Captain’s Log: Kaka Point to Dunedin/Otago Peninsula, Day 37-38

Hi All,

Wow, what a treat Dunedin and the Otago peninsula turned out to be!!!

The drive up from Kaka Point was uneventful and pasture lands full of sheep/dairy, one after another….still very green!!!! But, no one way bridges….yeah….and Dunedin even had a motorway….I think we saw 110 kph or about 66 mph…..yep, flying:)))

We first spent the afternoon in Dunedin before going on to the Otago peninsula. Dunedin is the 3rd or 4th largest city in South Island and has a unique historical district that was quite charming. We walked around all the late 1800 buildings including the railroad station and then ended up in the Otago museum. Not as big as the one in Wellington, but it probably was the best since. Lot’s of people and natural history. After that we were thirsty and hungry….so off to the Speight’s brewery (started in 1876 in Dunedin and is one of our favorites). Hmmm….sir, if you want to taste you have to take a 90 minute tour….nope, our factory touring days are behind us….is there someplace we can go just to taste…well, we do have an Ale House down the block that will serve you a flight but you have to pay….great and that’s the spot. So, off we go only to discover lunch stopped 2 hours ago and dinner is still a ways away….well, we would like your flight of beer but we need something to snack on….we have a hot loaf of garlic bread….sold, and will that be a flight of 4 or all 8….mate, bring it on!!!! We liked 6/8….the porter was too chewy and the cider too yucky:))))

So off to the Otago peninsula which juts out east of Dunedin for 20ish miles and helps form a natural harbor for Dunedin and Port Chalmers. We chose to stay here as we wanted to be closer to the Albatross Center and Penguin Place….and we were not to be disappointed. After a nice dinner at 1908 Cafe…yep, been there over 100 years….charming….we had our first tour at the Albatross Center….watching the Blue Penguins come in from a day of feeding to rest/feed the chicks after a long day at sea. We had tried to see them on Curio Bay but they must have sneaked by us….but from 8-9pm we were entertained by about 40 of these small penguins (smallest in NZ, about one foot tall)….oh what a delight and the Viewing platform had some lights which the penguins seemed to like so we had an excellent showing as they waddled by along a path to the bush. The penguins gather a little ways out and then come in groups like commandos. There were 2 chicks waiting for dinner and they put on quite a show waiting for mom!!

The next day found us sleeping in and finishing the Catlin Blog….lot’s of pics on that one to load!!! We then went on a scenic tour of the peninsula, high up on the ridge for some spectacular views, tried to see the Larnach Castle but were shutout….we just wanted to look but you have to pay $29pp just to see it so we gave it a pass (the only castle in NZ, built by R.A Lawson, who turned out to be a very strange and greedy man, committed suicide in NZ parliament after financial losses, bought the salvage rights to SS Otago and refused to give 100+ immigrants their personal belongings making Dunedin buy them back)…..then to Sandfly beach….we did not walk the beach but saw it from an outlook….we are both just recovering from numerous sandfly bites!! Then onto to the Penguin Place. Wow, what a great place with people doing some amazing stuff. The Penguin Place was started in 1985 for the protection of the Yellow-Eyed penguin and has grown into the only penguin care facility in NZ. DOC brings injured penguins to the hospital and most survive. They had about 20 in the hospital, most in pretty good shape…..most were juveniles injured due to starvation/underfed while a few had been injured by barracuda (they will not eat them but will bite their feet). We even saw a Fiordland Crested…..we had hoped to see this one in the Haast area but we only saw tracks and the other one was a Rockhopper….both of these two were out of their territory….basically lost, and the hospital was nursing them back to health to be released!!! After the hospital visit we toured the nesting area where we saw about 5 moulting adult Yellow-Eyed penguins, as well as a group of juvenile penguins readjusting to freedom after spending time in the hospital….really quite amazing!!!

Next up was a viewing of the Northern Royal Albatross at the Albatross Center. The Royal Albatross Centre at Taiaroa Head, the end of the peninsula, is the only mainland breeding ground of albatross in the world! It was started in 1937 by Dr Richdale and has continued to grow and is now recognized as one of the leading albatross centers in the world. We were again treated to some excellent viewing of some juveniles and chicks, both on the ground and soaring overhead. Several albatross were getting acquainted and going through courtship rituals….just absolutely amazing!!!

Both the Penguin Place and Albatross Center are private and are funded by tourism and donations…

Driving in New Zealand: I don’t know if many people have seen the articles about Kiwis taking the car rental keys away from tourists….mainly Chinese. Well, it is quite the controversy here. Yes, we can all agree that most Asians, who have no driving rules even in their own countries, are not very good drivers, it’s a cultural thing. One day, a Kiwi saw a Chinese person having issues and at a stoplight went up and took the car keys away and dropped the keys off at the local police station. Many Kiwis are praising this and now we have heard it happen many more times. The police and government are not amused as well as the Chinese government. Well, as a tourist and knowing how hard it is to be in a country when you don’t speak the language well, I am horrified by this. Tourism is the #1 industry for New Zealand and the Chinese are the #1 tourist. Can you imagine that Chinese family stranded with no transportation and trying to figure things out. I just don’t know why Kiwis don’t help tourists instead of making it worse. BTW, there have now been 11 tourist deaths this season….I don’t know the nationalities but the last 3 were Americans…yep, driving on the wrong side. Anyway, most tourists we talk to can’t wait for a Kiwi to try this….arghhhhhh, more violence!!!

And, the worst of it is most tourists and Kiwis will admit many Kiwis are sometimes very dangerous drivers themselves. They love to pass on blind curves, love to tailgate, love their horns, and sometimes they go slow on purpose so that when you try and pass they speed up and try to race…..give me a frickin break already!!!! We had our own incident which was my fault….ugh!! We were on the ridge drive on the Otago peninsula. There were not many cars except for us and a camper van….we kept hopscotching along the road going to various outlooks. Well, we found a spot for a great pic….I pulled off as best I could as there was a very small shoulder…maybe half off the road….yep, sure enough, the camper van comes up behind us and pulls into the other lane to pass….there also just happened to be another car coming…but the camper van passed with no issues and I did not see the oncoming car even have to slow down….well, this car pulls up….a teenager/early 20’s and proceeds to dress me down for about 15 secs…..many F-bombs (of course this was in a very heavy Kiwi accent so I only understood the f-bombs)…then guns it to leave…..well, yes, I did yell something back but then remembered the car key incident so not wanting this incident to get out of hand we just drove quickly away……arghhhhhh…yes, my bad, but really no harm no foul so why the road rage???!!!!! I just hope this does not develop into something more ominous!!!

Stats:
Traveled: 50 miles today; 2150 miles total
Hotel: Portobello Hotel; nice, about all there is on the Otago peninsula!
Wrong Turns: oops, add 3 today, our streak of 34 days is over; total now 7!!!!: one walking in Dunedin (my bad, missed by 1/2 block), one we missed the sign on the ridge drive w/o GG, and one with GG (the service was slow and we missed the turn)
Turned into wrong lane: 3, I have not been including this but given the above, thought I’d share. Fortunately no other cars were around and we quickly recovered thanks to Kathy’s shriek:)))) Yes, to drive on the left side takes a lot of concentration 100% of the time. It seems to happen to me when I’m coming out of a store and thinking of other things as in, get in the car and go….ugh!!!
One-Way Bridges: steady at 170+; OMG, ZERO today…oh what a relief!!!!
Food: nothing special:((((

Next up is Twizel and Mt Cook for 2 days, 3 nights!!!

Hope all is well!!

John

PS: Cargo still on hold in LA….arghhhhhh!!!!