The Bailey Expedition

Dunedin and Otago Peninsula

Our first weekend excursion outside of Christchurch was to the city of Dunedin to the south. On the way there we stopped at a unique geological phenomenon called the Moeraki boulders (above). On to Dunedin where a colorful range of experiences was in store. Unbeknownst to us, it was back-to-school weekend at the University in Dunedin, and within 100km every inn was fully booked ...all save the Statesman Bar. Said bar was a lively establishment that played loud lively disco until 5:00am, but also had a few rooms to let above the dance floor. Surprisingly, these were still available late on a Friday night. It proved to be a unique, if not somewhat sleepless evening.

At the "crack of dawn", we were off to the Otago museum. This was a wonderful repository of Pacific Island history and art. We were particularly impressed with the Masks and the collection of Maori artwork.

We had heard great things about the train station and took the opportunity to visit this historic old building.

After a feeble attempt to gain entry into an overbooked Cadbury World chocolate Nirvana (we were sure there were tunnels somewhere), we headed to the Otago peninsula to observe its unique birdlife. We avoided the touristy "pay to see" places and yet still managed to observe one of the few mainland colonies of Royal Albatross (3 meter wingspan). These were magnificent adolescent birds the size of small volkswagons that gracefully employed the rising sea breeze to play an airborne game of chase. After staking out a good spot, Quinn managed to snap the photo to the right.

The next experience has no pictures but was very powerful. As darkness fell we descended to a nearby beach to watch for the arrival of blue penguins. About 25 of us sat on either side of a very narrow path and as it became dark clusters of penguins made their way between us and up the beach to their nests. They were hard to see in the dark, however the "pitter patter" of their feet as they waddled past us in an otherwise still and starry evening was magical. We stayed for a wile after everyone else left just to listen the wonderful sounds of the birds that evening.

The following day we lingered at the beach and collected shells and sunshine. All in all it was a glorious first weekend adventure.

To see more Photos click here. (Don't forget that you can see an enlargement by clicking on a thumbnail.)