We are spending the whole of today at Dunedin, we are more relax because we do not need to hurry to travel to another city. Our first site is to drive to the Otago Peninsula - The Royal Albatross Centre, to visit the world's only Mainland Albatross Colony. It is about 30 minutes drive from the central Dunedin.
Here we are arriving at the Larnach Castle - New Zealand's Only Castle, sitting high on the Otage Peninsula. NZ$20 per vehicle entrance.This castle is built from 1871 by William Larnach, merchant baron and politician, features magnificient architecture, superb craftsmanship, tragic and scadalous history. Unique collection of NZ antiques. 35 acres of gardens and grounds. Still privately owned and cared for. The main building of the castle is not so big, but the surrounding garden is huge and nice. Strictly no photos are allowed inside the castle.
Westpac Royal Albatross Centre is the bredding ground of the magnificent Royal Northern Albatross with its three-metre wingspan. The Otago Peninsula is also home to various species of penguins (including the rare Yellow Eyed Penguin), seals and marine birds. There is a variety of wildlife and scenic tours, either by land or harbour cruises.
*Photos of the Albatross and fur seals are copied from http://www.albatross.org.nz/*
There are some sea lions / fur seals, cant really differentiate between them, resting on the rocks by the cliff. 
That's all for our trip at the Otago Peninsula. Next, we head back to Dunedin city.
A a result of the discovery of gold in Otago, first at Lawrence in 1861 and later in other locations such as the Dunstan and Arrowtown, Dunedin became the Colony's premier city in the 1880's; today the city has the largest number of Victorian and Edwardian buildings in New Zealand. The City is blessed with many fine museums, galleries and many stately homes, Olveston and Larnachs Castle are two such forwer homes and are open to the public with guided tours provided. Home to New Zealand's first University, Dunedin today has in excess of 20,000 students annually, many being from other countries; this influx has resulted in the growth of a diverse selsection of cafes and night life.
The Heritage Walks in Dunedin City
St Paul's Cathedral
The Octagon / Clock Tower
Clock Tower, Trinity Church, Public Library and Hayne's Building 
First Church of Otago (extablished 1848)
Dunedin Railway Station (the most photographed building in New Zealand)
inner view of the railway station
The Law Courts and Cadbury's factory (located just opposite the Railway Station)
Other heritage buildings include the Congregational Church, Police Station and etc.
Next a must visit in our list is The University of Otago.
The magnificient stone buildings of New Zealand's first university.
Shaaly and Muththu are our guide for touring the university. A big thank you to the couple for offering accommodation for us for 2 nights.
The Baldwin Street, which is also the World's Steepest Street.
Standing tall at the top of the slope makes me feel scary and feel like tumbling down. The locals are jogging along the street.
Day 7: Dunedin - Invercargill - Te Anau via
We leave Dunedin early in the morning as we know that we will have a long long journey along Southern Scenic Route today together with 2 of our friends - Shaaly & Muththu. This is a perfect road journey for travellers like us who like to get off the main highways and find real rural life. The route starts at Amberley, in the north of the Canterbury regioun, and runs to Winchester, where it links to State Highway 1. There are fabulous views of the Southern Alps on one side of the road, complemented by the green serenity of the Canterbury Plains on the other.
Once again, due to time contrains, there are selected spots that we visit along our way.
Sinclair Wetlands
The Sinclair Wetlands is a 315 hectare wetland area comprising numerous shallow peaty lagoons, a maze of waterways and two islands fringed by harkeke (flax), raupo (bullrush), mania (sedge grasses) and karamu (coprosma shrub species). Donation of NZ$1 per entrance.
The Catlins is a major highlight of the Southern Scenic Route. Situated off the beaten track, the Catlins encompasses the area between Kaka Point and Fortrose.
Nugget Point / Tokata
There is a walking path about 20 minutes (one way) that leads to a lighthouse. Spectacular coastal views. If you are lucky. you'll see New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), Southern elephant seals (lhupuku), New Zealand (Hooker) sea lions (rapoka), sooty shearwaters (titi), the rare yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho) and many other seabird species.
The fur seals resting on the rocks at sea level. 
Purakaunui Falls, one of the most photographed falls in New Zealand.
The Purakaunui Falls are a short walk (10 minutes one way) through impressive podocarp and beech forest. The falls, which have a 20 metre drop, cascade over 3 tiers
Along the journey...
Tautukur Beach
Invercargrill - The Friendly City
The southernmost city in New Zealand and Southland's commercial heart, is known far and wide for its hosptality to visitors and as the gateway to some of New Zealand's most beautiful scenery. We stop by the city for our lunch. 
Queens Park
Opps! This is my first time to see a cow pissing...
Surat Bay, is a long sandy beach named after the sailing vessel wrecked there in 1874. 
Manapouri
Only 20 minutes away from Te Anau, Manapouri is situated on the shores of one of the New Zealand's most beautiful lakes, framed by the Cathedral and Hunter Mountain ranges. Manapouri is also the gateway to the scenic wonders of Doubtful and Dusky Sounds.
And finally we reach Te Anau at night after one long day. Our stay of the night is at YHA Te Anau.
Woo Hoo!! We shall continue our exciting tour to Milford Sound, the next morning!!
And head straight to Queenstown after that.
No comments:
Post a Comment