22/02: Dunedin
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
We are booked on a tour this afternoon, so this morning we drove to downtown Dunedin. One of the big tourist attractions is the railway station.
Yup, this is the railway station. Dunedin’s bluestone railway station was built between 1903 and 1906.
And this is the inside. It features mosaic tile floors and stained-glass windows.
Dunedin was established by Scottish Presbyterian’s but somehow the Church of England’s St. Paul Cathedral (Anglican) gets the prime spot in the Octagon, the centre of Dunedin. The church seems a little off when you go inside. It’s explained by the fact the main part of the church was completed in 1919 and the sanctuary was completed in a more modern style in 1971.
There are quite a few beautiful old building in the downtown area.
The tour included a bus ride out onto the Otago Peninsula, a visit to the Penguin Place, a wildlife cruise and boat trip back to Dunedin.
At the Penguin Place we saw a number of Yellow Eyed Penguins receiving extra care before they are released into the wild. We took a walk out to the Penguin nesting area where we saw a number of nesting boxes with Blue Penguins inside --- we saw feet and tummies and a male Yellow Eyed Penguin who was almost finished molting. There were also several fur seals sleeping on the cliff edge.
The wildlife cruise took place off of Wellers Rock in Otago Harbour. We saw Oystercatchers, Black Swans, gulls, Shags, Fur Seals, Sea Lions, Royal Spoonbills and Northern Royal Albatross. The main focus was on the Albatross. The Northern Royal Albatross only breed on islands in New Zealand waters and this is the only colony on mainland. The birds have a 3 metre wing span, rarely flap their wings as they soar on air currents. The albatross only return to land every 2 years to breed spending the rest of the time as sea.
The naturalists said that these were "teenagers practicing courting".
The colony can be found below and to the left of the lighthouse.
There was a Sea Lion swimming near the seal colony waiting for a baby seal to come into the water. It looks like this seal is yelling at the Sea Lion.
The seal on the is a one month old baby.
A colony of Stewart Island Shags (Cormorant).
One of the beautiful views on the way to the dock in Dunedin.
Yup, this is the railway station. Dunedin’s bluestone railway station was built between 1903 and 1906.
And this is the inside. It features mosaic tile floors and stained-glass windows.
Dunedin was established by Scottish Presbyterian’s but somehow the Church of England’s St. Paul Cathedral (Anglican) gets the prime spot in the Octagon, the centre of Dunedin. The church seems a little off when you go inside. It’s explained by the fact the main part of the church was completed in 1919 and the sanctuary was completed in a more modern style in 1971.
There are quite a few beautiful old building in the downtown area.
The tour included a bus ride out onto the Otago Peninsula, a visit to the Penguin Place, a wildlife cruise and boat trip back to Dunedin.
At the Penguin Place we saw a number of Yellow Eyed Penguins receiving extra care before they are released into the wild. We took a walk out to the Penguin nesting area where we saw a number of nesting boxes with Blue Penguins inside --- we saw feet and tummies and a male Yellow Eyed Penguin who was almost finished molting. There were also several fur seals sleeping on the cliff edge.
The wildlife cruise took place off of Wellers Rock in Otago Harbour. We saw Oystercatchers, Black Swans, gulls, Shags, Fur Seals, Sea Lions, Royal Spoonbills and Northern Royal Albatross. The main focus was on the Albatross. The Northern Royal Albatross only breed on islands in New Zealand waters and this is the only colony on mainland. The birds have a 3 metre wing span, rarely flap their wings as they soar on air currents. The albatross only return to land every 2 years to breed spending the rest of the time as sea.
The naturalists said that these were "teenagers practicing courting".
The colony can be found below and to the left of the lighthouse.
There was a Sea Lion swimming near the seal colony waiting for a baby seal to come into the water. It looks like this seal is yelling at the Sea Lion.
The seal on the is a one month old baby.
A colony of Stewart Island Shags (Cormorant).
One of the beautiful views on the way to the dock in Dunedin.