Otago eco-tourism plus castle

We decided to return to Dunedin and see some local fauna. Last time we saw the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and the tallest chocolate “waterfall” in the southern hemisphere. Since then we learned that the only mainland nesting area of the albatross and a colony of the rare yellow-eyed penguin could be seen on the Otago Peninsula which is a former island overlooking Dunedin. We haven’t taken a weekend trip in while so we did a two day trip last weekend (March 8-9). You’ll note the continued fixation on the cost of things in this story, e.g. with NZ$ now at record levels = US$.82, gas is now NZ$6.81 per gallon.

We arrived in Dunedin around noon and stopped by the waterfront to find a restaurant. We found a nice restaurant at the old Customs House. We also saw the French trimaran Groupama 3 (or what was left of it) tied up next to the dock. You may have heard about this yacht on the news, it’s a French racer that was out to break lots of records including the fastest time in the Jules Verne round-the-world sailing race. Trimarans are super fast, they have small hulls with outriggers that keep the boat upright. Less boat in the water and sails pointed straight up means fast. If you want to see amazing video of sailboarders and kite sailors versus mega trimarans like Groupama 3, click here.


While catamarans and trimarans are faster than monohulls, monohull sailors (like us) like to point out that they sail in their second most stable position. When one of these boats does go over, it stays in its most stable position which unfortunately is upside down. Groupama 3 lost one of its pontoons and went over about 150 miles offshore from Dunedin. You can see pictures and videos of the boat in its most stable position being towed into Dunedin – click on the media link at this website. After a lunch of bangers and mash we went over to look at Groupama 3. Very impressive. By the way I think Groupama 1 and 2 also capsized.

This sailing accident also had an enormous impact on world geography. According to the French publicists for Groupama3, this boat capsized in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Dunedin. People here are still struggling to accept that they have been relocated from their comfortable niche between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, just north of the Southern Ocean. The Indian Ocean used to be a continent away.

After leaving the waterfront we visited New Zealand’s only castle, the Larnach Castle. A beautiful setting but all-in-all only a so-so castle for an $80 entry fee. The family history was more interesting than the architecture. This fellow was the investor behind the first ship (sailing ship) with a refrigeration system that successfully got New Zealand sheep to England in an edible state. To understand the importance of this, remember that selling sheep to England was New Zealand’s largest export market from the 1800’s until Great Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973. Turns out the main problem was the sparks from the coal-fired refrigeration system played havoc with the sails. Larnarch built the castle for his wife. As his finances failed, he transferred ownership of his assets to his wife to insulate them from bankruptcy court. When she died he married her half-sister with the same arrangement except that her will left the proceeds to his children. When she quickly died his children controlled his assets and he apparently deceived them into signing them back over to him. He married a much younger woman and as his financial empire crumbled he heard the rumors that his wife was having an affair with his favorite son. Suicide in parliament ended his tragic life. His castle wasn’t all that pretty either.

Next stop- the motel and then Penguin Place (near the north end of the peninsula on the map). This is an example of privately owned eco-tourism. A sheep farmer has two colonies of the rare yellow-eyed penguin on his property. According to a Canadian couple that we had breakfast with, he used to charge $4 per head to pile folks on a wagon and pull them with his tractor down to the coast to see the penguins. Now he’s dug trenches with camouflage covering them so you can sneak up to the penguin nest boxes he’s built. You travel by bus and the guides keep their tours out of each other’s way with two-way radios, entry fee = $80. We got to see a penguin come ashore and then we went though the trenches to see three more at their nesting sites. The one in the picture is moulting. Interesting facts: only 4000 left, second or third largest penguin, likes nesting in the forest.




That evening had a nice $109 meal at the local restaurant. I had venison and mashed kumera (local potato) which was very good. We also had a plate of local Otago cheeses which were excellent. Next morning had breakfast with a Canadian couple who had visited New Zealand several times over the last 15 years. They were complaining about the cost of things which of course was a bonding and validating opportunity for us. I'm not sure why but it did feel a little like two old tourist couples from America complaining about how things were better back home.
We were then off to the Royal Albatross Colony at the very end of the peninsula. This is a public enterprise done very well, where observation rooms replace the trenches (cost $80). This was handy since the winds were blowing about 60mph that day. While converting the forest to sheep pasture was bad for the penguins, albatrosses need bare land to have room to take off. We were lucky to see chicks on the nest and two adults flying in. These are beautiful and impressive birds with a 9 foot wingspan. You can see a chick on the nest using the websites webcam – click here. On the way home we stopped by the Moeraki Boulders. It’s one of those postcard picture opportunities that was well worth the stop (cost $0). For more information about them – click here.


We’ve got a return sailing trip to Marlborough Sound scheduled over Easter. Hopefully we can do better on blog updates. Cheers - Bob