New Zealand, Dunedin: Yellow-Eyed Penguins and Circling the Octagon

We visited a yellow-eyed penguin reserve on the Otago Peninsula; the birds were the second rarest species of penguin (out of 17 different species) and also the third tallest species
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To travel from Mount Cook National Park to Dunedin, we had to drive over three hours, but most of the drive was during daylight, when it was good to see a lot more of the South Island's fantastic countryside. The last part of the drive, however, was in the dark and somewhat scary at times, as we drove along steep, coastal mountain roads. Dunedin itself was situated along a harbour and had some of the steepest streets either of us had ever been on. The New Zealand city actually holds the record, in the Guinness Book of World Records, for the steepest street in the world.

We saw some New Zealand fur seals when we visited the Otago Peninsula
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Before we crack on with the activities and things we got up to there, here are some interesting tidbits for you: New Zealand's first university (University of Otago) was established over 130 years ago in Dunedin. The city was framed by a magnificent harbour, long and picturesque. It sat on the doorstep of Otago Peninsula, which has long been acclaimed for its beauty and eco-tourism. Dunedin's spectacular hills, sandy beaches and rugged rock outcrops were home to a fascinating array of rare wildlife, amazing in its abundance and diversity. Dunedin boasts the world's only mainland breeding colony of the northern royal albatross and fantastic viewing of the rare yellow-eyed penguin in their natural habitat. By the way, the railway station in Dunedin was New Zealand's most photographed building.

Dunedin's spectacular hills, sandy beaches and rugged rock outcrops were home to a fascinating array of rare wildlife

The railway station in Dunedin was a beautiful structure in the centre of the city
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Things we did in Dunedin, our first day there, in chronological order:

-- Drove along the steepest and windiest roads to get into the Dunedin city centre

-- Found a Top 10 holiday park just outside the city centre, checked in and went to sleep, exhausted

-- Checked out of the holiday park after having breakfast (cereal) the next morning, and drove to Baldwin Street

Our tour guide, Dale, at the Dunedin Cadbury chocolate factory, was really nice because she gave us lots of free chocolates
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-- Parked at the base of Baldwin Street after realising that our campervan had no chance of making it to the top

-- Walked to the top of Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world - it took us ten minutes

-- Spotted an insane older man running up and down Baldwin Street; apparently he had been doing that that 30 times a day for several months!

-- Left Baldwin Street and parked at the Dunedin railway station

The mosaic floor inside Dunedin's railway station was cool
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-- Peeked inside the beautiful railway station and walked around the Saturday Farmers' Market next to it

-- Ate a couple of deluxe hot dogs and bought some country bacon from one of the vendor stalls

-- Purchased some hummus, pita bread and chocolate mousse desserts from the back of a Turkish couple's vehicle

-- Took everything we bought, which hadn't been eaten, back to the campervan

Dan led the way through the trenches at the Penguin Place penguin reserve so we could observe the penguins nesting without disturbing them
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-- Walked to First Church and around the Octagon to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory

-- Learnt that the Octagon in Dunedin was a series of roads in the city centre in the shape of an 8-sided geometrical shape

-- Noticed that the city of Dunedin (that's the Celtic word for Edinburgh, by the way!) had many beautiful Victorian and Edwardian buildings

-- Bought tickets for a tour of the chocolate factory and drank a couple of lattes at a nearby cafe whilst waiting for the tour to begin

Kyle used some binoculars to observe some penguins that were farther away in the distance
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-- Received many free chocolate samples and were taught all about the interesting process of making chocolate

-- Saw "The Game Plan" at Hoyts Cinema in the Octagon and used their free wireless internet access afterwards

-- Watched a Dutch film company shoot scenes in the city centre for an upcoming movie based in the 1950's

-- Ordered delicious spring rolls and a red curry dish at Thai Hanoi, a Thai and Vietnamese fusion restaurant

We bought some homemade hummus and pita bread from a friendly couple in Dunedin's Saturday morning market
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-- Watched a film after dinner called "The Lives of Others" at a small independent cinema

-- Laughed when we walked into the small 12-seat room where the film played, since it was inside a stairwell

-- Were captivated by the German film, which was excellent

-- Left Dunedin late at night to drive around the Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula coastline was rugged and beautiful
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Things we did on the Otago Peninsula, also in chronological order:

-- Drove in the dark, at nearly midnight, along windy roads that ran against the coast

-- Kept getting frightened of falling off the edge of the road into the bay during the drive

-- Finally succumbed to our fear and pulled over at a picnic area to get some sleep (and to stop driving)

Before receiving our free Cadbury chocolates when our tour was finished, we had to drive the Cad-mobile around Dunedin and convert people into chocoholics (just kidding)
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-- Woke up the next morning and had some cereal

-- Continued driving along the scary coastal road, which was not as scary in daylight

-- Skipped the albatross colony since they were nesting and not viewable during our trip to the peninsula

-- Arrived at Penguin Place, a wonderful yellow-eyed penguin reserve

Baldwin Street holds the record in the Guinness Book of World Records for the steepest street in the world, and we walked up it to check out the grade
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-- Learnt that the reserve had both yellow-eyed and blue penguins nesting at the time of year we visited

-- Discovered that the reserve was a private conservation area set on several acres of the McGrouther family's farmland at the tip of the Otago Peninsula

-- Had a wonderfully chirpy and informative tour guide who taught us all about yellow-eyed penguins

-- Were impressed with the factoids we were given, such as the yellow-eyed penguins being rare and endangered, and also one of the taller species of penguins

You can see here why Baldwin Street holds the world record for the steepest street in the world
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-- Found out that the reserve was created by the McGrouthers who noticed the birds nesting there

-- Also found out that the family has been working to replant breeding habitat, build nesting sites, trap predators, care for sick and neglected birds, and carry out their own research programme

-- Walked along the coast and saw several New Zealand fur seals and spectacular scenery

-- Strolled around the reserve and observed the tiny blue penguins and larger yellow-eyed penguins in their nests

These flowers were and unusual but pretty
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-- Took some photos (obviously, since you are looking at them!)

-- Had peanut butter sandwiches and the chocolate mousse we had bought for dessert before driving out of Otago Peninsula

-- Took the inland road to leave the peninsula, thinking it would be easier

-- Laughed at ourselves when the steep, inland mountain roads were covered in fog and slick rain and were no easier to drive on than the coastal road had been

Dunedin had many old buildings in its city centre
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-- Breathed a sigh of relief when the road finally eased up and we left the peninsula, arriving back in Dunedin

Things we did in Dunedin, during our second day there, in chronological order:

-- Ate a couple of cheeseburgers and did some writing in a McCafe in the Octagon

-- Took advantage of free wireless internet access inside Hoyts Cinema at the Octagon

The Cadbury factor in Dunedin was large and produced most of New Zealand's chocolate
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-- Enjoyed a late dinner at Ra's, a nice pub/restaurant in the Octagon, consisting of nachos and wedges

-- Worked our way back to our campervan with excessively full stomachs

-- Discovered a flat battery because Kyle had left the lights on - oops!

-- Telephoned roadside assistance and waited for a man from Reilly's to come and jump the campervan's battery

The ticket windows inside Dunedin's railway station were very ornate
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-- Finally left Dunedin after 1:00am and drove to Milton, where we found a picnic area and slept in the freezing cold

Hopefully, you have a good idea now as to what we did in Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. Our time there was wonderful, we really liked the feel of the city and the natural beauty of the peninsula; of course, it was also spectacular to see the penguins nesting there! We had some rainy and slightly colder weather in Dunedin and Otago, but it was still not as bad as we had expected the weather to be, so we were happy with the elements. What we weren't ready for that evening in Milton, though, was the extremely chilly cold front that had moved into the area, complete with snow on nearby hills and a massive hailstorm that we found ourselves in, at the town of Gore, when we left the next day for Milford Sound. Be sure to read the next journal entry to find out all about it!