and quantity. 

Hatch that Moa egg, Kevin!

We thoroughly enjoyed our charming cottage, a New Zealand house of the 1940s with original woodwork and features. Our hosts, Shukuru and Neil, were gracious and warm. Shukuru is from Tanzania, one of our favorite countries, and she met Neil when he delivered a boat to Tanzania. Shukrur looks so young and pretty that it's hard to believe she and Neil have a teenaged son! She is also a talented artist.

Shukuru is kind and talented.

Between Dunedin and Timaru, another attraction drew us--the Moreaki Boulders. Large, spherical boulders, they are actually concretions. They have crystals on the inside. They looked a little like stranded sea creatures among the seaweed.

The crystals inside the boulders.

Too soon we had to say goodbye to the South Island. But you can catch a glimpse of why we returned, and why we want to come back.