We made a very windy drive over to Dunedin this weekend to see what lurks beyond Queenstown. Just what I expected...more gorgeous scenery, rolling hills filled with grazing sheep, the blue/teal colored ocean and unspoiled beaches!
We met up with Jonathan and Jeni Osorio along their three boys in Dunedin which is on the east coast of NZ and about 3 hours from Queenstown. Jonathan and Chip were residents together in Grand Junction and their family is also living in NZ for 6 months while Jonathan works abroad at a General Medicine Clinic in Balclutha and then Geraldine, only a few hours from us.
Just a short drive from Dunedin, we all drove out to the Otago Peninsula where we heard we could spot yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions and albatross. With our fingers crossed, we first stopped at the Albatross Centre at the very end of the peninsula. We walked inside and found out it was roughly $40 per person to walk down to a beach and see the albatross. BOOO! So after we saw one fly through the air (check!) we decided to head out on our own and find them ourselves (and for free). We read about a fantastic place called Sandfly Bay which is backed by beautiful sand dunes. So we headed up some more steep and winding roads and finally made it a few hours prior to sundown. The "trail" to see the penguins was down the sand dunes and along the beach. On the way we ran into at least 15 sea lions (check!) who were basking in the sun. About 20 minutes later we found ourselves in front of these little wooden shacks with small viewing windows in order to spy on the penguins. We waited in anticipation for about 40 minutes...and...nothing. Sadly we didn't see any penguins (no check...) but we'll be back to catch these little guys in action again!
After we spent some more time playing around on the beach and sand dunes we headed back into the city of Dunedin to hang out. We thought the city felt like a mini San Fran...It's a beautiful city with steep roads (in fact, the steepest street in the world is here!), beautiful old buildings, views of the ocean and a lively nightlife! We grabbed a beer and some food at a yummy little place in the centre of town and then headed south to Balclutha to stay over at Jeni and Jonathan's house. We had a great weekend and enjoyed spending time with the Osorio family so we've decided to meet up at least once a month while we're all here. Looking forward to our next adventure! Pics below...
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| The Osorios! |
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| Our lazy sea lion friends |
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| A view of Sandfly Bay (we're headed to the other end of the beach) |
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| Heading down the dunes which by the way are SO fun to jump down |
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| In our hideout waiting for the Penguins |
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| Psych! No penguins...but at least there's a view |
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| Looking behind us from the beach. Love the rolling hills! |
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