For the second part of our New Zealand trip, Wendy and myself headed to Dunedin. Our aim was to visit the scenic Otago Peninsula. After that we intended to head north along the coast to the small town of Moeraki and see the famous boulders lying on the beach nearby.
There is plenty to see on the Otago Peninsula. It is famous for its attractive rural scenery, a great coastline and its wildlife. Our route was to first head to Sandfly Beach and look for sea lions. We spotted quite a few, mainly asleep on the beach.
We then headed to further along the peninsula to see The Chasm and Lovers Leap – a very rugged part of the coast.
The last part of our visit was right to the very end of the peninsula to look at the birdlife and also look for sea lions and seals. There were plenty of both to see. This was also a place to see penguins, but we were probably too early in the day to see any. It is better to come as dusk.
We then headed back to Dunedin and a short way up the coast to Moeraki. We visited the Moeraki Boulders late in the afternoon – but the place was full of tourists which made photography very difficult (as well as quite ordinary light), so we decided to return next morning. We had a pleasant evening staying at the nearby motor camp and had a good dinner at the local pub.
Up early the next morning, we found the lighting much better and with only a few people around, it was also much better for some photos. These rocks are very interesting and well worth seeing. It would be nice to return again for sunrise at a time when the tide is higher.
More photos of this part of our trip are online here.