Dunedin is a lovely city, the second largest in the South Island. It is quite studenty so there are lots of pubs, clubs, etc - ideal! It is also known as the Edinburgh of the South because Dunedin actually means Edinburgh in gaelic. We wish we had more time to spend here but unfortunately it was just a flying visit!

We did manage to go for a swim, mainly because we were desperate for a shower!! However Andrew did manage to swim 100m, the furthest he has ever swam in a swimming pool, I am very proud and am going to make him a badge!! We also checked out Baldwin Street which is meant to be the steepest street in the world!! It certainly looked pretty steep!

Joining Dunedin is the Otago Peninsula, a crazy little bit sticking out from the mainland, which is covered with wildlife. Here we went to the Royal Albatros centre, which was quite interesting although we had already seen Albatros at Kaikoura. We also saw loads of sea birds nesting in the cliffs, notably the Spotted Shag!

In the evening we had a real highlight! We went to Sandfly Bay on the peninsula where there were loads of sea lions! Huge lumps of blubber, quite scary looking that we had to walk right past to get to the hide where we were hoping to spot some yellow-eyed penguins! Luckily the sea lions were more interested in sleeping than us so they let us pass without any trouble.

We were not hopeful to see any penguins, mainly due to all the sea lions, then just as we were about to give up one literally jumped out of the sea onto the rocks by the cliff! The yellow-eyed penguins are really rare, there are only about 3000 left in the wild so we are really lucky to have seen one! They get their name due to the bright yellow feathers over their eyes, pretty obvious really! Surprisingly they are big climbers, particuarly at the moment when they are nesting. This one climbed right up a really steep cliff to get to his nest - amazing!

Lots of Love

Sarah and Andrew xxx