- tom rob barber -: day 5 - Dunedin & Peninsula

Today we set of (fairly) early to Dunedin.

The aim was to see the city and go on a wildlife tour I'd booked which ran for 6 hours over the late afternoon and into dusk...

First: the city..

We went to the cadbury factory, and although we didn't have time for the tour we did get some free chocolate, try some cocoa beans (which are REALLY nice!!) and I also stocked up on some decent amounts of chocolate for the boat trip... (you can get the big bars for about $3 in the factory shop!)

The famous Dunedin Train Station looked good - Aberdeen Granite was used for some bits

We went and had lunch at St Clair beach, very nice place, and then headed to the info centre where we were being picked up for the tour.

Si searching the seas for Northern Royal Albatross

We were on the edge of a clif, and the Albatross use the up-drafts to gain height and then land in the breeding colony (which was at the end of the peninsula)

Here comes one! You can see how big it was in relation to the people below - they were the same distance away! (>3m wingspan)

They were not easy to take photos of - when they went over our heads they were going pretty fast (especially as I was still getting used to Ritchies camera)

This one flew right over us - about 2m above our heads!

So elegant...

oooOOOooooo

Aahhhhhhh

I am now an Albatross convert - and I feel like I need more of them... I'll be going back next summer when there are more around!!

Next our tour headed off to the beach where we were going to see Fur Seals, Hooker Sea Lions and the Yellow Eyed Penguins

I also spotted a Giant Petrel (wingspan 2m) which was the first and only one I've seen!

So here is one - the Yellow Eyed Penguin - the rarest penguin in the world!

Their eye stripes weren't as yellow as I was expecting it must be said... but the camera didn't do them justice - the light was failing bla bla excuse excuse

They came out of the water and walked up the beach to the patches of bush where they sleep...

CUTE!

Here is a Hooker Sea Lion - very rare on the mainland (only about 50-60), most live down on the Sub Antarctic Islands such as Campbell and Auckland Islands. They are about twice as big as seals, and were not afraid of us at all.