New Zealand > To Dunedin

We leave Waikato and drive through the Catlins toward Owaka. Along the way, we pass Papatuini and the waterfalls we visited yesterday. The road is quiet. It’s Saturday morning and there’s hardly any other traffic. This works out well for a typical New Zealand phenomenon: the one-lane bridges. Almost all bridges are built to allow only one car to pass at a time. Right of way is controlled by signs. Because there is so little traffic on the main roads, these bridges hardly ever cause congestion. What isn’t clear to us is why one-lane bridges are used almost everywhere. Undoubtedly, construction is cheaper, but why not simply build a two-lane road? Only near the larger cities are the bridges dual-lane. Today, we can drive through every bridge without stopping. Very convenient. At the Whistling Frog café, we order coffee with a muffin. After an hour and a half, we reach Nugget Point, the lighthouse at the southeastern tip. From the lighthouse, we can see several rocks in the sea—the so-called Nuggets. The waves crash against them relentlessly.

New Zealand - The lighthouse in the southeast at Nugget Point

On the rocks below the lighthouse, sea lions rest. Nearby, at Roaring Beach, penguins are sometimes spotted, though today we only see sea lions. We continue to Dunedin, a large city on the east coast. Our hotel is right in the center. The Law Court Hotel is a beautiful old building. We enter through the pub; the bartender directs us to the reception, only to reappear himself. Next to the pub are a restaurant and a small casino. I estimate the building dates from the early 1900s. The room is fine and arranged in a modern layout. We walk to the Octagon, the city’s central square. Cozy restaurants surround the square, and we order lunch at one of them. In the afternoon, we drive to the Otago Peninsula, home to penguins, sea lions, and albatrosses. The narrow road runs along the ridge, with the peninsula’s inlets visible on both sides—a magnificent sight. We head to Sandfly Bay, a location where, according to the guidebook, yellow-eyed penguins are sometimes seen. We descend a sandy path down to the beach. Signs ask visitors to keep a respectful distance from the penguins, as they are shy animals. As far as we can see, there are no penguins. A few sea lions rest on the beach. While scanning the water for penguins, a sea lion emerges from the sea. It waddles past us and disappears into the dunes—quite a sight. After about an hour, we give up; perhaps the penguins will appear later. We drive to the far tip of the peninsula. The route is stunning, full of vistas. At Taiaroa Head, albatrosses nest. This is the only place on Earth where albatrosses build their nests on the mainland.

New Zealand - An albatross near Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsula

Around the visitor center, hundreds of seagulls gather, likely hoping to grab some food found by the albatrosses. Among the seagulls, a few albatrosses circle in the sky. What enormous birds! The nests can only be visited on a guided tour, which we do not take. We drive back to Dunedin, where we order some food and a beer in the city center. The temperature here is much more pleasant compared to the previous days.