Round trip New Zealand, Part 7

Our days in Oamaru are numbered. We want to continue south. But first, we attend a concert at the Oamaru Opera House. A Bee Gees revival band is playing tonight. I always thought Barry's high voice was unique, but this evening I have to admit I was wrong. Not only were the three of them almost identical to the original in terms of their voices, but they also looked like Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.

Bee Gees concert, Oamaru, New Zealand

On Sunday, we leave Oamaru and drive to Dunedin. Dunedin is the second largest city on New Zealand's South Island and has a population of around 120,000. The city was founded in 1848 and is nicknamed the “Edinburgh of the South.” In fact, the city's coat of arms refers to its Scottish roots. The city stands on an eroded lava bed. The crater is located approximately where Port Chalmers is today and was active about 10 to 13 million years ago. 

Dunedin, New Zealand

In late autumn 1848, the first 347 Scottish immigrants arrived in Dunedin. In 1861, the gold rush began in Otago, bringing great wealth to the city. However, the infrastructure at that time was unable to keep pace with the rapidly growing population. In Melbourne, a visitor to Dunedin described the city as the dirtiest and muddiest, with the worst roads. Today, the streets are clean, and the city center is well visited. 

Downtown Dunedin, New Zealand

We drive to Baldwin Street, which, with a gradient of 35%, is said to be the steepest street in the world. I would have preferred to drive up it rather than walk, but unfortunately only residents are allowed to drive there. Although I don't even know if our car would have managed the gradient. At least we had a hard time. It was a little easier on Signal Hill. From here, you have a beautiful view of Dunedin and the port facilities. Dunedin is also home to New Zealand's oldest university, which is still the city's largest employer today. In the city itself, there are countless buildings from the founding era to admire. Among them is the Flemish-style train station, built in 1907.

Baldwin Street, Dunedin, New Zealand

Unfortunately, this summer in New Zealand is staying true to form and treating us to wet and cold rainy weather with temperatures of 11°C. Nevertheless, we are not letting this stop us from exploring the area. “Watch your hat,” says the friendly gentleman standing next to me. “I've lost so many of these things.” Indeed, a stormy wind whistles towards us at Nugget Point. The lighthouse stands on a headland southwest of Dunedin. The headland gets its name from the rocks in front of it, which rise out of the water like gold nuggets. They don't shine much in this weather, but at least we can imagine it. 

Nugget Point, New Zealand

At least we've been spared the rain on this cloudy day. So far, anyway. We are now in the Catlins, an area dominated by agriculture. New Haven is a stretch of beach where you can watch sea lions and penguins. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any penguins yet. The animals seem to be very shy and only come ashore at dusk. Even though I can perfectly imitate a penguin's waddling gait and I almost tripped over a sleeping sea lion that had buried itself in the sand, Gaby wasn't fooled. It was probably because of my height, because it can't be my belly, which is similar to a penguin's. But we can watch a sea lion family on the beach. The mother plays with her little one, and the father, a huge guy, tries to get involved but is repeatedly put in his place by the mother. We could have watched this for hours, but unfortunately it starts to rain, and we retreat to our dry accommodation in Owaka.

 

Sea lion family on the beach at New Haven, New Zealand

Unfortunately, the next day is also very rainy. We take a trip to Jacks Bay. Apart from decorating the car to look like an off-roader on the unpaved road, there isn't much to see at Jacks Bay. The rain clouds prevent us from seeing very far. Instead, we visit the Owaka Museum, which documents the settlement of the Catlins and the shipwrecks in the area. It was a good decision, as we learned a lot.

Museum in Owaka, New Zealand

The next day is still cloudy, but at least the rain has stopped. We continue southwest across a hilly landscape. We try one last time to spot penguins in the wild. However, the spot turns out to be a tourist magnet, so we can be sure that no penguins will show up. We quickly give up and drive on to Slope Point. Here we are at the southernmost point of the South Island. Only 4,800 kilometers to the South Pole. At least for us, it's the southernmost point we've reached so far. And because it's something special for us, the sun actually comes out, and it immediately becomes pleasantly warm.

Slope Point, southernmost point of New Zealand's South Island

On the way to Bluff, where we have booked our next accommodation, we pass a golf course. Nestled in the hills, the course is reminiscent of the links courses in Scotland. I simply can't resist and spontaneously play a round. We arrive in Bluff on time, where we meet Brigitte and Ferry from the sailing yacht Alrisha. As is often the case among sailors, we have a lot to talk about. The two Austrians have been on the road since 2016 and are way ahead of us. They are using the cyclone season to explore the South Island of New Zealand before returning to their boat and setting sail for Indonesia. As always, we wish them and everyone else fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.