Dunedin and Oamaru are on the lower east coast of the South Island. The towns themselves are interesting and there is also lots of natural beauty to explore.
Tunnel Beach
Near Dunedin is a spot called Tunnel Beach. Apparently, a wealthy local had a tunnel dug through the rock so that they could get access to their own private beach. It also has interesting rock formations and the waves were dramatically pounding the cliffs.
Albatross and Little Blue Penguins
Also near Dunedin at Taiaroa Head is the Royal Albatross Centre. We took two tours with them. One to view albatross and the other to view little blue penguins. Both tours were very informative.
It was a good time of year for the albatross tour. There were several chicks on nests, and parents were arriving and feeding them. We also saw younger albatross socializing. It was great to be able to get so close to these amazing birds.
The little blue penguin tour was just as amazing. These birds come to shore just past sunset in big groups and then go find their underground nests. They are the smallest penguin, yet they are able to climb over all sorts of obstacles that are much bigger than they are. And they are super cute and we loved hearing them chortle to each other.
The Pyramids and Victoria Beach
On the same peninsula we took a hike out (and up) to The Pyramids and Victoria Beach. The highlight was seeing a juvenile, yellow eyed penguin on the beach. Yellow eyed penguins have the smallest population of all penguins (less than 4,000) and are rare to see in the wild. Once again we had this beach almost completely to ourselves.
Dunedin
In Dunedin we toured the Olveston Historic Home, looked at murals, and had more fun that we expected on the world’s steepest street.
The Olveston Historic Home was built by a wealthy family in 1906 (who made their fortune selling pianos) and the furnishings are exactly as they were from that time.
The street art in town was commissioned by the city and there were many interesting murals.
Baldwin Street is the steepest street in the world. We thought this would be a quick stop, but we ended up having a lot of fun trying different pictures. We debated driving up the street on a rainy day, but we saw tourists fail to make it to the top. Locals seemed to have the hang of how to do it.
Afterward we went to quiz night at a local Irish pub. We learned we are terrible at trivia.
Drive to Oamaru
On the drive to Oamaru we did a few hikes and saw a fur seal colony and Moeraki Boulders. There were lots of pups in the fur seal colony playing in the pools and rocks while the adults lounged nearby. The Moeraki Boulders are an interesting collection of round boulders on the beach.
Oameru
Oameru has lots of stone Victorian building from the late1800s. Artists have moved in and the town has an eclectic vibe. It is home to the Steampunk HQ and shops with lots of curious collections that play off the Victorian theme.
Drive to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park
After Oamaru we drove inland to visit Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Along the way we stopped to see some Maori cave paintings and elephant rocks. Both stops were interesting.
We are back to glacier country, this time on the eastern side of the Southern Alps. But more about that in the next blog.
Every place is so unique, so great to see it all. Was that an illusion on that steep street?
That was really how steep it was. It is hard to comprehend till you are out on it.