My love affair with Dunedin continues...

I really like this city. I know I could see a lot more of this country if I kept on the move every day or two but I like staying somewhere for awhile and getting a good look around and a feel for the place. Naturally it isn't a good thing if you are somewhere awful but it's a joy in a place like this.

This morning I walked for about an hour to Baldwin Street -- world's steepest street.

It doesn't look steep in this photo at all. In fact it looks flat! But it is steep. I should have a photo from the top looking down but, I admit it, I only got about one-third of the way up!

Then I walked the hour back into town stopping in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens which were gorgeous to look around. (Sorry Christchurch but Dunedin blows you away.)

On my walk I admired a lot of the houses -- big Victorians up on the hills or small little rose-coloured cottages. (Also reviewed a number of the postings in the local real estate shops!)





I also spotted two more of the painted giraffes on my walk...



I went back to the hotel to pick up my backpack, fleece and rain jacket and put on walking shoes instead of sandals so I would be ready for my Otage Peninsula Wildlife tour later in the afternoon.

After all that walking I was hungry and found a table outdoors at Craft, one of the cafes on the Octagon. I ordered the dukkah-crusted whole grilled baby snapper with wild rice salad. It was fantastic. Went lovely with glass of Brancott "Rail Bridge" sauvignon blanc. I am going to have to whip up some of this dukkah spice mixture when I get home. And I know you will all remind me to do this.

The day had been lovely and sunny with some whispy clouds. Around 3 o'clock while I was finishing my wine and talking to Derek on my cellphone the clouds rolled in and the wind started to gust. By the time I got in the minivan at 3:30 for the wildlife tour it was pouring rain. So much for the lovely day. It was over an hour drive to the beach where we would watch the penguins. The rain had tapered off a bit but it was still windy. We walked about 20 minutes to the beach. I was toasty warm in my fleece and rain jacket but some people were still in shorts and looking a bit miserable. When we got to the beach there were some penguins coming in from their day at sea.

These are yellow-eyed penguins, the world's rarest penguin breed. After spending the day at sea they come in to the beach and dry off and greet each other before climbling up the grassy hills back to their nests. (We couldn't go up to their nests, of course, but they had video cameras positioned by the nests so we could watch the babies on a video screen at one of the observation points.)





And since the penguins are in New Zealand they sometimes have to pass sheep on their way back up the hill...


After the penguins we went for a further walk up and over another hill to watch the seals on the rocks. The rain was really coming down again by this point and the wind was really something. Getting back up the wet hill was a real struggle. It was nice to get back into the minivan to dry off a bit. We drove along the coast to the albatross colony. Here the wind came in handy as the albatrosses need it in order to get airborne due to their massive wingspan. They were pretty impressive as they glided overhead.

Getting back into Dunedin I walked up the hill (leg muscles burning by this time) to my hotel and got back just in time before it started to pour again. Since I had a late lunch I am not bothered about going back out for dinner. So have poured myself a glass of Otago region Chard Farm "River Run" pinot noir and am writing this while sipping at that and watching "About a Boy" on tv. I will probably be fast asleep shortly as it has been a long day on my feet. But I feel wonderful and refreshed from the exercise, the fresh air and watching the wonderful penguins.