I woke sort of early enough to see a bit of the sunrise, and it was lovely, but I was in downtown Dunedin. So the pink clouds had to be enjoyed through the window. We wanted to have breakfast here at the hotel, where it was complimentary, and it was only offered until 9 a.m., so we had to scoot. Plus that gave us enough time to get to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens, wander around, have some lunch, and get back to the hotel to change for the Monarch Wildlife tour to see albatrosses and seals and maybe a few other things.
We just barely made it to breakfast, which was a mix of hot and cold offerings, and quite yummy, a typical complimentary hotel breakfast. Enough to keep us going till lunch, for sure.
We arrived at the Gardens and found the parking lot we had hoped to find, which was near to the New Zealand native trees and plants area. Unfortunately, the entire area was cordoned off with "Danger" signs, as they were spraying! For what, I'm not sure, as the entire garden seems perfect, and there are no bugs about. However, we are able to spot the occasional flower peeking out here and there in the Geographic Borders area, and we're enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh air, and the walk.
After many ooohs and Ahhhhs, we find ourselves in the Southern Africa section, which is full of blossoms of all types, many of them are ones we've never seen before. Some are truly enthralling. And the views of the city from the hill is quite lovely.
The Aviary is another section that we find ourselves in, and there are several varieties of captive birds, most of which appear to be stuck there for whatever reason. It's difficult to see them very well, however, as the wire cages have such small openings that one has to almost put one's eye right up to the wire to see anything, and it is advised not to do that. Soo.... But the sounds are quite interesting - some loud squawking was heard from a couple of the parrots, and a cockatoo said "Hello" quite nicely.
We decide to make our way back to the car, as we have explored most of the garden that is on top of the hill, and feel quite comfortable admitting we may not be able to climb back up if we walk down the hill toward the other parts of the garden. So we drive around to the bottom, find a parking space, and proceed to locate the cafe. Google maps does not seem to understand the pathways, however, and it takes a couple of tries to find it, as the signage in the garden is not very consistent nor clear.
However, find it we do, and have a small lunch - I get the corn fritters and salad which is quite good. Linda's not impressed with the small pizza she tried. Oh well. One meal that we couldn't rave about - out of a few dozen. Not bad.
As we eat, we notice a little tour "train" of sorts, that seems to be a great way to see the garden. So on we hop, for only $3 per adult (children are $1), and get a guided tour - sitting down - of about 20 minutes around the lower half of the garden. It was delightful! Run by volunteers, all proceeds go to needy children. Oh, did I mention that entrance to the gardens is free? Fantastic!
We check out the little gift shop as well, before moving on to the Rose Garden, and then back to the hotel. The roses are in full bloom, and are being carefully tended to by a couple of workers. The fragrance floats around on the light breeze, and reminds me of my grandmother's garden. I can almost feel her beside me, enjoying it with me.
We've already put on a lot of steps, and the sun is hot, and even with sunscreen we're feeling a bit dried out. So we opt to go back to the hotel and rest up before the wildlife tour that starts at 5 - but we have to leave by 4 to get out to the Otago peninsula and meet the tour company. Last evening, we had been able to get probably the last two tickets on a one-hour tour, featuring Royal Albatross, as well as other marine birds and mammals, and hopefully a penguin or two.
It's a good thing, we needed to take a break. Going non-stop every day, even if part of that is driving, can get to be tiring. And get out of the sun. We purchased a cold drink from the vending machine in the lobby, and rested for a couple of hours, before heading out to see Albatross. The drive out to the peninsula is spectacular. Although winding, the road is flat and most of it is along the bay, with water almost right up to the road on the left, and all kinds of terrain and nature to the right. There are a few roads, and lovely homes to see as well on the right. All in all, about 35 minutes of driving, but very enjoyable.
We reach the meeting point for the tour, and seem to be the first ones there. Which gives us time to stretch a bit before boarding. We are provided warm coats if we want, and a pair of binoculars if we want. I have my long lens on, so I don't bother with the binoculars. The air is quite nice, but it could be cool out on the ocean if we go past the harbour entrance - which we're assured we will.
The ride out is..... interesting. The tide is going out, but there is a breeze coming through the narrow harbour, which produces fairly large waves. The tour boat is perfectly designed to handle these conditions - almost like a tugboat. We stay completely dry, even though the boat is being jostled about, up and down. The first thing I notice is the clouds - so interesting and unique! Although I have my "big" camera with me, it's not much use for these conditions, the boat is simply moving about way too much, and as soon as I steady the lens, the whole horizon moves out of range as the boat moves. So I snap a few with my cellphone, and hope they turn out.
The first thing we see, is actually a little blue penguin! But it's out in the waves - the very large waves - and disappears fairly quickly. It comes up again, but then is gone, and although we see it, there's no chance of a photo. The next thing that's pointed out to us is a colony of Otago Cormorants, more commonly known as Shags. This is the only place in the world that this variety is found, on the Otago peninsula. They have pink feet and blue eyes, although we can't make out that detail from the boat. Still, we've been priveleged to see a very rare breed of bird that not many people can say they've seen in real life!
Finally, as we approach the entrance to the harbour, a Royal Albatross is spotted. There are a couple up on the cliff, but this one is in the air. Then we see another, and another! There is a small breeding colony high up on the cliffs, and we are treated to commentary that provides a lot of interesting information about their breeding patterns and life overall. These huge birds have a wingspan about as wide as a tall man - approximately 2 meters. When one glides down past and around the boat only 20 meters away, it strikes awe into my heart to see such a large bird soaring past!
The boat maneuvers around several times to try and make sure everyone gets to see the albatrosses as they glide away from the cliffs and go out to sea to find food for their chicks, who will be fed by both parents for about a year. We're too far away to see the little (?) fluffballs, but are assured they still do have fluff, and not real feathers yet.
Too soon, the captain tells us that he must take us back, it is time. Even at the risk of mutiny, which several of us agree is an option, if it allows us just a bit more time to see these majestic birds. However, since none of us appear to have come equipped with swords or pistols, and there appears to be no gangplank for us to force the captain to walk, we will simply have to accept that the tour is over.
When we arrive back at the pier, someone points out a seabird I've never seen before - a royal spoonbill! Although it's obviously too far away, I take a few shots with the long lens - who knows, something may turn out. And it was a thrill to see it in the first place.
We decide to stop to eat supper at the first place that appears open, and in this case, that was the Portobello Hotel & Bar. I love it that Hotels and Bars here in New Zealand serve real food, and pretty fantastic food, whereas back home, pub food is usually a lot of fried food, cooked from frozen, and tasting mostly like grease. Tonight, Linda had the falafel salad, and I had a falafel burger, with greens, tomato, cheddar cheese, beet relish, and aioli. It was truly wonderful - and big enough for three meals! It came with chips, and the three that I was able to stuff into me were truly delicious, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and lightly seasoned. Yummy!
It has started to rain, and cool off, hopefully that's not a sign of things to come! But I doubt it, the forecast is for nicer weather for Twizel, our next stop on this grand adventure.
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