Party ‘till the Penguins Come Home

The drive from Bluff to Dunedin was around 3 hours, and the driving time was split between myself and Vincent. We refueled and changed drivers in the little town of Clinton. The truck drivers ahead of us were setting a good pace, but were also polite and gave us the opportunity to pass. In general, we found New Zealand drivers to be extremely courteous.

Our lodging in Dunedin (pronounced “dun-EE-din”) was in a suburb called Vauxhall (pronounced “voxel”) that was across the bay from downtown. Our host Georgina lived on the property, a charming 2-story home with a basement and a balcony. Our rooms were private, and the kitchen was shared with Georgina. She was very friendly and made us to feel at home, even helping us with our bags when we left. We all had interesting conversations with her at various points in the stay. I learned she was living in Christchurch during the 2011 earthquake, had a son in Hokitika, and had moved to Dunedin in 2016. Unfortunately, she came across as a bit stuffy or closed-minded on certain topics. At breakfast she expressed a disdain for avocados. Her most memorable comment was a puzzling and hilarious non-sequitur about penguins. When we told her about seeing 300 penguins (more on that later), she replied: “oh, that’s 200 penguins too many.” We still don’t know what she meant!
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Our first mission in Dunedin was retrieving Rachel’s jacket. Careful readers will remember this was the jacket left behind in Nelson that our AirBNB hosts had mailed to Dunedin in advance of our arrival. The pickup location was a Countdown grocery store that partnered with the NZ Post. According to their website, they would hold packages for up to 10 days, and this was day 9, so we headed there with urgency. Unfortunately, the grocery store had returned the package to the NZ Post! A recently hired (and very unsympathetic) employee claimed their location wasn’t actually a partner in the first place. Next we tried a local post office, but it turned out to be a retail store that accepted mail drop-offs, and not an actual NZ Post location. They were able to direct us to the actual NZ Post office. As luck would have it, the NZ Post still had the jacket for us to collect! The clerks mentioned that the package’s contact phone number, handwritten on the pouch, had an illegible digit that may have complicated the situation. In any case, Rachel was thrilled and relieved to have the jacket in hand after this roller coaster.

​We continued into downtown Dunedin, struggling a bit with navigation and parking, but found a spot. The city is known its Scottish heritage, its Edwardian and Victorian architecture, and for its street art. My guidebook included a map for a street art walking tour, and we gave it a shot. A few artwork highlights were a giant chrome bull, a wispy eagle, and the word “tofu.” Some works were visible from the street, others hidden in a more obscure parking lot or alleyway. It was a sunny Thursday afternoon with relatively few other pedestrians, certainly no fellow tourists. A few sketchy people, including a guy with face tattoos, reminded us that this wasn’t the safest area imaginable, and we walked elsewhere.

​We continued our walk along a pedestrian-oriented street that was gutted open by a massive construction project. At the end was our restaurant of choice, a Nepalese fusion place called Mela. We sat in front of a photo of some yaks on Mt. Everest. I had the most amazing tandoori momos, a twist on Nepalese dumplings that were smothered in red sauce and oven baked, plus some tasty lamb chops.

​We stopped for a few groceries before heading back to Georgina’s. After weeks of wondering what a pavlova tasted like, I finally caved in and bought the smallest grocery store pavlova I could find – still the size of a dinner plate. It was branded as “Kiwi’s Favorite Dessert” and had a picture of strawberries on top. Upon cutting a slice, I was disappointed to find no fruit inside – only merengue. The merengue was pretty good, and it was improved by adding a few blueberries or some blackcurrant jam. However, the anticlimactic moment of cutting into what amounted to a giant marshmallow was too funny to forget.

​The next day, we had a “flipped” schedule – a morning at the AirBNB, and an afternoon/evening of exploring. We cooked a Mediterranean inspired lunch with a Greek salad, sauteed chickpeas, cous cous, and hummus. The leftovers were packed up and taken on the road for our dinner. We drove 30 minutes along the Otago Peninsula, a mountainous drive with amazing panoramic views of the ocean on both sides. The road went from paved to dirt as we got closer to the Sandymount trailhead.

​There was something delightfully unusual about starting a hike at 5:30pm with the sun still high in the sky. The trail went through a dense tunnel of trees and emerged into a set of sheep pastures. The views overlooking the headlands were stunning, with dramatic cliffs, sandy inlets, and rolling green hills as far the eye could see. Rachel was eager to get a picture with some real New Zealand sheep and we approached a few groups, but they all turned and walked away. All of a sudden, two sheep started walking towards us, baaing loudly. I quickly realized the lambs grazing on our left were not accompanied by any ewes, and we made a hasty retreat. Those ewes were moving swiftly! And the baaing was a clear warning shot. It changed how we saw the rest of the sheep on the trail.

​The trail was marked by a series of posts, and of course the sheep were parked right next to them. We hesitantly skirted around several more sets of ewes and lambs, prepared to turn around if any crossing appeared too treacherous. The lambs were so cute when they played and headbutted, but the ewes were keeping a close eye on us, so we kept our guard up too. When two lambs approached us with curious eyes, we frantically tried to shoo them away, in case mom was around the corner.

​The final stage of the hike was uphill and sandy, with dense flax plants setting a narrow width. The loop brought us back to the parking lot, empty except for our car and one other. We had dinner at a picnic table and enjoyed the great views a little longer.

​Our next destination was the Royal Albatross Center, located at the farthest tip of the Otago Peninsula. The hill outside the building was swarming with seagulls and covered with their nests. A few cute baby seagulls were visible from the walkway, but the cacophony of screeching encouraged one to keep moving. There was a free viewing platform looking towards the only mainland albatross colony in the world, but it was around the edge of the cliffs and not visible. However, as we left the platform, we started to notice a few larger birds amongst the flurry of seagulls – the motionless wings of the royal albatross! They were enormous and majestic. We stood outside and tried to spot as many as we could, at least 15 or 20 in total.

​The Royal Albatross Center was the check-in point for the main attraction of the evening – blue penguin viewing. A charismatic docent gave us some background on the penguins and Maori culture in general. The blue penguins, also called little penguins, are the smallest penguins in the world – just 12 or 13 inches tall! They’re also known as “fairy penguins” in Australia. We walked down a staircase to a wooden platform overlooking the beach, waiting for the penguins to return at sunset.

​Soon, the rafts of penguins started to arrive from the ocean. The guide said that you could see them in the water – which I doubted until a cluster of black distortions materialized on the surface of the ocean, moving towards us. The raft landed on the beach, a group of ~20 penguins that stood up and started waddling forward confidently. They scrambled up a field of sticks and driftwood and congregated in a sort of foyer, shivering to shake the water off their heads and flippers. From the foyer, a single file line of penguins marched uphill into a neighborhood of nests. The penguins turned onto side streets or hopped up inclined pathways, and started chirping loudly when they reached their partners or nests. It was like a little Hobbiton for penguins.

​The viewing deck was perfectly situated to enjoy the parade. It was built on the hillside, right above some of the nests. The penguins were moving just feet below us! We could hear them squawking underneath the platform, and a few emerged out the back. The guides encouraged people to rotate so that everyone had a turn in the front row. The deck also had constant lights pointed down so we could see their antics even after the sun was down. Apparently, the penguins don’t like sudden bursts of light but are fine with constant light. The name “blue penguin” was definitely merited, as their backs were a dark navy blue in the light.

​The rafts continued – wave after wave. In total, the guide estimated that 300 penguins returned from the ocean that evening! This was the best turnout in a year, and a significant portion of the ~500 penguin population. It was quite a treat. New Zealand’s birds continue to steal the show.

Video showing the cuteness overload:

​Before leaving Dunedin, we stopped at their Saturday farmer’s market. We were greeted with a concert band playing Christmas tunes, a delightful reminder that the holiday season was in full swing. The market had an excellent selection of vendors with food and drinks of all kinds, and music too. Besides the concert band, the air was filled with sounds of an accordion-guitar duet and a four-piece Bluegrass band. Many stalls were cash only, and we were light on cash. Thankfully, a few vendors with card readers offered cash back with a purchase, which opened up lots of tasty possibilities! Among the three of us, we tried: a croissant, a chai latte, tofu bao, a coffee, beef and lamb pies, some craft distilled spirits, and dessert crepes. Of course, we also picked up veggies for dinner. One of my favorite things about the market was  a "cup library" shared by all the coffee vendors at the market. Such a unique way of reducing waste.

​On the drive from Dunedin to Oamaru, we stopped at the beach to see the Moeraki Boulders. These unique boulders are almost perfect spheres, protruding from the sand as hemispheres. They were great for silly poses, with dramatic skies as the backdrop. It was a little cold and windy, but a worthwhile stop.

​We arrived in Oamaru, a beachside town that stood out for two reasons: its elaborate building facades with carved whitestone, and its celebration of the steampunk genre. After checking into our cute cottage with ocean views, Vincent and I walked into town for groceries. We wandered through the deserted Victorian quarter, admiring the architecture and stopping to gander at a few shops with steampunk costumes and props. In the grocery store, a few unusual items jumped out like kiwi-themed Christmas crackers and an aquarium of fresh barnacles. We had a quiet evening, including a pasta dinner from Rachel. I opened the elderflower liqueur from the farmer’s market and mixed it with some soda water for a light and summery cocktail.

​We only spent one night in Oamaru, but it was a fun stint. We lucked out and found their Sunday farmer’s market, snacking on vegan baked goods from Moa Bakery and listening to live acoustic guitar music. Vincent and I also visited the Steampunk HQ, an interactive theme park and sculpture garden. In front were a train engine and blimp that would belch smoke and flames if you inserted a coin. Inside, we encountered bizarre contraptions, rusty tools, ghoulish figurines, mad scientist workbenches, and so much more. A room called the “portal” contained a hall of mirrors and an ethereal light show, like a Yayoi Kusama infinity room. Outside, a junkyard of rusty vehicles that could have been from a Mad Max movie was available as a playground of sorts. A giant train had a roof-mounted crane that could be raised and lowered with horrendous screeching, and an artillery gunner’s booth had interior lights to simulate firing an electrical blast. It was extremely bizarre and very cool.

​From Oamaru, we turned inland and headed into central Canterbury for more time in the mountains. Our coastal adventures in Dunedin and Oamaru were now behind us, but the memories of the Otago scenery and cute penguins journeyed with us.

Fun fact, millenial kiwis prefer avocado toast over bugs.